Page:Solution of the Child Labor Problem.djvu/91

84 cure for the evils of child labor, because they are directed at its result rather than at its cause.

What are the causes of modern child labor? An answer to the question may be found by discussing four general groups of causes:—(1) industrial evolution; (2) greed; (3) necessity; (4) ignorance and indifference. The next few pages will be devoted to an analysis of these groups in order to ascertain, if possible, which one or which combination of them is the moving force which has sent three-quarters of a million of children into the industries of the United States.

Without the factory system child labor in its present form would be impossible. During a period of 150 years industry has gone from the home to the factory, involving in the transition the minute subdivisions of labor which must necessarily accompany work on a large scale. The operations requiring skill are performed by skilled persons, and