President. children who work after school hours return from the fields tired and worn out to cramped. poorly lighted housing and often find themselves unable to study. Local school officials. moreover. have been discouraged from assigning homework because of afterschool harvesting. These conditions obviously impose severe limitations on the educational development of our rural youth. especially the migrant who is already burdened by environmental factors and who seldom obtains an education beyond the fourth grade. Under present law. there is great inducement for children to work even during school hours. Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz. testifying before the Migratory Labor Subcommittee in 1965. reported: The degree of difficulty in this situation is. even under the school regulations which we have. investigations which have been made by the Wage and Hour Divisions of the Department of Labor last year covering 2.562 farms disclosed that 7.972 minors under 16 illegally were employed during school hours. "Twenty per cent of that group. 1.578. were 9 years or younger. More than half. over 4.000. were 10 to 13 years of age. In a recent 10part radio series entitled "The Migrant March." which depicted the living and working conditions of migrant farmworkers. Malcolm Poindexter. news editor of Radio Station KYW. Philadelphia.
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