It gradually rises from a value of $90 in the first year to $4,200 Example of

the United at the age of 30, and then declines until it becomes negative for the

States. higher ages. . . . Applying this table to Cour] existing population at various ages, ... we find that the average value of a person now living in the United States is $2,900, and the average value of the lives now sacrificed by preventable deaths is $1,700. Applying the $2,900 to the population of eighty-five and a half millions, we find that our population may be valued as assets at more than $250,000,000,000; and since the number of preventable deaths is estimated at 630,000, the annual waste from preventable deaths is 630,000 times $1,700 or about $1,000,000,000. This represents the annual preventable loss of potential earnings.

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110. Minimum standards for child laborers 1 From the standpoint of national health, one of the most serious Progress in evils in American life is the widespread employment of

child labor

chilyoung

legislation. dren in industrial establishments. Fortunately there is an increasingly large number of laws which limit and control child labor. Thanks to the publicity work of such organizations as the National Child Labor Committee, the public is becoming aware of the necessity of still further safeguarding young children, so that the future will undoubtedly see a steady reduction in the evil of child labor. The following are the minimum standards for children entering employment, as drawn up by the Washington and Regional Conferences on Child Welfare in 1919:

age,

Minimum Standards for Children Entering Employment Age Minimum. - An age minimum of 16 for employment in any Standards occupation, except that children between 14 and 16 may be employed

for children

entering inin agriculture and domestic service during vacation periods until dustry, with schools are continuous throughout the year.

respect to An age minimum of 18 for employment in and about mines and quarries.

An age minimum of 21 for girls employed as messengers for telegraph and messenger companies.

1 From the Washington and Regional Conferences on Child Welfare, 1919. (Printed and distributed by the National Child Labor Committee.)

An age minimum of 21 for employment in the special-delivery service of the U.S. Post Office Department.

Prohibition of the employment of minors in dangerous, unhealthy, or hazardous occupations, or at any work which will retard their proper physical or moral development.

Educational Minimum. — All children between 7 and 16 years of age shall be required to attend school for at least nine months

education,

each year.

physical condition,

Children between 16 and 18 years of age who have completed the eighth but not the high-school grade, and are legally and regularly employed, shall be required to attend day continuation schools at least eight hours a week.

Children between 16 and 18 who have not completed the eighth grade or children who have completed the eighth grade and are not regularly employed shall attend full-time school. Occupational training expecially adapted to their needs shall be provided for those children who are unable because of mental subnormality to profit by ordinary school instruction.

Vacation schools placing special emphasis on healthful play and leisure time activities, shall be provided for all children.

Physical minimum. A child shall not be allowed to go to work until he has had a physical examination by a public-school physician or other medical officer especially appointed for that purpose by the agency charged with the enforcement of the law, and has been found to be of normal development for a child of his age and physically fit for the work at which he is to be employed.

There shall be annual physical examination of all working children who are under 18 years of age.

Hours of employment. – No minor shall be employed more than 8 hours a day or 44 hours a week. The maximum working day for children' between 16 and 18 shall be shorter than the legal working day for adults.

The hours spent at continuation schools by children under 18 years of age shall be counted as part of the working day.

Night work for minors shall be prohibited between 6 P.M. and 7 A.M. Minimum wage.

- Minors at work shall be paid at a rate of wages

hours of employment,

which for full-time work shall yield not less than the minimum and wages. essential for the “necessary cost of proper living, as determined by a minimum wage commission or other similar official board.” During a period of learning they may be rated as learners and paid accordingly. The length of the learning period should be fixed by such commission or other similar official board, on educational principles only. Placement and employment supervision. — There shall be a central Some addi

tional agency which shall deal with all juvenile employment problems.

standards. Employment certificates. - Provision shall be made for issuing employment certificates to all children entering employment who are under 18 years of age.

Compulsory attendance laws. Full-time attendance officers adequately proportioned to the school population shall be provided in cities, towns, and counties to enforce the school attendance law. Factory inspection and physical examination of employed minors. — Factory

inspection The number of [factory] inspectors shall be sufficient to insure

and physisemi-annual inspection of all establishments in which children are cal examina

tion. employed, and such special inspections and investigations as are necessary to insure the protection of the children.

Provision should be made for a staff of physicians adequate to examine annually all employed children under 18 years of age.

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111. Standards governing the employment of women Closely related to the question of child labor is the employment Increasing of women in industrial establishments. While most students agree of the prob

importance that the employment of women ought to be safeguarded rather lem of than actually prohibited, nevertheless such employment may give industry.

women in rise to problems fully as grave as those arising from child labor. During recent years the proportion of gainfully employed women in the United States has been increasing steadily, and the question of their protection in industrial pursuits is attracting more and more attention. In 1918 the United States Department of Labor drew

From the United States Department of Labor, Standards for the Employment of Women in Industry. Bulletin No. 3, Washington, 1918.

up the following standards governing the employment of women
in industry:

The hours of labor for women in industry.

STANDARDS RECOMMENDED FOR THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN

(In the following outline the italic type in the text indicates those
provisions which are held to be of the most vital importance.)

I. Hours of Labor
1. Daily hours. No women shall be employed or permitted to work
more than eight hours in any one day. The time when the work of
women employees shall begin and end and the time allowed for meals
shall be posted in a conspicuous place in each work room and a record
shall be kept of the overtime of each woman worker.

2. Half holiday on Saturday. Observance of the half-holiday should
be the custom.

3. One day of rest in seven. Every woman worker shall nave one day of rest in every seven days.

4. Time for meals. At least three-quarters of an hour shall be allowed for a meal.

5. Rest periods. .

6. Night work. No women shall be employed between the hours of
ten P.M. and six A.M.

II. Wages
1. Equality with men's wages. Women doing the same work as
men shall receive the same wages with such proportionate increases
as the men are receiving in the same industry. ...

2. The basis of determination of wages. Wages should be estab-
lished on the basis of occupation and not on the basis of sex. The
minimum wage rate should cover the cost of living for dependents and
not merely for the individual.

III. Working Conditions
1. Comfort and sanitation. State labor laws and industrial
codes should be consulted with reference to provisions for comfort
and sanitation. Washing facilities, with hot and cold water, soap
and individual towels, should be provided in sufficient number and
in accessible locations to make washing before meals and at the close
of the work day convenient.

Wages.

Working conditions in establishments employing women.

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Toilets should be separate for men and women, clean and accessible. Their numbers should have a standard ratio to the number of workers employed. Workroom floors should be kept clean. Dressing rooms should be provided adjacent to washing facilities, making possible change of clothing outside the workrooms. Rest rooms should be provided. Lighting should be arranged that direct rays do not shine into the workers' eyes. Ventilation should be adequate and heat sufficient. Drinking water should be cool and accessible with individual drinking cups or bubble fountain provided. Provision should be made for the workers to secure a hot and nourishing meal eaten outside the workroom, and if no lunch rooms are accessible near the plant, a lunch room should be maintained in the establishment.

2. Posture at work. Continuous standing and continuous sitting are both injurious. A seat should be provided for every woman employed and its use encouraged. It is possible and desirable to adjust the height of the chairs in relation to the height of machines or work tables, so that the worker may with equal convenience and efficiency stand or sit at her work. The seats should have backs. If the chair is high, a foot rest should be provided. 3. Safety.

Risks from machinery, danger from fire and exposure to dust, fumes or other occupational hazards should be scrupulously guarded against by observance of standards in state and Federal codes. First aid equipment should be provided. Fire drills and other forms of education of the workers in the observance of safety regulations should be instituted. ...

IV. Home Work •I. No work shall be given out to be done in rooms used for living Home work. or sleeping purposes or in rooms directly connected with living or sleeping rooms in any dwelling or tenement.

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112. Results of minimum wage legislation One method of protecting women and children in industry is through minimum wage legislation. The essential feature of a minimum wage law is that it provides that in all or specified occupations certain

a