Page:Solution of the Child Labor Problem.djvu/11

4 made the open sesame to the industrial world.

Practically all of the states place the minimum limit at fourteen, for one or more of the employments which children enter,—factory, mine, store, messenger service. In nearly all of these cases, however, the period from fourteen to sixteen is surrounded by certain restrictions, such as a prohibition of night work, of work for more than fifty-five hours a week, of work in dangerous trades, and the like. The fourteen-year minimum is, however, a generally accepted standard, and it is on that standard that the campaign for the passage and enforcement of legislation is being waged.

The age of fourteen has been made a fetish, and it is held constantly in the public eye.

The period of legislative protection is being extended, in a few cases, from fourteen to eighteen. Laws have been passed in eleven states which prohibit employment under eighteen in specific industries, at night, and for more than a stated number of hours per