The wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, 1909-03-20
HOW THE WOMEN CAN HELP.


the editor of The Wageworker to be
an officeholder. In that capacity he
is called upon to answer great deal
of cores pondence relative to the
welfare of women and children who
are compelled to work for wages. A
number of splendid women in this
state, notably the members of the
| Women's Clubs of Omaha and Lin
coin. are taking a deep interest in
their sisters who toll in mills and
factories, and are exerting themselves
to secure better working conditions
and wages. These splendid women
write to the deputy labor commits
s:oner about the matter.
Here and now The Wageworker
wants to pay tribute TO the Ne
braska Federation of Women's Clubs.
Had it not beel. for this Federation
there would not now be upon the
statute books of Nebraska one of the
best child-labor laws ever enacted.
These splendid women succeeded
here we trades unionists had failed
after a decade OF effort.
| But in all candor and kindness this
| little labor paper wants to give the
good women who make up the Ne
braska Federation of Women's Clubs
a tip-a tip that will prove more eff
tective if acted upon than anything
else they can do in the line of better
ing conditions for their wage-earning
sisters.
| If you want to drive out the en-
ployer of child labor; if you want to
put out of business the sweat-shop
employer who battens on the life.
blood of your unfortunate sisters; if
! you want to protect the helpless AMI
the innocent if you want to make
conditions tolerahle-YOU MUST IN
SYST UPON THE UNION LABEL
UPON THE GARMENTS YOU BUY
The union label is an absolute
guarantee against child labor, sweat
shop labor and miserably paid labor.
| 1t is guarantee that the article it
| ing reasonable hours for fair wages
IN sanitary surroundings. Without
| the union label there is no such
guarantee.
| If the club women of the country
will unite with the trades unionists
of the country in demanding the union
! label. the problem will be solved
Such a united demand will put the
sweat shopper and the employer of
child labor out of business.
The women of this great country
are primarily responsible for the
continued existence of child labor,
tenement factories and foul sweat
shops This is as true of club women
as it is of women who are not men,
bers of clubs. Why do we say this :?
Because women are bargain seekers -
and they never think of their unfor-
tunats sisters when there is a chance
to purchase for SO cents an article
that ordinarily sells for 90 cents. And
three-fourths of the sweat shops of
the country work upon articles ta@:
women wear-lingerie. shirt waists,
skirts. etc. The editor of this paper
l as seen children less than four years
old sorting petals for artificial flowers,
sorting beads fol passementerie, pull
ing basting threads and uncarding
buttons. He has seen sad-faced
and sixteen hours day and never
making over 81 a week. no matter
how long or how hard they worked
| He has seen WIDOWS bravely trying
to feed and clcthe little ones by
making boys knickerbocker pants for
IL cents dozen, and corset covers
for s cents a dozen. He has seen
children stricken with scarlet fever
lying upon piles of white goods in a
foul tenement room; has seen the
mothers of these sick children pull
the goods from under them. sew the
seams on the machine at wage of
less than cents an hour, and then
send them back to the Sweat-Shop
employer who sold them to merchants
in Omaha. Lincoln. Grand Island-all
. lover the country. And then he has
seen the good women of Nebraska
rush frantically to the bargain coul
ter to buy these same goods, into
| the seams of which has been sewn