Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-02-19 | Page 9 | Thinks Child Labor Law is Inadequate

THINKS CHILD LABOR LAW IS INADEQUATE Bishop Paul Jones of Episcopal Diocese Delivers Address Before the Y. W. C. A. That the child labor law of Utah is not quite strict enough was the statement of Bishop Paul Jones of the Episcopal diocese, speaking before the Y. W. C. A. yesterday afternoon. Bishop Jones said tha t the hours of labor permitted in Utah were too long, and the age at which children might be put to work too low. Ho first cited figures showing the connection con-nection between child labor and illiteracy, bringing out the fact that in the north Atlantic states, where child labor is restricted, re-stricted, illiieramy among persons more than Hi years of ago is 1 per cent, as against 7 per cent in the southern states, v.-he re child labor is almost unrestricted. He also read figures showing that the percentage of accidents among child workers is three times as great as among adults; and other figures showing that boys and girls put to work too earlv are of less than normal weight and of less mental ability than children not so hampered. ham-pered. The chief problem of Utah lies with ,t.e children employed in the beet fields land canneries, he said. There are some newsooys and others emploved in the cities, hut the number of urban child workers is only a small fraction of the whole, he said. In Colorado, where there arc many children emploved In work among the beets, he said, it had been tound that these children lost from two to twenty-two weeks of school eaHi vear, thus in many rases losing more 'than hah tneir proner schooling. Here in Utah the Hue limit at which a bnv mi-ht o to work is i: years, -while experience h;is shown t na t it should be not than 14 years, be said. The ace limit for csrls. 1 years, ought to be raised to IS years, tiie bishop believed. Taken all in all. lie was of the opinion I that while- conditions of child labor here are by no means so destructive as in the soul hem states, for example, there is still room for much improvement.