Child Labor in Massachusetts; Annual Report of the Massachusetts Child Labor Committee (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1910 Excerpt: ...dull, hopeless appearance which he had when we first saw him. A tired-looking girl of fourteen with defective eyesight, who liked the new hours very much, although she earned fifty-seven cents less a week, was asked what her father did. "He does not work steadily now. He works with another man, teaming, sometimes once or twice, a week, sometimes only once or twice a month. A year and a half ago he worked steadily in the mill. I don't know why he don't work now, guess lie don't want to. Father drinks sometimes." A boy of fifteen, like many others, was so irrepressible that the mill could not control him. He had already tried work in four mills and at times had been discharged because he "fooled" too much. The eight-hour law has now provided him with outdoor periods for play at the end of the morning and at the end of the afternoon. In some cases this outlet for boisterousness may result in better work during the working time. The amount of shifting from mill to mill is being diminished by the new provision which requires a new employment certificate for each new job. A tough, brazen boy of fifteen, careless and indifferent, had already had six positions. Five or six different jobs in a year is not at all unusual for these youngsters. This boy goes to four or five shows on Saturday, smokes and chews tobacco. His boss at present "flings all the boys around the place by our necks and throws us down on the floor. He calls us fools and swears at us. We fly when we see his face a-comin'." We do not pretend that the eight-hour law has done much for this class of boy as yet. It is the community's job to take advantage of the new spare hours to try to bring some pressure to bear through boys' clubs or industrial schools, which will save ...