of age. Included in the number also, were several under 10 years who were not at work but were simply there with relatives. The names, ages and addresses of each of these 211 children were. secured by the inspector. It may be noted here that four separate prosecutions were brought against this firm for such employment of children under 14 years and in each case the complaint was dismissed.

The inspector's comments on the situation in this cannery suggest very pointedly that child labor is largely, if not wholly, resorted to because their labor is essential to get the work done at the prices paid. Thus noting the fact that children were stringing about one-third of all the beans the inspector says: "I think if the company raised the price of stringing on all beans that there would be no need of employing children to do the work." And the same inspector in another report upon the same plant says the company does not wish a bad situation as to child labor to appear "but at the same time they want the beans strung and if it were not for public opinion would not care who or what did it so long as they accomplished their end. . . In my opinion, they have decided it is cheaper to pay a fine for the violations than to pay a higher price for stringing beans and get adults to do the work. Owing to the fact that there have been few convictions of canners they think they have an even chance for acquittal with a jury." The period during which children were so employed by this firm included the last week in July and extended throughout the month of August. The bean crop handled by this firm was large. In the other large plant above alluded to in which children 10 years of age and over were employed snipping beans under a tent, the canner admitted to the inspector that such employment was a violation of law but that the company was willing to take the risk. Three separate prosecutions were brought against this firm for employment of children under 14 and in each case acquittal resulted. Here again the inspector's comment on the situation bears definitely on a contention made by canners that employment of children under 14 years is necessary in order to secure the labor of their parents. For at this plant the inspector states: "Fully one-half of the children employed in the bean tent are unaccompanied by parents or relatives, and this would seem to refute the company's allegation that one of their reasons for tolerating the

presence of the children is to secure the work of their elders, who, it is claimed, would not come to string beans unless they could bring their children with them.”

The most serious form of illegal employment of children in sheds is, of course, employment of children under 14 years of age. Taking this as a test of conditions in 1914, the number of violations specifically reported by inspectors totals something less than 300. This figure comprises 180 such children in one, and 50 in the other, of the two firms above noted as using tents as substitutes for sheds, 14 in five other firms, and some part of a group of 48 children between 12 and 16 years of age reported without designation of the number under 14, for another firm. It is frankly recognized that these are only approximate figures and it is quite likely that they may understate the total of children under 14 who worked in the sheds in 1914.* It is believed, however, that the actual number did not very greatly exceed these figures, and at the outside. was far below the number of such children in sheds in 1912 when the Factory Investigating Commission found a total of 942.

The above has to do with the extent to which the Child Labor Law was violated. So far as that phase of the matter is concerned, it appears that under the amended law of 1913 and the special inspections of 1914 conditions as to child labor in sheds were much better in the latter year than in any prior season. But experience in endeavoring to enforce the law by prosecution of violators shows results by no means so encouraging. This, however, is brought out in the section below which reviews all the prosecution experience in canneries (both child labor and other cases) of the year.

Hours of Women

It has long been maintained by canners that the peculiar difficulties of their industry entitle them to some exemption from the limitations upon the hours of work of women which apply to factories in general. These difficulties are chiefly as follows: the shortness of the season, the perishable nature of the product,

*This is due to the fact that on their special visits to canneries in 1914 the inspectors did not turn in statements of numbers of persons employed by sex and age as in ordinary inspection work. Furthermore, while ordinarily an inspector returns the names of all children illegally employed, on a special card intended to be a basis for immediate prosecution, in at least one of the canneries where a considerable number of children under 14 was found the inspector simply returned a typical group of seven by name, which would serve for prosecution purposes and gave simply an approximate number for the total. The inspectors, it must be remembered, were bent primarily on law enforcement and not on investigation work.

and the irregularity of ripening of the crops with consequent irregularity in deliveries to the cannery. These difficulties, in connection with an alleged scarcity of female labor, which constitutes a large percentage of the working force, have resulted in violation of the law as to hours which the canners have taken no pains to deny or conceal. No exemption from the general law was allowed, however, until 1912, in which year the maximum hours for women over sixteen years of age in all factories were reduced from 60 to 54 per week. At the same time, the maximum hours permitted on not to exceed three days a week were reduced from 12 to 10 per day. An exemption was granted the canning industry, however, not only from these added restrictions, but from all restrictions upon the hours of labor of women and minors, sixteen years of age and upwards, during the period from June 15 to October 15. This was the first exception to the restrictions as to hours of labor of women in factories made in this State for a particular industry. In 1913, on the recommendation of the State Factory Investigating Commission, which had made an investigation of the canneries in the summer of 1912, the complete exemption made in the previous year for the canning industry was modified in two particulars. In the first place, the weekly hours were limited to 60 and the daily hours to 10 for women eighteen years of age and upwards from June 15 to October 15. Further the newly created Industrial Board was empowered to issue permits for such women to be employed 66 hours per week but not to exceed 12 hours per day during the six weeks from June 25 to August 5. This period was chosen on account of pea canning. These permits were to be issued if, upon application, the Board found that need for a longer work period existed and that longer hours would result in no "serious injury" to the health of the women employed.

Applications for permits were made by canners generally in 1913 and were granted upon the following conditions: that the daily hours of labor of female employees should be posted; that floors where women were employed should be drained free of liquids or, if this could not be done, that slat platforms be provided for such floors; and that women should not be employed more than ten hours per day at work which required continuous standing or while engaged in labeling or packing cans.

Three permits were revoked in 1913 on the ground, in each

case, that females had been employed in excess of twelve hours in one day. There was a quite prevalent attitude on the part of the canners that the statutes restricting the number of hours per day which adult females might be employed and prohibiting their employment after 10 P. M. were unconstitutional.

No change was made in the law concerning labor in canneries in 1914. As in the previous year, the Industrial Board granted, on the same conditions as in 1913, permits for a 66-hour week and a 12-hour day for women 18 years of age and upward during the period from June 25 to August 5. Permits were granted to 69 different firms, operating 101 separate plants. These plants were distributed in 22 counties and 90 localities.

As a result of the special attention paid to cannery inspection in 1914, numerous violations of the conditions upon which the permits were issued were discovered. In 14 plants, females were reported by inspectors to be working in excess of 12 hours per day. Of these, 4 had employed females in excess of 66 hours per week and 1 more than 6 days in the week. A number of violations as to the closing hour for female workers were also discovered. The permit, while granting a 12-hour day, did not alter the provisions of section 77 of the Labor Law which forbids females under 21 years of age from working in factories later than 9 P. M., nor the provisions of section 93-b which forbids women of any age from working later than 10 P. M. Such violations were discovered in 16 of the plants to which permits had been granted. In 10 of these, women over 21 years of age had been employed later than 10 P. M. and in 6, females under 21 years had been employed later than 9 P. M. In 3 of the plants to which permits had been granted females between 16 and 18 years of age were discovered working more than 10 hours a day in violation of section 78 of the Labor Law. The permit carried, of course, no exemption whatever for females under 18 years

of age.

The permit specifically provided that the 12-hour day should not apply to females employed in labeling or in packing cans. This was on the ground that such work was not a part of the canning process proper, and that since no question of perishability was involved no extension of the working hours was ad

visable. Accordingly, the usual hours (9 per day and 54 per week) applied. Violation of these hours on such work was reported in 2 plants to which permits had been granted. Similarly, the condition that slat platforms be provided on all floors which could not be kept entirely free from liquids where females were employed was violated in 3 plants to which permits had been granted. An inspector reported that at one plant which had no permit but in which such platforms had been provided, the females refused to use them and stood on the wet floor. The reason given by one female for not standing upon the platform was that she was afraid of slipping off and twisting her ankle. In another plant, it was reported that such platforms were not practicable because of the constant passing of trucks.

No violations were reported of the condition that females should not be employed in excess of 9 hours per day at work which required continuous standing.

Letters were sent by the Department to 24 of the 101 separate plants to which permits had been granted warning them of one or more of the above reported violations. Two permits were revoked, the ground in each case being the employment of females over 21 years of age after 10 P. M. Letters warning them of the violations were sent on July 23 and 24 respectively. On July 30, reports of continued violations were received and on August 1 the permits were revoked.

While not one of the special conditions of the permit, the subject of the keeping of records of hours worked by women is so important in this connection that it should be noted here. Section 77 of the Labor Law provides that in factories where children, minors or women are employed a printed notice showing the schedule of hours to be worked on each day of the week by each such employee shall be posted on the first day of the week. Provision is made, however, that in factories where owing to the nature of the work it is impossible to fix the hours of labor in advance for the entire week the Commissioner of Labor may grant a permit dispensing with the posting of such schedule on two conditions, first that the hours of labor be posted daily and second that a time book be kept recording the number of hours actually worked each day by each employee, such time book to be open at all times to inspection by the Department. It will be