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The law of May 19, 1874, regulating the labor of children and female minors, is classically presented as an “intermediate” law in the history of law. A traditional contempt is attached to this qualifier, leading one to think that this law hardly counted and that while it was replaced by that of November 2, 1892, this was merely proof that it had been almost entirely ineffective. Yet, the analysis of the archives of a district makes one believe the opposite. The study of the implementation of the law, within the framework of the third district of inspection, reveals on the contrary that this standard was determining in the evolution of mentalities. Much more than through the work of legislators, the condition of children in industrial environments was improved by the central role of inspectors, created by the law of 1874. Certainly, the law presented gaps, its scope quickly showed itself to be too limited, but this law represented a crucial facet for the evolution of the working conditions of children in factories. This work also allows us to measure the importance of recourse to archival sources, which provide a complete picture of the process of implementing laws, an essential complement to legislative texts.