effect at that time. Of the 10,689 children from 14 to 15 years of age, inclusive, engaged in gainful occupations in Connecticut in 1910, about 1,500 were newsboys or servants or were engaged in agricultural pursuits, leaving only about 9,000 in occupations for which certificates are now required.

If these census figures are even roughly comparable with the figures relating to employment certificates in force, it appears that in 1914 somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 more children were at work in Connecticut than in 1910. It should be noted, however, that the statistics of the certificated children in 1914 include some children who work only on Saturdays and before or after school hours.

METHOD OF SECURING CERTIFICATES.

Four different kinds of employment certificates are issued in Connecticut: (1) Original regular certificates, (2) subsequent regular certificates, (3) original summer-vacation certificates, and (4) subsequent summer-vacation certificates. A subsequent certificate is merely a copy of an original certificate made out to a new employer. Vacation certificates are good for employment only during the long summer vacations. For work before or after school hours or on Saturdays during the months when the schools are in session, regular employment certificates must be secured exactly as if the children were employed all day and did not attend school. To children over 16 "Statements of age," as they are called, certifying to the fact that such children are past the age when certificates are required are also issued, on request, by the State board of education.

When the present law went into effect, in September, 1911, printed instructions for obtaining employment certificates were issued; but when the edition of these instructions was exhausted it was not considered necessary to reprint them, and for some time none were used. Recently new instructions1 have been printed and distributed.

In Hartford the office in the State capitol building is open every day from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. In Bridgeport and in New Haven the offices are in buildings near the business centers, the hours being from 8 a. m. to 12 m. in Bridgeport and from 2 to 4 p. m. in New Haven. In the smaller places the office is usually in a school or a public room, as, for example, the town clerk's office, and the hours are on certain fixed days and may be either inclusive, as from 9 to 11 a. m., or at a set time, as 2 p. m. As the agents are employed throughout the year and are not entitled to even a day's vacation without loss of pay, the hours are the same throughout the year and there is no difficulty in securing certificates when the schools are closed.

1 Form 27, p. 69.

ORIGINAL REGULAR CERTIFICATES.

In order to obtain an original regular certificate, a child must (1) appear in person, (2) be accompanied by one of his parents or his guardian, (3) bring an "Employment ticket" or other form of promise of employment signed by an employer, (4) present evidence to show the date of his birth, (5) appear to be physically fit for work, and (6) prove either by a school record or by an examination that he meets the educational requirements of the law.

Of these requisites, those directly required by law are the evidence of age and the educational and physical requirements. That the child shall apply in person is indirectly made essential, however, by the provision that he shall not "appear to be physically unfit for employment," as well as by the provision that the issuing officer shall certify to his education. As for the presence of the parent, the law requires that one copy of the certificate shall be "delivered to the parent or guardian," and in order that it may be so delivered the State board of education holds that the parent or guardian must be present. The word guardian is interpreted to mean legal guardian, a ruling which is said to have been effective in preventing boardinghouse keepers and other alleged friends or relatives from exploiting children for their wages. If a child under 16 has no parent or legal guardian in this country, he can not get a certificate to work. The requirement that one copy must be "delivered to the employer” is held to imply that the issuing officer must know the name of the employer, and therefore that the child must bring a promise of employment. This ruling resulted from experience of a few cases in which employers returned certificates sent them, stating that they never employed or wished to employ the children named.

1

In the Hartford office the parents and children are interviewed only by the clerk and in the other offices only by the agent or his clerk. When the child first comes in, whether or not he has with him the requisites for obtaining a certificate, his name and address and all other facts not dependent upon later proceedings are entered on what is called an "Information card." Whether the application for a certificate is granted or refused, the results of the entire proceeding, including the disposition of the case, must ultimately be recorded on this card, which is a permanent office record. No child who applies, therefore, goes away without leaving in the office his name and address, the name of his father and mother, a physical description of himself, and usually other valuable information, such as the name of the school he has been attending and his teacher's name, which can be used by school-attendance officers in following him up to see that he goes to school if he is not granted a certificate to work. This

1 Form 1, p. 56.

information card serves as a device to assist in the enforcement of the compulsory education law.

If a child appears to be physically unfit for work he may be sent to a physician for examination as soon as the information card is made out or at any later stage of the proceedings. In such case he is given a note to the physician and nothing further is done unless he returns with a signed statement that he is in good physical condition. In case he brings an unfavorable report or fails to return, his application is counted as rejected on account of physical condition. If not sent to a doctor or hospital for treatment he is obliged to return to school. During the year 1913-14 there were 30 such rejections.

1

A child who has not brought a transcript from a school register showing sufficient schooling to exempt him from further examination on that score is given an educational test. The amount of schooling required and the character of the educational test will be described later in considering the educational requirements for obtaining certificates. If the child fails to pass the educational test the word "Refused," with the reason for refusal, is written in red ink on the face of his information card, which is filed for future reference. He is then followed up, by a process which will be described later, to see that he returns to school. Failure to pass the educational test is the most common of all causes for the refusal of certificates. As has been seen, the applications of nearly 2,000 children were rejected for this cause alone during the year which ended August 1, 1914.

If, on the other hand, the child fulfills the educational requirements but has failed to bring one of his parents or his guardian, an employment ticket, or evidence of his age, he is sent away with the blank forms which he must have filled out and with exact instructions as to what he must bring before he can get his certificate. A child is not usually sent away for additional papers or for his parent or guardian until he has passed his educational test. The only exception to this rule is in the case of a child who claims to have completed a grade which would exempt him from the test. Such a child, instead of being examined at his first appearance, may be sent away with instructions and with a blank form for the transcript of his school record, together with any other forms which he may need. A child who, after having received such instructions, fails to appear again, like the child who fails to pass the educational test, is followed up to see that he returns to school. An application that is not completed by the child's bringing the parent and producing all necessary documents automatically becomes a refused case at the end of the succeeding month.

The parent or guardian, whether he appears at the first visit o later, is questioned as to his willingness to have the child go to work,