In March 1915 a speaker from the National Child Labor Movement was invited to speak at the Second Presbyterian Church. Owen Lovejoy spoke about the detrimental effects of child labor, illustrated with photographs. He also referenced the 1910 census figures, which recorded the number of children over the age of ten and under the age of 15 who were working in agricultural work and non-agricultural work.
One illustration he used was especially affecting. He showed a simple wreath of artificial forget me nots such as might decorate a hat. Each wreath had 300 flowers, the petals of each had to be affixed by the small hands of a child. Each wreath took 12 hours to create and the payment for that work was a single nickel. Of course that little child could not work 12 hours to make this wreath and also go to school, so not only was the child robbed of its childhood, but it was also robbed of an education.
The Palmer Owen Child Labor bill had just passed the House at that time and was moving toward the Senate. The focus of the Movement was to make the law uniform throughout the States, so that enforcement could be more efficient. The law would ban the interstate commerce in any prodcut produced by children under the age of 14 in factories, mills, canneries or workshops or the interstate commerce in any product which was produced by children under the age of 16 working in mines or quarries. The benefit of this law was very limited, but still the American public congratulted itself on its humanity and beneficence when it was passed by the Senate. Only 9 states had laws on the record that were equal to the Palmer Owen and Illinois was not one of those states. Some people postulate that the states were fearful of losing their competitive edge.
The Palmer Owen Act was challenged almost immediately in a case called Hammer v Dagenhart, which was eventually heard by the U S Supreme Court. Mr Dagenhart argued that the Act unconstitutionally interfered with his two sons' right to work in a cotton mill in South Carolina. Both sons were under the age of 16. The court found the act unconstitutional and a violation of states' rights.
Because of the work of labor activists, pay for men in the railroad, mining and other fields raised and other legislation was passed to limit the employment of children. The focus on child labor has now turned to other countries where the economic systems and production systems that prevailed in 1916 are still the reality.