Page:Solution of the Child Labor Problem.djvu/141

134 Should the family be assisted? How can it be assisted?

The United States is facing this problem, one of the most difficult of modern questions—the question of the relation of the government to the individual; and the extent to which the individual should depend on the government for support. Every state in the Union has broken through the tradition pale of non-interference with individual activity, by enacting a law forbidding children to work before reaching a certain age, and commanding them to attend school until that age is reached. These laws virtually deprive the family of anticipated income by forbidding work for wages, and by taking children away from the home, thus depriving the parents of their help in the home during school hours.

The government deliberately deprives the family of potential income. Must it not, in justice, make some restitution in the numerous cases where family income is insufficient to meet family needs? If it is socially advantageous that every child should be thoroughly educated, it would seem socially just that the