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

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.

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. It is unlawful to take or send an apprentice out of the State, or to sell his term of service or any part thereof, to any person, or to give another person the right to control such child. If the master dies the apprentice may be bound again to another by order of the county court.

Sources: Statutes of 1894, sections 2591 to 2610; Acts of 1896, chapter 33, sections 11, 18.

LOUISIANA.

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.

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.

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

The death of the master or his removal from the State dissolves the contract of apprenticeship.

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

MAINE.

A minor may be bound out by the father, if 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.

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

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.

The master may not transfer the apprentice to another person or remove him out of the State. The death of the master dissolves the contract of apprenticeship.

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.

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 sus

tenance 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.

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

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.

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, 1903, 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.

A minor may be bound out by the father; if he 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.

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.

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.

The death of the master discharges the apprenticeship.

Source: Revised Laws of 1902, chapter 155, sections 1 to 20.

MICHIGAN.

A minor may bind himself out with the consent of the father indorsed on the indentures, or, if the father is dead, not in legal capacity to give his consent, or shall have abandoned and neglected to provide for his family, then of the mother; or, if she is dead or not in legal capacity to give or refuse such consent, then of the guardian; or, if there is no guardian, then of any two justices of the peace of the township, of the recorder of the city, or of the circuit or probate judge of the county. The county superintendents of the poor may bind out a child who may be sent to any county poorhouse, who is, or who may become, chargeable in whole or in part, to the county, or whose parent or parents may become so chargeable. Minors may also be bound out by officers of State institutions acting under the provisions of law authorizing them to place children in families by indenture, etc.; by officers of incorporated asylums or institutions authorized by law to receive, care for, and dispose of minor children; by the father and mother residing in the State, and if either be dead, or of legal incapacity, or has abandoned the child, then by the other, and if the child be

illegitimate, then by its mother; and by the guardian duly appointed if there be no father or mother of legal capacity.

A male may be apprenticed until 21 years and a female until 18 years of age, or until her marriage within that age, or for a shorter time.

A pauper minor bound by the county superintendent of the poor must be given a suitable education. All considerations of money or other things paid or allowed by the master must be paid or secured to the sole use of the apprentice.

The death of the master discharges the apprentice.

Source: Compiled Laws of 1897, sections 2026, 2199, 2213, 2261, 2262, 5559 to 5562, 5568 to 5570, 8292, 8748 to 8775.

MINNESOTA.

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, he may be bound out by the mother. The consent of a minor who is over 14 years of age is necessary and must be expressed in the indentures and testified by his signing the same. If there is no parent competent to act and no guardian, a minor may bind himself, but must have the approbation of the county commissioners of the county where he resides. A minor chargeable upon a county for support may be bound out by the board of county commissioners of said county. The managers of the State Reform School may, with his consent, bind out a minor committed to their care.

Children under 14 years of age may be bound as apprentices until that age. Minors above the age of 14 years may be bound as apprentices, males to the age of 21 and females to the age of 18 years or to the time of their marriage within that age.

Provision must be made in the indenture for teaching the apprentice reading, writing, and the general rules of arithmetic. All considerations of money or other things paid or allowed by the master must be paid or secured to the sole use of the apprentice.

The death of the master discharges the apprentice.

Source: General Statutes of 1894, sections 1966, 3523, 4750 to 4762.

MISSISSIPPI.

The law provides only for the binding out of poor orphan children and children whose parents are unable to support them. They may be bound out by the supervisor of the proper district under the direction of the board of supervisors of the county.

Males may be bound out until 21 and females until 18 years of age.

The person to whom the apprentice is bound is required to provide the latter with sufficient good and wholesome food, necessary clothing, washing, and lodging; to treat him humanely, and to send him to school until he learns to read, write, and perform the ordinary calculation incident to the business of the master. At the expiration of the apprenticeship he is to furnish the apprentice with two suits of new clothing, including hats and shoes. Source: Annotated Code of 1892, sections 3159 to 3163.

MISSOURI.

An

A minor may be bound out by the father, or, in case of the father's death, incompetency, or willful abandonment of his family for six months without making suitable provision for their support, or if he has become an habitual drunkard, then by the mother or legal guardian. If illegitimate, a minor may be bound out by the mother. When a minor who is over 14 years of age is bound out by a parent or guardian the consent of said minor is necessary and must be expressed in the indentures and testified by his siguing the same. executor who is directed in the will of the father to bring up a child to some trade or calling may bind said child out in like manner as the father could have done. A poor child who is, or may be, chargeable to the county, or who shall beg for alms, or whose parents are poor and the father is an habitual drunkard, or whose father is dead and the mother is of 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. An orphan minor who has not estate sufficient for his maintenance may be bound out by his guardian under direction of the probate court.

Males may be bound as apprentices to the age of 21, and females to the age of 18 years, or until marriage within that age.

The master is required to cause the apprentice to be given a common school education, and at the expiration of the apprenticeship he is to give the apprentice a new Bible, two new suits of clothes worth $50, and $20 in money. Apprentices are to be defended by those who bound them, from cruelty, neglect, and breach of contract on the part of their masters.

It is unlawful for any person to counsel, persuade, entice, or assist an apprentice to run away or absent himself from the service of his master, or to entertain, harbor, or conceal an apprentice knowing him to be a runaway, or for an apprentice to rebel against or assault his master. It is unlawful for a master to remove an apprentice out of the State. The death of the master discharges the apprenticeship.

Source: Revised Statutes of 1899, sections 4794 to 4821.

ΜΟΝΤΑΝΑ.

Every minor may bind himself in writing to serve as an apprentice provided he obtains the consent, indorsed on the indenture, of the following person or persons: The father and mother; the mother, if the father lacks capacity to consent, has abandoned or neglected to provide for his family, or is dead and no testamentary guardian or executor has been appointed by him; the father, if the mother is dead or lacks capacity to consent; the testamentary guardian or executor, if the father is dead. If there is no parent of capacity to consent and no such executor or guardian, then consent must be given by the county commissioners of the county, by any two justices of the peace of the town, or by the district judge. The county commissioners may bind out minors who have become chargeable to the county.

Apprentices may be bound out until their majority, which is 21 years in the case of males and 18 years in the case of females.

The master must agree in the contract of apprenticeship that he will cause the apprentice to be instructed to read and write, to be taught the general rules of arithmetic, or in lieu thereof that he will send the apprentice to school three months each year of the period of indenture. The indenture may be annulled for cruelty or maltreatment of the apprentice by the master.

It is unlawful willfully and knowingly to aid, assist, or encourage an apprentice to run away or to harbor or conceal him.

Source: Codes and Statutes, Sanders's Edition, 1895, Civil Code, sections 360 to 369; Penal Code, section 1154.

NEVADA.

A male person under the age of 18 years and a female person under the age of 15 years may be bound out until they arrive at these ages respectively, or for a shorter period, by the father, or, in case of his death or inability, by the mother or guardian. An orphan or destitute child may be bound out by the board of county commissioners of the county or by the district judge of the district in which the child resides. The board of directors of the State Orphan Asylum may also indenture apprentices, and reserve the power to cancel the indenture at any time.

A male apprentice, being bound to serve five years or more, must be taught reading and writing, the rules and principles of common English grammar, and arithmetic to and including the single rule of three. A female apprentice, being bound to serve four years or more, must be taught reading and writing, and the first four rules of arithmetic. The master must furnish substantial food and decent wearing apparel to a male minor bound to serve five years or more, and an ample supply of decent clothing and wholesome food to a female minor bound to serve four years or more.

Upon completion of the term of apprenticeship the master must give two suits of clothing, each suit being of the value of not less than $25, and $100 in money to a male bound to serve five years or more; and two full suits of wearing apparel and $50 in money to a female bound to serve four years or more. All money and property stipulated to be delivered or paid by the master or mistress must be secured to and for the sole use and benefit of the minor.

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

Source: Compiled Laws of 1899, sections 620 to 635, 1492.

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

A minor may be bound out by the father, or, if he be dead, by the mother or guardian. If the minor is over 14 years of age his consent is necessary and must be expressed in the indentures and testified by his signing the same. If a minor has no parent or guardian he may bind himself out, with the approbation of the selectmen or overseers of the poor of the town where he resides. Overseers of the poor in any town may bind out all children who are not employed in some lawful business and whose parents are unable or neglect to maintain them. The county commissioners may bind out any minor chargeable or likely to be chargeable to the county. Trustees of the Reform School may bind out any scholar of said school.

Males may be bound until 21 years, and females until 18 years of age or until their marriage within that age. Children under 14 years may be bound out without their consent until that age. Inmates of the State Industrial School may be bound out for the term for which they were committed to the institution.

The master is required to teach his apprentice the art or trade for which he was bound. Pauper minors bound out by the overseers of the poor must be taught to read, write, and cipher, and must be given such other instruction as the overseers may deem reasonable.

It is unlawful to entice or persuade away an apprentice from the service of his master, or to secrete, convey, or send off an apprentice or in any way to cause him to leave such service. The master may recover damages against the parents or guardian of an apprentice for leaving his service without sufficient cause, or if an apprentice uses violence toward him. No indenture is binding after the death of the master, except that if the apprenticeship has nearly expired, the apprentice may choose to complete his term of service with the widow, executor, or administrator of his master, in which case he is entitled to all the benefits of the indenture.

Source: Public Statutes of 1891, chapter 84, sections 5, 6; chapter 180, sections 1 to 13; chapter 284, section 20.

NEW JERSEY.

A minor may bind himself out of his own free will and accord with the consent of the father or, if he is dead, of the mother or guardian. The consent of the mother is necessary also where the consent of the father or guardian is obtained. Said consent must be expressed in the indentures and testified by the party signing and sealing the same. The overseers of the poor or any two of them, with the approbation of two justices of the peace of any county or township, may bind out any poor child, children who have no parents, children whose parents shall apply to the overseers for relief, and the child or children of any poor parents who shall bring up their said children in sloth, idleness, and ignorance, and who, upon advice and direction given by the overseers, shall for three months after said advice and direction refuse or neglect to bind out their children. The trustees of the Reform School may bind out boys committed to said school. The trustees of the Industrial School for Girls may bind out girls therein. The president of a board of trustees of a poorhouse, with the consent of a majority of the board, or, where no trustees are appointed, the director of the board of chosen freeholders, with the consent of a majority of said board, may bind out poor children who are chargeable upon the county. An orphan asylum association may bind out any child under its care for more than one year, but if the parents pay anything toward its support their consent must first be obtained.

Males may be bound out until the age of 21 and females until the age of 18 years.

It is unlawful for any person knowingly to counsel, persuade, entice, aid, or assist an apprentice to run away, or absent himself from the service of his master, or to harbor or conceal an apprentice knowing him to have run away. Sources: General Statutes of 1895, page 65, sections 1 to 16; page 2505, sections 12, 29, 51, 70; page 2525, sections 107 to 110; page 2721, section 8; page 2728, sections 79, 81, 100; Acts of 1898, chapter 181, section 10.