New-York tribune., 1909-04-20
FOR WORKING GIRLS
Consumers League to 1rouse In
terest an Their Behalf.

At a meeting of the Consumers League OF Ne"
York City called at the Charities BulIdihg yesuei
day 10 consider the welfare of girls WoTKihs HI
shops Miss Mary R. Sanford who has been IN
,-as+igstfng hours wages etc on behalf of the
league, reported conditions which Mrs Frederleh
Nathan declared no moral community ought ~
stand for
I'VE can't be surprised she said, when these
girls found on the street girl can't hve On
s. s. or s6 a week These evils can best be rerneue
by the consumer-the customer. The thlnS 10 u'
is to stir public sentiment
The two points the meeting was called 10 CON
slider specially how to get SATURDAY nan
holidays for shop girls in the summer anu no" - -
nut a stop TO evening shopping in the Chrlstll"'
holidays. Miss Sanford told some OF the CliinsS
she saw in the Christmas rush time i saw siie
said "a girl-and she was one of man!-iedNe 'lie
store at , o'clock at night, and she hau WI
since o'clock that morning ana "o'lu no
be there at S o'clock the next morning Al "!e
bo1i5a, time have known salesgirls to take thelr
supper hour to battle their feet in the tolet iooI
that they might endure the strain OF S'dnuile
through the evening. It is said that stores nus
he open evenings in holiday time to give WI AIi6
women a chance 10 shop I feel that II "oiiieli
buy presents at the expense of such STRAIN u,
the part Of their fellow women-weI theS hau u
better not buy them. But when there 5 a VIZ
there's a way. They might shop easily IN 'lle
morning. and in the stores preference . "i"0ES
given to working girls at that hour.
+e, thousand appeals had been sent out thFousl
Roman Catholic priests to working women. aShils
them not 10 shop on Saturday afternools III sum
mer, nor in the evenings -, ,r,I
..F2,,+ we must try something stronger thah Ii'l "
sussion; we want legislation" she SAID.
Miss Pauline GoIdmark. executive secretary oi
,ba league talked about the effort being mace at
Albany by Senator Davis and Assembly, nall ~ W
inert n fix limit 10 the number of hours whlcn
women and BOYS may be worked in stores. II Is
,,,onstro,s' she said. that in our present mer-
s-fe law there is no limit fixed to the NUMBER OF
z-orl. hours as there is in factory laws Little
girls are taken the great mercantile mil ad
worked long hours, worked 10 the breaking polnl'
and they have nothing TO say about it
Mrs Florence Kelley said there were so many elris
lust out of public school seeking work that those
who had places had to take what they could get.
1T is marvellous that so many OF them can keep
straight" she said But II they can Keep
righteous they can't keep physically strong hVlhS
as a girl must on such low wages
The Consumers League. she said. had decided
that its present methods in the fight for better
conditions were too slow. we are not accomplish
ing enough" she said We want 10 educate public
opinion in favor of conferences upon this matter
conferences such as one held in almost all Eu-
ropean countries We're not keeping up with the
Pre- ceSsion.'
Miss Sanford told of a discussion in a working
girls club upon the minimum living wage
They decided unanimously" she said that IS
was not a living wage. They thought that a girl
earning IS a week could allow SO a year for
clothes. She could have two suits at 81 each and
TWO pairs of shoes at s. a pair, but that sum al
lowed no umbrella and she couldn't afford any
thing for recreation.
Mrs. Nathan said that IAN umbrella and the thea
tire and then might be considered necessities