COOLIDGE 'RECEPTIVE & IN SYMPATHY' WITH EFFORTS TO RESTRICT CHILD LABOR
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On September 20, 1923, American Federation of Labor president Samuel Gompers discussed "the need for legislation to restrict child labor in the United States" with President Calvin Coolidge at the White House.
According to The Evening Star, Mr. Gompers said the President was "entirely receptive" and "in sympathy" with efforts to restrict child labor.
The AFL chief will leave Washington, D.C. tomorrow to attend the annual AFL Convention in Portland, Oregon.
JFK+50 NOTE
Since the US Supreme Court declared the last child labor law unconstitutional employment of children in the country had increased 36%.
According to Monthly Labor Review, in the post Civil War period children as young as 10 worked in factories, cotton mills, mines, retail stores, and on farms. Reformers MLR argues faced a "long, uphill battle" in securing child labor reform.
SOURCES
"Coolidge Favors Child Labor Curb," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., September 20, 1923, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
"History of child labor in U.S.--Part 1: little children working," January 2017, Monthly Labor Review, www.bis.gov/
