Page:Solution of the Child Labor Problem.djvu/17

10 possible a long, well-rounded childhood. The increase of the social surplus makes possible a gradual extension of the period of childhood, and a fuller development of its possibilities. Why should these children work? We are already creating enough wealth for all. A point in the development of the social surplus has been reached which would amply justify the raising of the child labor age at least one and perhaps two years. Every effort should therefore be made to prevent further emphasis on the fourteen-sixteen year standard.

The age test is, however, at best unsatisfactory. As previously indicated, the child labor problem is a problem of maturity and not of age. Stanislaus Mattcvitcz may say in response to a question, " Yes, me fourteen," and he may prove his age by producing his passport or his immigration record, but has he proven his fitness to work? By no means: He has not proven that his body is mature, or that his mind will not be atrophied by five years of intimate contact with hides in a leather factory.