USA > Ohio > Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume I > Part 33
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In 1887 Chief-Inspector Dorn invented a fire-escape which has been pronounced by all experts to be the simplest and most practicable invention of the kind extant. It consists of a rectangular enclosure of brick, built from the foundations to the roof, and within the exterior walls of the building. This enclosure or well contains the stairways, access to which is had from balconies constructed on the outside of the building at the level of each floor. The balconies communicate by a door with each floor of the main building and by another door with the enclosure containing the stairways. By means of this arrangement the occupants of each floor can immediately pass out of the building on the same floor, and along the balcony to the stairway which, being entirely cut off from the interior of the entire building, would be perfectly free from flame or smoke, even if the whole building should be on fire.
This escape evidently obviates a serious objection to all others, viz., the fear people have of descending them, especially from very high buildings. This invention, the result of Mr. Dorn's ingenuity, has not been patented, owing to the humane desire of its inventor to make its adoption as universal and free from expense as possible."
On the subject of " child labor " Mr. Dorn says :
"The subject of child labor has engaged the earnest attention of publicists and philanthropists for generations, and in the general progress of ameliorating influ- ences and agencies this matter has received a share of consideration. That it has not obtained that full measure of regard which its great importance merits will not be seriously questioned by any one whose experience or observation give him authority to speak.
Legislation has bravely sought to baffle the cupidity and selfishness of those who would profit by the labor of children, but its success has been only partial and irregular, and throughout this enlightened nation thousands of children of tender years are now laboring ten and twelve hours a day in shops and factories, the great majority of whom should be acquainted with no severer tasks than those of the school and the home.
Ohio, I regret to say, has her full share of guilt in this matter, the statute relating to the employment of children under sixteen years of age being freely and persistently violated, for the obvious reason that no adequate means are provided for its enforcement.
In visiting the different shops and factories in the regular course of my duties I made it a part of my inquiries to ascertain the extent to which children were employed, and in many places I found children of nine or ten years of age per- forming labor that should give employment to adults, or at least to minors who have passed the period of childhood, and might properly be expected to earn their own livelihood. In the cigar-factories of Cincinnati I found a great num- ber of children employed, the demand for this class of workers being at that time
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probably exceptionally large, owing to the strike of the cigar-makers. I also found many young children in chair-factories in different parts of the State, where they worked at polishing and painting chair-frames and making cane-seats. They were also found in printing-offices, nickel-plating works, paper-box-fac- tories, match-factories, etc.
While it is true that much of the work required of children thus employed is not of a severely exacting nature, yet it must be maintained that the practice of subjecting young children to a daily round of labor for which they receive a mere pittance in the form of wages is a wrong alike to the children and to the State, and wholly antagonistic to the enlightened and liberal sentiment of this age.
The tens of thousands of children throughout the country who are in this way deprived of the opportunity to obtain as much of an education as would enable them, when grown to adult age, to understand the obligations of citizenship, is a dark blot upon our character as a people, for which our advanced civilization and wonderful material progress do not atone. It is true that ample provision is made for securing to every child in the State at least an elementary education, but the State is still derelict if it fails to compel those in whose behalf such pro- vision is made to take full advantage of it. Now it is sufficient to declare, in the form of a statute, that this must be done. Laws do not enforce themselves. There must be an active, energetic, and vigilant executive force behind them, fully armed with the power to put them into effect.
There is hardly any limit to what may be said upon this subject, but the object in referring to it here is simply to bring it to the thought and attention of the legislative power, and not to give to it elaborate discussion. Such discussion, indeed, it cannot need with intelligent men, who intuitively understand that the intellectual and moral training of the youth of the commonwealth is of far greater importance to its future welfare than can be any consideration relating to its merely material affairs. But the policy of controlling and restricting child labor finds approval as well upon economic as upon moral grounds. There is no gain to the general welfare from this class of ill-remunerated toil. Its products are not materially, if at all, cheapened to the consumer. The profit is reaped by the employers, and it is the heartless cupidity of this class, incidentally aided by the improvidence of parents, that is responsible for the extensive prevalence of child labor. To successfully combat this sordid instinct there is required something more aggressive than a simple statutory declaration of hostility. As previously observed, there must be a zealous and vigilant executive force, amply supported behind the declaration."
During the first six months after the enactment of the law for the inspection of workshops and factories Mr. Dorn visited 487 establishments, with a working capacity of 45,511 males and 4,808 females. Letters from many of the leading manufacturers and business men of the State were received, congratulating him on the success of his efforts, and expressing their approbation of his recommenda- tions, and asking for a vigorous prosecution of the good work and the rigid enforcement of the law.
The work performed by Mr. Dorn was remarkable in its extent and efficiency, , and it was only by his perfect system of conducting the affairs of his office that so much was accomplished. The appropriation was so small in consideration of the work necessary for the enforcement of the law as to almost defeat its own object, and in closing his first report Mr. Dorn called the attention of the Legislature to the necessity of an increased appropriation, as follows :
"To carry on the office so as to do justice to all interests there should be at least three deputy-inspectors appointed. One inspector cannot do the work as thoroughly and satisfactorily as it should be done.
An appropriation should also be made by the General Assembly to create a contingent fund outside of the travelling expenses.
So far the Inspector has had to use a portion of his own salary for defraying necessary expenses, such as postage, telegrams, express charges, and many other items too numerous to mention.
The Inspector would also recommend the striking out of the word " ten " in section 2873a, where it says, "whose duty it shall be to visit all factories and
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shops where ten or more persons are employed," and insert the word "five." I have found many shops where fewer than ten persons were employed which needed many changes, but the Inspector had no power to require them to be made.
The allowance of $600 a year for travelling expenses is insufficient. The In- spector has, while exercising the greatest economy in expenditures, used from April 16 to November 15 $469.23, leaving but $130.77 of the allowance in hand, a sum hardly sufficient to pay travelling expenses to the close of the year ending December 31, 1884.
The Inspector also deems this the proper place in which to state that, owing to no appropriation. having been made for office purposes, he has been compelled to establish an office in his own home, where the business has been necessarily carried on at some disadvantage. The Inspector should have an office located with refer- ence to the class of persons with whom he has official relations, so that he can be at all times easily accessible."
In pursuance of the recommendations in Inspector Dorn's first report an amendment to the act creating the office was passed April 25, 1885. The amend- ment made provision for the inspection of all workshops and factories, the act of 1884 providing only for the inspection of those employing ten or more persons. It also gave the chief-inspector power to appoint three assistant inspectors, each at a salary of $1,000 per year and $500 for travelling expenses; continuing the salary of the chief-inspector at $1,500 annually, with $600 additional as a con- tingent fund for office and other incidental expenses. Provision was also made for a room in the State-house for the transaction of the business of the office. With these increased facilities the work of inspection was very much extended and the efficiency of the office greatly increased.
In 1886 the efficiency of the office was still further increased by a small appropriation for clerical hire; previous to this all the clerical work of the office had been performed by the chief-inspector.
During the year 1877 the number of shops and factories visited was 3,581, being an increase of 474 over the previous year.
Again, from a later report, we quote Mr. Dorn's language:
" When the great number of establishments in the State engaged in the various branches of industry-over 20,000 in 1880, according to the federal census of that year-using every conceivable kind of machinery, employing hundreds of thousands of people, of all ages and conditions, from the delicate child of eight or nine years to the gray-haired man and woman, some little idea may be formed of the interests involved and the importance to the State of a complete and satis- factory inspection of these numerous generators of disease and death as well as of wealth. The magnitude of the duties devolving upon the chief-inspector and his assistants can readily be seen, and to enable them to accomplish the purposes for which they were appointed they require, and should receive, the hearty sup- port of every intelligent citizen of the State.
The importance, if not the necessity, of a thorough inspection of all places where people are employed at labor, no matter what the character of the work, must be apparent to every person who has given the subject the least considera- tion. On the thoroughness of such inspection depends, in a great measure, the safety of tens of thousands of our population, men, women, and children. And who will claim that there is anything more deserving the careful attention of the General Assembly than the lives and health of the people on whom the State depends for its wealth and prosperity ? This subject transcends in importance all other matters coming before the Legislature, with the possible exception of that of education.
Not only Ohio, but most of the other States, as well as the general government have provided, by the creation of commissions and the expenditure of large sums of money for the protection of domestic animals from contagious and other dis- eases, and from brutal treatment by their owners and others having them in charge. No one objects to this; but, on the contrary, it is continually urged that the State does not do as much in this behalf as it should. Figures of por- tentous magnitude are given, showing the immense value of our live-stock, and, therefore, the obligation of the State to make every effort to protect this interest.
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This protection is asked mainly in the interest of owners, a purely dollar-and- cent view of the question. The urgency for legislative action in any particular case seems to be proportioned to the monetary value of the interest involved. And no one questions the propriety of such legislation. The fruits of their toil should be secured to the toilers as far as they can be by the State without inter- fering with individual freedom of action, or attempting to lessen individual re- sponsibility. In some cases, as in the one under consideration, individual, isolated action is of no avail to stay the ravages of disease, especially if of a contagious character, and the State is called upon to interpose its power, not for the especial benefit of a single individual or of a class, but in the interest of all. It was for such purposes the State government was established, that society itself was organized.
If legislation for such a purpose is entitled to the indorsement of our people, who will question the propriety of all legislation necessary to protect human beings-to protect the lives, the limbs, the health of those who wield the indus- trial power of the State, and from whose ranks, in a few years, will come those who will administer the political affairs of the State, and, to a great extent, give tone to our moral and social fabric? Intelligence and moral worth are not developed and propagated in poorly ventilated workshops, nor are the better instincts of man assisted by maimed and mutilated limbs.
Owing to circumstances which it would be out of place to discuss here, many children of tender years, instead of attending school and acquiring the knowledge necessary to fit them for future usefulness, are forced into workshops and fac- tories to assist their parents in supporting the family. They are incapable of forming correct opinions as to the sanitary conditions of the places in which they are employed, of the safety of the buildings, or of the dangerous character of the machinery by which they are surrounded. If a bullock or a horse is considered worthy of the protecting care of the law-making power of the State, certainly the tender child, endowed with reason, immature and undeveloped as yet, can lay claim to a part of the attention of those whom the people have entrusted with the management of the government. These children will, in a few years, constitute a large portion of the political power of the State, and their future characters and worth to society depend largely upon their happiness or unhappiness, upon their sound bodies and sound minds, their healthy or diseased constitutions, in their youth. The more they are poisoned by the impure atmosphere that too often fills workshops from cellar to garret, or are mangled by insecure machinery, the less likely they will be to possess either the ability or the inclination to perform the more important duties devolving upon them as men and women in such manner as will secure their own welfare as well as that of their fellow-beings. These undeniable truths should be well pondered by every one who has the welfare of his fellow-creatures at heart. To make the superstructure durable the foundation must be sound and free from defects of any kind."
ORDINANCE OF 1787. [THE CONFEDERATE CONGRESS, JULY 13, 1787.]
An Ordinance for the government of the territory of the United States northwest of the river Ohio.
SECTION 1. Be it ordained by the United States in Congress assembled, That the said territory, for the purpose of temporary government, be one district, subject, however, to be divided into two districts, as future circumstances may, in the opinion of Congress, make it expedient.
SEC. 2. Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the estates both of resident and non-resident proprietors in the said territory, dying intestate, shall descend to, and be distributed among, their children and the descendants of a deceased child in equal parts, the descendants of a deceased child or grandchild to take the share of their deceased parent in equal parts among them ; and where there shall be no children or descendants, then in equal parts to the next of kin in equal degree; and among collaterals, the children of a deceased brother or sister of the intestate shall have, in equal parts among them, their deceased parent's share ; and there shall, in no case, be a distinction between kindred of the whole and half blood ; saving in all cases to the widow of the intestate, her third part of the real estate for life, and one-third part of the personal estate; and this law relative to descents and dower, shall remain in full force until altered by the legislature of the district. And until the governor and judges shall adopt laws as hereinafter mentioned, estates in the said territory may be devised or bequeathed by wills in writing, signed and sealed by him or her in whom the estate may be, (being of full age), and attested by three witnesses ; and real estates may be conveyed by lease and release, or bargain and sale, signed, sealed, and delivered by the person, being of full age, in whom the estate may be, and attested by two witnesses, provided such wills be duly proved, and such conveyances be acknowledged, or the execution thereof duly proved, and be re- corded within one year after proper magistrates, courts, and registers, shall be appointed for that purpose; and personal property may be transferred by de- livery, saving, however to the French and Canadian inhabitants, and other settlers of the Kaskaskies, Saint Vincents, and the neighboring villages, who have heretofore professed themselves citizens of Virginia, their laws and customs now in force among them, relative to the descent and conveyance of property.
SEC. 3. Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That there shall be appointed, from time to time, by Congress, a governor, whose commission shall continue in force for the term of three years, unless sooner revoked by Congress; he shall reside in the district, and have a freehold estate therein, in one thousand acres of land, while in the exercise of his office.
SEC. 4. There shall be appointed from time to time, by Congress, a secre- tary, whose commission shall continue in force for four years, unless sooner revoked ; he shall reside in the district, and have a freehold estate therein, in five hundred acres of land, while in the exercise of his office. It shall be his duty to keep and preserve the acts and laws passed by the legislature, and the public records of the district, and the proceedings of the governor in his executive de- partment, and transmit authentic copies of such acts and proceedings every six months to the Secretary of Congress. There shall also be appointed a court, to consist of three judges, any two of whom to form a court, who shall have a
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common-law jurisdiction, and reside in the district, and have each therein a free- hold estate, in five hundred acres of land, while in the exercise of their offices ; and their commissions shall continue in force during good behavior.
SEC. 5. The governor and judges, or a majority of them, shall adopt and publish in the district such laws of the original States, criminal and civil, as may be necessary, and best suited to the circumstances of the district, and report them to Congress from time to time, which laws shall be in force in the district until the organization of the general assembly therein, unless disapproved of by Congress ; but afterwards the legislature shall have authority to alter them as they shall think fit.
SEC. 6. The governor, for the time being, shall be commander-in-chief of the militia, appoint and commission all officers in the same below the rank of general officers ; all general officers shall be appointed and commissioned by Congress.
SEC. 7. Previous to the organization of the general assembly the governor hall appoint such magistrates, and other civil officers, in each county or town- hip, as he shall find necessary for the preservation of the peace and good order n the same. After the general assembly shall be organized the powers and duties of magistrates and other civil officers shall be regulated and defined by the said assembly ; but all magistrates and other civil officers, not herein other- wise directed, shall, during the continuance of this temporary government, be appointed by the governor.
SEC. 8. For the prevention of crimes and injuries, the laws to be adopted or made shall have force in all parts of the district, and for the execution of pro- cess, criminal and civil, the governor shall make proper divisions thereof; and he shall proceed, from time to time, as circumstances may require, to lay out the parts of the district in which the Indian titles shall have been extinguished, into counties and townships, subject, however, to such alterations as may thereafter be made by the legislature.
SEC. 9. So soon as there shall be five thousand free male inhabitants, of full age, in the district, upon giving proof thereof to the governor, they shall re- ceive authority, with time and place, to elect representatives from their counties or townships, to represent them in the general assembly: Provided, That for every five hundred free male inhabitants there shall be one representative, and so on, progressively, with the number of free male inhabitants, shall the right of representation increase, until the number of representatives shall amount to twenty-five; after which the number and proportion of representatives shall be regulated by the legislature: Provided, That no person be eligible or qualified to act as a representative, unless he shall have been a citizen of one of the United States three years, and be a resident in the district, or unless he shall have re- sided in the district three years; and, in either case, shall likewise hold in his own right, in fee-simple, two hundred acres of land within the same: Provided also, That a freehold in fifty acres of land in the district, having been a citizen of one of the States, and being resident in the district, or the like freehold and two years' residence in the district, shall be necessary to qualify a man as an elector of a representative.
SEC. 10. The representatives thus elected shall serve for the term of two years ; and in case of the death of a representative, or removal from office, the governor shall issue a writ to the county or township, for which he was a member, to elect another in his stead, to serve for the residue of the term.
SEC. 11. The general assembly, or legislature, shall consist of the governor, legislative council, and a house of representatives. The legislative council shall consist of five members, to continue in office five years, unless sooner removed by Congress; any three of whom to be a quorum; and the members of the council shall be nominated and appointed in the following manner, to wit: As soon as representatives shall be elected the governor shall appoint a time and place for them to meet together, and when met they shall nominate ten persons, resident in the district, and each possessed of a freehold in five hundred acres of land, and return their names to Congress, five of whom Congress shall appoint and commission to serve as aforesaid ; and whenever a vacancy shall happen in the council, by death or removal from office, the house of representatives shall nominate two persons, qualified as aforesaid, for each vacancy, and return their
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names to Congress, one of whom Congress shall appoint and commission for the residue of the term ; and every five years, four months at least before the expira- tion of the time of service of the members of the council, the said house shall nominate ten persons, qualified as aforesaid, and return their names to Congress, five of whom Congress shall appoint and commission to serve as members of the council five years, unless sooner removed. And the governor, legislative council, and house of representatives shall have authority to make laws in all cases for the good government of the district, not repugnant to the principles and articles in this ordinance established and declared. And all bills, having passed by a majority in the house, and by a majority in the council, shall be referred to the governor for his assent; but no bill, or legislative act whatever, shall be of any force without his assent. The governor shall have power to convene, prorogue, and dissolve the general assembly when, in his opinion, it shall be expedient.
SEC. 12. The governor, judges, legislative council, secretary, and such other officers as Congress shall appoint in the district, shall take an oath or affirmation of fidelity, and of office; the governor before the President of Congress, and all other officers before the governor. As soon as a legislature shall be formed in the district, the council and house assembled, in one room, shall have authority, by joint ballot, to elect a delegate to Congress, who shall have a seat in Congress, with a right of debating, but not of voting, during this temporary government.
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