Mr. C. D. HINE:

Sir-I herewith present to you a report of my work, for the year 1887, as agent, of the State Board of Education, for the enforcement of the Child Labor Law.

I have visited during the year the following towns:

Several of these towns have been visited two or three times during the year. My work as appears above has been for the most part in Fairfield County and through the Naugatuck Valley.

Child labor is not an important factor in the industries generally engaged in in these localities, to wit: the manufacture of wood, metal, rubber goods and Yankee notions. While in several of the towns enumerated there are either cotton, woolen or silk mills, yet in none of these places is there a demand for young help that cannot be supplied readily by resident children over 13 years of age. Thompsonville, Hartford County, may be an exception to this rule.

This being the case my duty has been, not to prosecute offenders against the law, so much as to keep the fact before manufacturers that the State is enforcing the law; and, under the direction of the State Board of Education, to enforce the law in regard to the school attendance of children between the ages of 13 and 14.

With the exception of one or two cases arising from a misapprehension of the value of a parent's certificate, I have found no children under 13 years of age employed in any establishment, after the first visit of an Agent of the State Board of Education. I have found a certain carelessness in regard to keeping on file certificates of school attendance required for children employed when between 13 and 14 years of age.

An opinion was prevalent that a strict compliance with the new law, measured the employer's responsibility. To remove such impression and to insist upon a strict compliance with the school attendance law has been the principal part of the active work of my second and third visits to the manufacturing establishments. Within the range of my observation the Child Labor

Law has had a good effect. It has quickened the humane feelings of many manufacturers and caused them to think of the effects upon society at large and upon the individual child of the free and untrammeled employment of very young children, and thus has made them friendly to its provisions and enforcement. The desire is often expressed that in this State every child may have at least so much of education, health and strength as may enable him to develop whatever powers he may have, and not be ruthlessly bound down to a life of toil and ignorance, in circumstances entirely unfavorable to improvement. There is a fund of hope extant, that a child's birth shall not forecast its life, and that all shall be given a fair chance to acquire a rudimentary education. And it is undeniable that without a child labor law and a school attendance law, there would be hundreds of cases where parents would sacrifice the health and education of their children for a mere pittance of wages. Manufacturing establishments could be found where the ability to do some work cheaply would be the only test for a child applicant.

Hundreds of children are to-day at school who, but for the law, would be shut up in factories.

If the State seeks to promote the health and education of children it has not placed the age limit too high. The tendency should be to increase the limit of age and not to lower it. There should be no exceptions permitting child labor in vacation. To commence a life of toil at 13 is soon enough, too soon for health and education. Especially valuable is a clean cut, positive enactment like the present. It is plain and not open to misunderstandings. Exceptions are simply so many hindrances to enforceIf at the close of each vacation those manufacturers who desire to employ very young children, and to whom the privilege is valuable, were compelled to turn out the young help and supply their places with older children, there would be constant irritation. And the ill will that is now felt toward the law, if any, would be indefinitely continued and increased.

ment.

On the other hand a steadfast adherence to the law, as it stands to-day, will soon cause unquestioned obedience, and manufacturers, made dependent on children old enough to be properly employed, will adjust themselves to the new conditions.

Respectfully submitted,

H. J. CURTIS.

TEACHERS.

Summary of Statistics 1886-7.

Number of teachers in winter-male, 533; female,

2,559; total,

Decrease-male, 28; increase,-female, 82;
total increase,

Number of teachers in summer-male, 343; female,
2,730; total,

Decrease-male, 3; increase-female, 60; total

Number of teachers whose wages was $20 or less, per month-male, 12; female, 158; total,

Number of teachers whose wages was from $20 to $25 per month--male, 71; female, 358; total,

Number of teachers whose wages was from $25 to $30 per month-male, 114; female, 392; total,

Number of teachers whose wages was from $30 to $40 per month-male, 116; female, 774; total,

Number of teachers whose wages was from $40 to $50 per month-male, 38; female, 757; total,

Number of teachers who had attended Normal

3,092

54

3,073

57

2,654

172

378

41

$68.82

1.07

38.50

.53

170

429

506

890

795

School,

411

Number of teachers' meetings held during the year,
Number of State Certificates granted,

21

66

Below will be found a table giving summary for years since

1866:

1873

1866 655 1,448 113 1,959 1,074 1867 624 1,518 115 1,995 1,185 1868 617 1,560 139 2,023 1,218 1869 645 1,580 1870 679 1,639 1871 702 1,670 1872 699 1,721, 715 1,762 1874 711 1,810 1875 704 1,897 1876 721 1,910 1877 767 1,899 1878 753 1,923 1879 752 1,959 1880 773 1,968 1881 746 2,025 1882 680 2,120 1883 617 2,213 316 1884 566 2,301 307 1885 562 2,347 307

150

162

637 52.05 24.91 2,057 1,453 651 56.64 26.93 2,134 1,568 608 58.74 29.16

695,539 25

54.3

12

785,680 04

48.4

9

833.759 96

55.6

888,871 89

58.1

ΙΟ

959,229 40

392 349

272

185 2,141 1,407 607 63.10 31.29 186 2,194 1,434 595 66.56 32.69 198 2,240 1,508 580 67.01 34.09 246 2,246 1,574 618 69.03 36.05 258 2,303 1,690 539 71.48 36.67 1.021,714 07 2,324 1,768 557 70.05 37.35 1,057,242 19 67.1 321 2,317 1,780 539 67.43 37.16 1,085,290 05 70.9 305 2,354 1,904 478 64.55 36.20 1,058,682 28 60.1 349 2,329 1,947 470 61.03 36.50 1,041,040 43 68.1 2,344 2,063 484 57.19 35.27 1,015,882 91 73-7 2,354 2,119 411 56.43 35.42 1,011,729 94 71.8 2,432 2,144 454 60.69 35.37 1,025,322 66 69.4 10 2,503 2,183 470 63.44 35.94 1,056,268 25 68.0 2,532 2,325 460 67.36 36.52 1,094,580 61 2,596 2,347 485 69.17 37.21 1,130,863 35 1886 54€ 2,442 346 2,625 2,463 395 69.16 37.64 1,166,879 13 1887 561 2,477 346 2,670 2,482 419 69.89 37.97 1,188,056 04 1888 533 2,559 343 2,730 2,654 378 68.82 38.50 1,227,412 60

men.

377

15

153 23

25 15 20

253 47

166 42

69.4

21 25 296 66

From the above table it appears that in the winter of 1865 31 in every 100, and in summer, 5 in every 100 teachers were In 1887, in winter, 13, and in summer, 11 in every 100 were men. The number of teachers increased about one-third. In the same period, the number of female teachers employed in winter increased 1,111, while the number of male teachers decreased 122. The number of male teachers employed in summer is larger by 230, and the number of female teachers in summer by 771.

The number of male teachers in summer shows accurately the number of male teachers continuously employed. It is evident that so far as permanent situations are concerned, men are not giving place to women; while more and more districts that formerly alternated in winter and summer, employ women for the whole year. Moreover, women have entirely superseded men in primary and most grammar schools, leaving open to men only a small number of grammar schools, an insignificant number of high school positions and substantially all the positions requiring supervisory duties. In ungraded schools few men are employed, either in summer or winter.

The number continuously employed has more than doubled, and the number of beginners shows a steady decrease.

The wages of men show fluctuations from year to year, being affected by the addition or subtraction of two or three large salaries to the small aggregate.

The average wages of women has increased, but not very rapidly or largely. There are still about 900 female teachers whose salaries are $30 a month or less, and of these, 500 receive $25 or less. This sum is received for six to nine months service, in most cases for not more than eight months. In fine, 900 teachers receive less than $240 per year, and out of this all expenses must be paid. It will be profitable to those who accept poor teachers, and regard poor schools as a necessity, to consider the effect of such meagre salaries. There is no encouragement for preparation nor for continuance in the business. There is no chance for a decent living, nor any stimulus except that of duty to thoroughness or improvement.

Teachers' Meetings.-Teachers' meetings have been held at the following places:

In the past five years there have been held 85 teachers' meetings in 77 towns. The attendance of teachers at the 21 meetings of the past year was 1,343.