New Factory Laws Target Child Labor
Seattle mills face new regulations on the employment of children as state authorities begin oversight.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Hitherto, owners of sawmills and factories in Seattle have been free to deal with their workpeople as they pleased. But on the first day of this year a new factory law came into operation for the regulation of the work of children. A complete staff of inspectors has been appointed to enforce the following stipulations of the new law: 1. Children under 10 years of age must not be allowed to work in factories. 2. Workers from the age of 10 to 15 years must not work more than eight hours a day. Night work for children can only be authorized in establishments where the process of manufacture cannot have a bad influence on the health. Even if allowed, the work must be of a light character. 3. The work of children must be regulated in such a way as not to prevent their attendance at school three hours every day.
“Hitherto, owners of sawmills and factories in Seattle have been free to deal with their workpeople as they pleased.”
This early attempt at labor regulation reflects the era's transition from unregulated industrial growth to modern labor protections. Seattle's history is deeply intertwined with the mill and timber economy, and these initial skirmishes over child labor and school attendance laid the groundwork for today's labor standards.
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