The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1901-05-01
THE CONSUMERS LEAGUE
BY MRS. MARY CALVERT, spAnrANpuRG

GreenviIle last week
Ten years ago the Womcn's Workin,
Society of New York inaugurated a move
ment in the interest of the women anc
children employed in Zee ret ill stores o
that city. Thcir investigation provcC
that the working hours were excessive
that overtime was not paid for, fine:
were eXorbitant, wages were low anC
children under fourteen were employed
contrary to law, and all sanitary anC
physical conditions were unno,lced
Such surprising conditions were founC
to exist that public appeal was made
which resulted in The Consumers
League OF New York city. Some tim,
afterward, State League was organized
and so confident and persistent have tn,
workers IN the movement been that no
there are Leagues in twelve States, all
united under " The National Consumers
League"
Inc word consumer here, for want
Oh more specific term, is used as symO.
nomous with the wCrd "buycr." A con
sumcrs' league, or u league of buyers, is
an association of persons who purpose
to do their buying in such ways AS will
better the conditions Of those who max e
and those who distribute the things
bought. In the ten minutes limit al
lowed, l can merely out inc, first, the
teachings and principles of the League.
and sec ndly, its practical aims as an
pied to individual needs.
Ine genera! principles as stated in the
constitution are:
| l. Ihat the interest Of the community
demands that all workers should receive
fair living wages.
III. That the responsibility for some of
the worst evils flom which wage earncrs
| sul1cr rests with the consumers who pcr
sist in buying in the cheapest market
Icgardlcss OF how that chcapncss is
brought about
III. That il is therefore the duty of
consumers to find out under what con
ditlons the articles which they buy are
produced, and to insist that these con
ultlons shall be decent and consistent
with respectable existence Ii the part
Of the workers
The immediate aim of the League i,
hrst to extend among all classes Of mer
cantlle houses the commendable condi
tlons now existing in the best and
second, to abolish the sweating system :
this last being the special task of tho
National League. The League practi,
cally app les these principles by the use
OF the standard Of Il Fair House and
White List by the use Of Consumers
League label, and by promoting more
humane labor laws The advisory board
ana varlCis committees work conunu
ously with the factory inspectors, and
by patient insstcncc succeed in some
measure in having the laoor laws en-
forced.
heir standard of Fair House re
gulatcs the wages, working hours, tines,
M al
tions Of all employees The White List
is published list of all retail houses
which conform most closely to the stan
dard of a Fair House
The Consumers League label is their
trade mark, as 1t were, and is used to
enable the purchaser to distinguish gar
ments made in factories approved by the
League, from those made under other
conditions
The National League, leaving the
local organizations to adopt such lines
OF special work as seem most needed i n
its locality, has confined itself to an in
vcstigation of the conditions of the
manufacture Of white muslin underwear,
to the promotion of the use Of the label,
and most largely to the education Of |
purchasers by means Of lectures, litcra
turc and organization. Twenty-Five
factories have adopted tho use of the
label, and n glance at their names is
convincing proof that the very best goods |
are made by them.
The work OF creating a steady demand
for labeled goods dcvolvcs upon the
State leagues and upon the effort Of in
dividual members. This work is being
most thoroughly accomplished in New
England, Massachusetts and Rhode
Island being far in advance of other
States In Pennsylvania, the State
League is making constant effort TO in
ducc merchants to use label bearing
goods, and is doing much education a
work among the shoppers.
In illinois the State League has direct
cd its best effort TO the discussion Of the
power and duty Of the purchaser. 1t has
vigorously supported the effort of the
custom tailors to secure from their en-
ploycrs, the merchant tailors. the con.
cession of comfortable workrooms, thus
aiding most effectively in this revolt
against tenement house manufacture
In Kentucky, the League is attempting,
in addition to the usual work Of the or
ganization, TO quietly find a Just solution
OF that problem which IS just now con-
fronting so many of our Southern States,
ihc child labor question
Such in brief is an outline Of the Con.
sumcrs' League. as it exists today, an
outline OF us Work, It's aims and rcspOn-
sibilltics.
The League has now shown us that
there is urgent need OF reform and help
and sympathy for these white slaves"
as the Governor Of Canada calls these
toilcrs, and the question arises how can
we as individuals hclp them ? Does our
ordinary buying of things carry with it
any moral responsibility
Do we by buying products made in
unwholcsomc surroundings help perpct-
uatc these evil conditions? Can we buy
50 as to increase the worlds good work
and lessen its bad work
Within the last few years social eco.
nomists have devoted much time to the
question OF consumption They en-.
phasizc wealth using as fully as they do
wealth making, and the text books now
teach in natural sequence, Production,
Distribution and Exchange. They lay
| emphatic stress both on the influence of
| consumption upon production, and Of
the moral duties involved upon ,ociety
and the individual.
These questions as to individual re
sponsibilty can be most clearly answer
ed by tho economists themselves Prof.
Pattcn, tho most learned authority on
consumption in America, says: The
principle upon which the Consumers
League Is based is sound. l have great