Page:Solution of the Child Labor Problem.djvu/20

13 whirled around the corner of a silk-mill. In the lee of the corner, with her thin shawl wrapped about her head and shoulders, stood a child who looked scarce thirteen. Her face was weary, though she had just hurried from bed into her clothes, and, after gulping down her breakfast, had run to the mill, "So's not to get docked for being late." But the night shift was slow in "getting up its ends." Half-past six came, but the spindles still whizzed on. Meanwhile the damp snow played havoc with the broken shoes.

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"Fourteen? You look awfully small for fourteen. How long have you worked in this mill?"

"Three years and a half."

"Well, how old were you when you started?"

"Thirteen."

When this girl began work the legal limit was thirteen; meanwhile the legislature had raised it to fourteen; but the child's knowledge of mathematics was not sufficient to