unfit parents, when such child is not in the custody of a person who is providing for its maintenance and education; also any child habitually begging or kept in vicious or immoral associations.

Term. The utmost term of apprenticeship is until the apprentice attains the age of 21 if a boy, and 18 if a girl. The term of a child bound out by the probate court is in the discretion of the court.

Duty of master.-The master is required to teach the apprentice a trade, and also reading, writing, and common arithmetic; to supply him with suitable clothing and maintenance, and to pay such amount, if any, as may be agreed upon in the contract.

Interference.-It is unlawful for any person to conceal, harbor, or facilitate the running away of an apprentice, or for a master, except in the case of mariners, to send or carry his apprentice out of the District. The contract of apprenticeship may, with the approbation of the court, be assigned by the master, or after his death by his personal representatives on such terms as the court may prescribe.

Source: Code of 1901, sections 173, 402 to 411.

FLORIDA.

Who may indenture.—A minor may be bound out by any court or by a guardian. If the minor is under 16 years of age the approval of the judge of the county court of the county of which his parent or guardian is a resident is necessary, and if said minor is of the age of 16 or over, his own assent, evidenced by his signature to the indentures, is required. Poor orphans, without estate sufficient for their maintenance out of the profits, shall be bound out by order of the judge of the county court. When a person having control of a child under 16 years of age is adjudged a vagrant, said child shall be bound out by the court rendering the judgment. When a person applies to be placed on the pauper list of a county, the board of county commissioners, in granting said application, may in their discretion require that the children of such applicant under the age of 16 be bound out. When a child under the age of 16 is abandoned by the father, who fails to provide it with support and maintenance, it may be bound out by the judge of the county court, but not without the assent of the mother, unless she is unable or neglects to provide for its support and maintenance.

Term.-Male apprentices may be bound until they arrive at the age of 21 and females at the age of 18 years.

Duty of master.-The master is required to teach the apprentice, in addition to his trade, the elements of reading, writing, and arithmetic. He must give the apprentice a new suit of clothes, shoes, and a blanket immediately upon the expiration of the term.

Interference. It is unlawful for any parent, guardian, or other person to entice, take, carry away, or harbor a child duly apprenticed to another, or to cause the same to be done.

Source: General Statutes of 1906, sections 2636 to 2640, 3231.

GEORGIA.

Who may indenture.-Minors may be bound out by their parents, and those whose parents are dead or residing out of the county and whose estates yield profits insufficient for support and maintenance, or those whose parents, from age, infirmity, or poverty, are unable to support them, shall be bound out by the judge of the county court or the ordinary. A person of full age may bind himself for a valuable consideration for a limited number of years, not exceeding five.

Term.-Minors may be bound out until they are 21 years of age, or for a stated period.

Duty of master. It is the duty of the master, in addition to teaching the apprentice a trade, to teach him to read English, to furnish him with protection, wholesome food, suitable clothing, necessary medicine and medical attendance, and to teach him habits of industry, honesty, and morality. The master is permitted to use any such degree of force to compel obedience as a father may use with a minor child. At the expiration of the term of service the master must give the apprentice a small allowance with which to begin life, the amount to be left to the master's generosity. If he offers less than $100, the apprentice

may decline it, and cite the master before the judge of the county court or the ordinary, who, after a hearing, fixes the sum to be paid.

Interference.-It is unlawful for two or more persons to associate themselves for the purpose of preventing apprenticeship or enticing apprentices to leave their employment. The master has a right of action against any other person who, after notice, employs his apprentice.

Sources: Code of 1895, Volume II, sections 2542, 2598 to 2609; Volume III, sections 119, 120.

ILLINOIS.

Who may indenture. Only a minor under the age of 16 years may be bound out as an apprentice. Such a minor may be bound out by the father with the consent of the mother, or, in case of her death, habitual drunkenness, prostitution, imprisonment in the penitentiary, incapacity, or willful desertion of the family for six months, without her consent; by the mother, in case of the death, habitual drunkenness, imprisonment in the penitentiary, or incapacity of the father, and by the guardian in case neither father nor mother is living and free from above objections. An illegitimate minor may be bound by his or her mother. A minor may also be bound out by the executor or executors who are directed by the father's last will and testament to bring the child up to some trade or calling. A minor who habitually begs for alms, who is or whose parents are chargeable to the county or town, or who is supported in whole or in part at the charge of the county or town, may be bound out by the county board or overseers of the poor, as the case may be, with the approval of the judge of the county or circuit court. A boy committed to a training school for boys, or a girl committed to a girls' industrial school or to the State Home for Juvenile Female Offenders, may be bound out by the officers of said institution. Term.-Apprentices may be bound out until they arrive at the age of 16 years. Duty of master.-An apprentice must be taught reading, writing, and the ground rules of arithmetic. Upon completing the apprenticeship the master must give the apprentice a new Bible, two complete suits of wearing apparel suitable to the condition in life of the apprentice, and $20 in money. The above must be given only in case the apprentice has served one year or more, and they must be secured to and for the sole use and benefit of the apprentice.

Interference.-It is unlawful for any person to counsel, persuade, or entice an apprentice to run away or absent himself from the service of his master, or for an apprentice to rebel against or assault his master.

Source: Revised Statutes of 1905, chapter 9; chapter 122, sections 330, 344.

INDIANA.

Who may indenture.—A minor may be bound out by the father; by the mother, if there is no father, or if he is incompetent; by the guardian, if there is neither father nor mother. If the minor is over 14 years of age his consent is necessary, and must be expressed in the indentures and attested by his signature. The overseers of the poor (township trustees), may, with the consent of the county judge, indorsed on indentures, bind out the child of any pauper supported in whole or in part by the county, and any child whose parents abandon or neglect or are unable to support it. They may also bind out a child having neither father, mother, nor guardian, and having no sufficient means of support or education; and any white child taken from any asylum in any other State and brought into the State of Indiana to be bound. Children so bound out by the overseers of the poor must be under 16 years of age. The superintendents of county asylums may bind out such poor children as from time to time fall under their care and charge. The board of children's guardians of a county may, by leave of the circuit court of the county, bind out children abandoned, neglected, or cruelly treated by their parents; children begging on the streets; children of habitually drunken or vicious or unfit parents; children kept in vicious or immoral associations; children known by their life and language to be vicious and incorrigible, and juvenile delinquents and truants. Any association for the purpose of establishing and maintaining an asylum and home for the care, support, discipline, and education of orphan children, may bind out any inmate who has neither father, mother, nor guardian, or one whose parents have granted to the corporation the authority to bind the child. A minor may be bound out by manual-labor schools organized and incorporated under the laws of the State. The superintendent of the female reformatory of

the State may bind out a girl committed there during her minority, but only with her consent. The superintendent of the Reform School for Boys may bind out a boy during minority, but only with his consent. A minor over the age of 14, having no father, mother, nor guardian, may bind himself, but the consent of the probate judge of the county, to be indorsed on the indenture, is necessary.

Term. Children may be bound for a term not extending beyond the age of 21 years if males and 18 if females, but the marriage of a female annuls her indenture.

Duty of master.-An indenture binding a white apprentice who has more than three years to serve must contain an agreement on the part of the master to cause the apprentice to be taught reading, writing, and the rules of arithmetic to the double rule of three, inclusive, if practicable. All valuable agreements on the part of the master must be for the benefit of the apprentice and may be sued on and recovered in his name. It is unlawful for a master to compel an apprentice to work more than ten hours per day, without additional compensation. Source: Annotated Statutes of 1901, sections 3186a, 3186e, 3188, 7299 to 7317, 8168, 8285, 8319.

IOWA.

Who may indenture.-A minor may be bound out, with a written consent appended to or indorsed on the indentures by the father; if the father is dead, has abandoned his family, or is for any cause incapacitated, then by the mother; if she is dead, or incapacitated, then by the guardian; or, if there be no guardian, then by the clerk of the circuit court. If the minor is more than 12 years of age, the indentures must be signed by him of his own free will. A pauper minor may be bound out by the clerk of the circuit court without obtaining his assent. Poor children under 16 years of age in a poorhouse or house of refuge may be bound out by the board of supervisors of the county until 18 years of age or such earlier time as may be fixed, or until married before that time. Children in the State Reform School may, with the written consent of their parents or guardians, if any, be bound out by the trustees thereof until the end of their term or an earlier time.

Term. The terms of apprenticeship, except as above indicated, may continue until the attainment of the age of majority, which is 21 years in the case of males, and 18 years in the case of females, or until marriage.

Duty of master.-It is the duty of the master to send the apprentice who is G years old or over, to school, if there is one in the district, at least four months in each year, and he must clothe him in a comfortable and becoming manner and provide him with suitable and sufficient food. Source: Code of 1897, sections 2704, 3229 to 3249.

KANSAS.

Who may indenture.—A minor may bind himself with the consent of the father, indorsed on the indentures, or, if the father is dead, has no legal capacity to give consent, has willfully abandoned his family for six months without making suitable provision for their support, or has become an habitual drunkard, then of the mother or guardian, and if there is no parent or guardian, then of the probate court. An orphan or minor who has no estate sufficient for his maintenance may be bound out by his guardian with the consent of the probate court. An executor who is directed by the last will of a father to bring up a child to some trade or calling, has the power, with the consent of the mother, if living, to bind the child out. A poor child who is or may be chargeable to the county or shall beg for alms, whose parents are poor and the father an habitual drunkard, or, if there is no father, whose mother is of a bad character, or suffers her children to grow up in habits of idleness without any visible means of obtaining an honest livelihood, may be bound out by the probate court. Overseers of the poor of townships and cities and superintendents of county asylums may bind out such poor children as fall under their care and charge. The trustees of the State Reform School may bind out any boy committed thereto with his consent. An inmate of the Industrial School for Girls may be bound out by the trustees of said school.

Term.-Male apprentices may be bound until they reach the age of 18 years and females 16 years. Inmates of the State Reform School and of the State

Industrial School for Girls may be bound out during their minority or for a shorter period.

Duty of master.-An apprentice must be taught reading, writing, and the ground rules of arithmetic, the compound rules, and the rule of three. At the expiration of his term of service, the master must give him or her a new Bible, two new suits of clothes of the value of $40, and $10 in currency.

Interference. It is unlawful to counsel, persuade, entice, or assist any apprentice to run away or absent himself from the service of his master, or to harbor or conceal such an apprentice, knowing him to be a runaway.

Source: General Statutes of 1901, sections 295 to 318, 6988, 7129, 7130, 7151.

KENTUCKY.

Who may indenture.—A poor orphan and any other child whose relatives or parents, in the judgment of the court, will not bring them up in moral courses, may be bound out by the county court. Any orphan minor may be bound out by his guardian, or, if he has no guardian, by his mother, with the consent of the county court. Children of a man sentenced to the penitentiary may be bound out by the courts in their discretion. The board of trustees of the State House of Reform for Boys and the State House of Reform for Girls may also bind out inmates of these institutions.

Term. The term of apprenticeship is until the apprentice attains the age of 21 years if a boy, and 18 years if a girl.

Duty of master. The master is required to furnish the apprentice proper medical attention, food, and clothing, and to treat him humanely. At the end of the term of service the master must pay the apprentice, if a boy, $100, and if a girl, $50, but if the master has taught the apprentice to read and write he is not bound to pay any money at the end of the term.

Interference. It is unlawful to entice an apprentice from his master or knowingly to conceal, harbor, or employ an apprentice who has left the service of his master. A runaway apprentice may, by order of the county court, be arrested and returned to his master or confined in jail for not more than twenty days. Source: Statutes of 1903, sections 2591 to 2606.

LOUISIANA.

Who may indenture.-A minor may bind himself as an apprentice. The consent of a parent, tutor, or curator is necessary, or if there be no such person in the parish where the minor resides, then the consent of the mayor of New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans, or of the parish judges of their respective parishes throughout the State.

Term. The term of apprenticeship expires at the age of 21 years in the case of males and of 18 years in the case of females, unless an earlier period is stipulated. Persons who have attained the age of majority may bind themselves to service for a term of five years.

Duty of master.-Apprentices under 21 years of age must be taught reading, writing, and the fundamental principles of arithmetic.

Source: Revised Laws of 1897, page 16, sections 70 to 84.

MAINE.

Who may indenture.-A minor may be bound out by the father, if the father is living; if not, by the mother or legal guardian. The consent of a minor, who is over 14 years of age, is necessary, and if a minor is bound out prior to that age the indenture will not continue in force beyond that age unless the minor upon reaching it shall give his consent. A minor, having no parent or guardian, may bind himself out with the approbation of the municipal officers of the town where he resides. Overseers of the poor of a town may bind out the minor children of parents chargeable to the town or of those who, in the opinion of the overseers, are unable to maintain them, and minor children who are themselves chargeable. The trustees of the State Reform School may bind out boys committed thereto, and the trustees of the Industrial School for Girls, girls committed thereto, for a period not exceeding the term of confinement.

Term.-Males may be bound until the age of 21 years, and females until 18 years or until married.

Duty of master.-All considerations allowed by the master or mistress in any contract of apprenticeship must be secured by the indenture to the sole use of the minor.

Source: Revised Statutes of 1903, chapter 27, sections 22 to 29; chapter 64, sections 1 to 7; chapter 143, sections 1, 10, 11, 23, 24.

MARYLAND.

Who may indenturc.-The orphans' courts in the several counties and the city of Baltimore, or any two justices of the peace, or in Somerset County a single justice of the peace, may bind out any orphan child, the increase or profits of whose estate is not sufficient for his maintenance, support, or education, children who are suffering through the indigence or poverty of their parents, children of beggars, illegitimate children, and children of persons out of the State to whom sufficient sustenance is not afforded. The trustees of the poor in any county may, in the recess of the orphans' court, bind out the child or children of any pauper or vagrant, but the indentures must within two months thereafter be approved by the orphans' court by indorsement thereon. A minor may be bound out by his father. The directors of the penitentiary and the managers of the house of correction, or any three of them, may bind out the children of female convicts who are brought to or born in said institutions. The House of the Good Shepherd of the city of Baltimore may, with the children's consent, bind out such white female children as are committed to the institution. The managers of the House of Reformation, the managers of the House of Refuge, and those of the Industrial Home for Colored Girls may, with similar consent, bind out the minors committed to these respective institutions. In Baltimore city the president and board of managers of the Children's Aid Society and the managers of the Home for the Friendless may apprentice male and female minors committed to their care. In Allegany County the trustees of the almshouse may bind out any minor child under their charge and dependent on the county for support.

Term.-Male apprentices may be bound until 21, and female apprentices until 18 years of age.

Duty of master.-The master or mistress is required to give the apprentice a reasonable education in reading, writing, and arithmetic, to teach the apprentice a useful trade, and to supply suitable clothing and maintenance.

Interference.—It is unlawful for any person to entice an apprentice from the service of a master or knowingly to harbor any apprentice so enticed.

Sources: Public General Laws, 1993, article 6, sections 1 to 30; article 27, section 454; Public Local Laws, 1888, article 1, sections 3, 4; article 20, sections 29 to 31; Acts of 1898, chapter 123, sections 891, 898.

MASSACHUSETTS.

Who may indenture.-A minor may be bound out by the father; if the father is dead or incompetent, by the mother or legal guardian, and if illegitimate, by the mother. If the minor is over 14 years of age and is bound out by his parent or guardian, his consent is necessary and must be expressed in the indentures and testified by the signature of the minor. A minor child who is, or either of whose parents is, chargeable to a town, may be bound out, by the overseers of the poor. A minor who has no parent competent to act and no guardian, may, with the approbation of the selectmen of the town where he resides, bind himself out.

Term. A child under 14 years of age may be bound as an apprentice until that age. A minor over that age or a child of any age bound by the overseers of the poor may be apprenticed to the age of 18 years if a female or to the time of her marriage within that age, and to the age of 21 years if a male. Duty of master.—A minor bound out by the overseers of the poor must be taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, and must be given such other instruction, benefit, or allowance, either within or at the end of the term, as the overseers, in the contract of apprenticeship, may require. All considerations of money or other things paid or allowed by the master upon a contract of apprenticeship must be paid or secured to the sole use of the minor. Source: Revised Laws of 1902, chapter 155, sections 1 to 20.