Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-05-22
THEATER MISERY IN VIENNA.

What a Parliamentary Commission
About Women Workers Has Learned.
From the New York SUM-
Austria has a parliamentary commission,
"hlch was appointed early last winter to
investigate the condition of women workers
IN the empire. This commission has turn
cd up vast amount Of hidden Vienna life,
10 the horror Of humane inhabitants of the
imperial city. 1t has learned for instance,
that young women in the feather industry
usually have to be content with S1.5O to 81
each week, although the most skillful ones
mount after years Of practice into a g
class; that the hours Of work are twelve 10
sixteen day, and that coffee with dark
bread Is the unvarying menu at all meals,
year IN and year out, Similar conditions
were found In twenty or more other indus
tries which are largely in the hands of
women. AS women in Austria's Industrial
NE are not expected to obtain much more
than bare living. these revelations have
not excited remarkable amount of com
ment but the Information given the com
missloners regarding women on the stage,
VINO heretofore have passed in Vienna for
Wen led and well clad persons has caused
writing.
Chorus girls, actresses and theater direc-
Tors were brought before the commission
1ney an SAD the rush to the stage had been
years. Vienna had more than forty schools
OF actiEg and operate singing, which were
crowded with girl students. The pressure
~ young actresses and singers was SO great
mat AZ thlrty the working actresses and
singers were regarded as too old for much
more use, and were relocated to obscure
parts. or put OF the stage. In the last two
years twenty or thirty such actresses n. n
become beggars. A few of them had died
on the country roads along which they had
peen begging for food.
me young girl graduate of Vienna
scnooi Oh acting, the witnesses told the COM
Hllssion, begins work at a frst-class theater
Tor 30 month, and In many cases must
provide her own costumes, chorus girl
II In the best luck, gets s24 a month: thai
tne maximum. Many chorus girls re-
ceVe Out - each a month. and those VINO
receive SIS each a month are Suppressed IN he
uoins Well IN the Court Opera the chorus
girl at the beginning of her career has q
salary OF $l2.5O month. Her salary is in
creased with each succeeding year of ser
vice until after fifteen years in the chorus
she gets the royal and imperial sum of SaJ
month In the Theater An der Wien fine
chorus girls pay is from IS to ss25O a
go; in the Josephstadt Theater from 20 IN
10 S221O; in the German Peoples Theat.r,
from 81 70 to 500 year. One young woman
VINO mad worked three years at the conserve
.oiy peiore going on the stage told the COM
mission she had been lucky enough to get
place In chorus at a salary of s. week.
Ahother young woman. who had studied
with musical professors of high reputa ton
ior SIX years, confessed that she had been
unable to do better than s. a month
Ohe director told of ten girls in his chorus
VINO received no salaries whatever and
must provide their own toilets The be ST
month N T"
Inc commissioners were anxious to find
OUT now all these young women of the
stage were kept from starvation. The an
swers TO questions on this point were va
rled- Some of the girls did fancy work at
nome; others plain sewing The vast ma
Jority, however, were obliged to look out
1or what the Fiennese call Cavaliers"