The morning journal-courier., 1908-04-23
CONSU MERS' LEAGUE
Annual Meeting and Election of Officers Held Yes
 terday.
MRS. HENDERSON AS HEAD
Her Interesting Report on Work of the Lcaguc--Letter on Child
 Labor.

The Consumers league of this city held its annual meeting yesterday aft- ernoon in United church chapel in Temple street Mrs lsham Hender- son. the president, presided The re- port Of the secretary, Mrs. Theodore H. Macdonald, was read by Mrs. w. A. Granville, as the secretary had not recovered sufficiently from her re- l cent illness to attend tho meeting
 The New Haven Consumers league was formed April 12, 1907, at the home of Mrs. w, W. Farnam.> Elev- en meetings have been held, four of them public meetings. The first was 1 held at Center church when the ob- ject of the league was explained and names Of members taken. The sec ond meeting was held October 30, and Mrs. Frederick Nathan, president of the New York Consumers league, talked on Aims and Purposes of the I Consumers League" The third meeting on December IS. in the audi i torium of the City Mission hall, when pr. Edward Jenkins spoke on Pure | SWIM i-tN''''' ll' lbha lil bl NfllN AllS- sion hall, and the speaker was Mrs. Florence Kelly who spoke from tho "Child Labor standpoint.
 The report of the treasurer was read and accepted The expenses of the organization, including printing. postage and four lectures, with some incidental expenses have been met, and a surplus remains in the treas ury Some gifts of money have been received also
 The report of the president. Mrs. Henderson, was read and accepted, The report follows;
 Our league was organized on April l 13. 1907, by thirty women, To-day 1t has 910 enrolled members.
 The work undertaken during that time has embraced the following fields:
 i-The investigation and improve ment of the sanitary conditions of women and children employed in de- partment stores,
 9-The supply in the retail trade of the city of goods bearing the sanitary label of the Consumers league.
 3-Allevlation of the hardships of l the employees in shops incidental to Christmas shopping
 I. 4-Prevention of street peddling by girls; licensing of news and messen- ger boys. and enforcement of the cur l few law,
 The shopping committee, Mrs, Wil- llston Walker, chairman, began its inc ] vcstgations In May. The basements | in some of the department stores were found with little or no ventlla- i ton. Few seats were provided for l clerks. Consumers league labelled { garments were few and of poor qual- , ity. But go tactfully were the lnvcs.l- i cations made that an excellent under i standing was established with the re- i tall merchants, better ventilation was promised, seats for cash girls were put in conspicuous places, some boxes ! we're put behind the counters for clerks when at leisure. the use of the i Consumers league label was taken into consideration Moro vacations with pay were given in the last sum mer than ever before, and two Arms expressed their wish to change the ! weekly holiday from Friday to Satur- day during tho summer months, In ] December an appeal for early Christ mas shopping was made to the gener- al pnblic by printed slips in hundreds of tho parcels sent from the stores, Tho press and merchants cordially assisted in tho endeavor to diminish the hardships Incidental to the Christ mas trade Several department stores themselves printed the slips; others paid for them, and clerks raised money for the printing fund, The shops were opened in the evening five nights instead of ten days as for merly Many assurances were re- eeived that the labor at Christmas was appreciably diminished
 The committee on child labor, the president, chairman. appeared before a committee of the board of aldermen to urge the passage of the ordinance drawn up by Judge Mathevson, at the request of the league, excluding girls from peadlng licensing news and messenger boys. and enforcing the curfew law. Members of the league, doctors, lawyers, business men, ministers, school superlnten- dents, representative citizens ap- peared and spoke for the measure, but 1t failed to pass. This ordinance will again be presented to the board of aldermen.
 Tho pure food committee, Miss Beach, chairman, hopes to take an active part in forwarding this import ant work in the future.
 If has been urged thta there is no need for such an organization as ours here. that we have no sweat ahops. the clothing we buy Is moi made in this city. For these very reasons we need an organization to acouant ourselves with facts as te the conditions under which our cloth- ing. our food, and our other necessi- t,es are made and the pitiful wages maid to the people making them, we nosd q white list for Connecticut We need affiliations with such organlza- lions as the National ChQlu bdpor aa' sociation. We need to learn the laws regarding the lahor of women and the state factory laws
 For such affiliation we need money We need money for printing for oui part of the salary of the state secre. tarv that the work may be continued
 This. in brief, is what we nave dore and what we hope to do Wt have only made beginning but 1t k d good beginning and augurs well fo' the future. For the continuance ant broadening of the work, we ask thu active interest of every member VII not each one secure at least anothei member? Our needs are many Bu : above all we need the support of ou felloW citizens