New-York tribune., 1907-03-03
10000 Women Fight for Equal Pay.
Arguments School Teachers Favor of Receiving
Same aries as Those Paid 20 Men

down lot, who is TO blame? If there is menace
here, the way to correct II is 10 equalize the
wages of men and women.
'Of course, we are told that it is all ques-
ton of supply and demand, and the people who
bring the argument do not pause to reflect on
the absurdny of saying such thing in coun-
try that is welded to the protective system
The American man is not willing to stand IN
the open labor market OF the world and COM
pete for existence. lie has to have his tariff
laws and his Chinese exclusion acts: why
should women's labor alone be regulated py the
unrestricted operation of the law OF supply ana
demand. Besides. that argument ialis 40 the
ground when we consider that there are nun
dreds Of vacancies in the New York school Sys-
TEN at the present time There were ODD 20
he exact on january ID Women teachers don't
come to New York from other parts or the
country they used 10. They can't aHofo 10
live here on the salaries paid.
We arc told. also that the men ought to
have larger salaries than We because OF the
possible family Z man may have; rms inakes ii
OF the women a charity organization. W. Mnetncr @
He VIII not we are asked TO contribute TO
poor fund for the support of the homes ana
families and possible happiness OF our Drotner
labOrers I personally am assessed $500 year
for thls fund. and the women teachers as a body
contril,lit- 81; .aglOaD annually There are men
in the system who resent this forced contribu-
tion quite as much do. Others not only
accept il willingly but are anxious 10 Jusufy IT,
No doubt their necessities very great
TO say tnat the city cannot afford TO pay IT'S
women teachers adequate salaries is not very
6fenffed position for the richest community in
the world 10 take. particularly when we con-
slider that the present three-mill tax for edUca-
ton was reduced from four mills under Mayor
Low because the latter produced too much in
come. We have only to put the tax back to
four mills and we shall have the required six
millions. Moreover, the public ought 10 get ac-
customed to paying more for this most inn
portant service. We will pay any price for the
services of a doctor, lawyer or even mil
liner, and the more we pay the more we value
the service 1t is only when come to the
education of our children that want the
cheapest service than can possibly be had.
-'All teachers are badly paid. Even the men,
though they get more than do, don't get
enough. But the way for them 10 get their
salaries raised is not To oppose us. but to help
US. When are all on footing Of financial
equality we can pull together and force better
conditions for the whole body.
The injustice of the present salary schedule
seems to me to be best illustrated by the fact
that a man who has been teaching thirteen
years gets exactly double what is paid TO the
woman who has been teaching equal number
of years. namely 50 100 compared with her
81 $50 He begins at 5000. and his salary is
increased al the rate of S105 year while she
begins at $500 and her increment is only $40
a year, and the man and the woman sub
NIT TO exactly the same tests and are expected
to produce precisely the same results. If this
is to continue. the only logical thing left for
the women teachers TO do viii be to ask for
similar discrimination from streetcar companies,
landlords and theatres
The present schedule is entirely man-made.
The women had organization at the time the
Davis law was passed. and consequently no way