Los Angeles herald., 1909-04-11
ATTACKS EVILS IN
DRAPERY BUSINESS
IMMORTALITY AMONG WOMEN
CAUSED BY LOW WAGES
EnoIlsh Minister Attends Council
Meeting of Chamber of Trade
and Reiterates His
Charges

LONDON, April 10.-With the object
of substantiating his recent pupilc Ut
terances about the evils of shop lie
for women. Rev. r. j. Camppeil at
tended a council meeting of the ORA
pers' Chamber of Trade at the ofnces
of the London chamber of commerce.
Arthur Pyne, who presided, said that
the employers represented by the
chamber employed $4,000 assistants and
fully represented the trade at large.
The members included most of the
houses in the West End and the sub
urbs. Mr.. Campbell had said that IN
some West End shops the young wo-
men were paid such miserable vase
that they were expected, and, indeed'
encouraged to exc it out by immor'
ality.
Thev recognized in Mr.. Campbell
minister of the gospel and man or
great sincerity and appreciated his
courage in coming alone to meet about
sixty members of the trade. The state
ment had caused great uneasiness
throughout the trade and they had
feeling of injustice that a broad state
ment should be made covering every
employer, when though immortality
might exist, it did not to any extent.
Rev. r. J. Campbell asked why the
Drapers' Chamber of Trade, of all in
stitutions in the world, had fastened
to fasten the charge upon their own
trade. "Drapery'' was not mentioned at
all He did not expressly exclude that
trade. but he wished to make it clear
that he included others as we'll. In
nv opinion" said Mr.. Campbell, there
is one trade which can produce worse
examples of the abuses of which l
complain than the drapery trade. and
that is the millinery trade"
A voice-"That is the drapery trade"
Worst Abuses In Millinery Trade
Mr.. Campbell--"Would you associate
that with yourselves? (Voices-"Yes.'o
I am speaking from personal knowl-
edge when say that the worst of the
abuses lies in that branch of your
trade, but 1t obtains to some extent
wherever large bodies of young people,
are herded together in any quasi bar
rack system under discipline"
Mr.. Campbell added that in some
cases employers did not know what
was going on. His object had been
to call attention to the question, and
they had helped him to do 1t most eff
fectively. He had made no attack on
the morality of shop assistants. he
had no reason to believe that the vast
majority of shop assistants were not
perfectly reputable and moral.
He had heard sad stories from young
people attached to his own church. He
must name no names of firms, but since
attention was called to his statement a
vast mass of corroborative testimony
had come to his notice. on which he
thought he could get verdict in a
court of law. He would rather not go
into court of law, though for two or
three years he had been on the lookout
for a specific case in which he could
force an issue.
Wages Are Very Low
Giving instances of low wages in
typical West End and city houses, MIR.
Campbell said that a girl clerk OF Is
worked GA hours a week for $780, the
greater part of which was swallowed
up in extra food. A girl of 90 in
drapery department. was receiving $1.56
for seventy-five hours week; another,
SLIP for sixty hours, and third, in