New-York tribune., 1909-04-09
CLUBWOMEN AROUSED
MASS MEETING PROTEST.
Telegrams to Congressmen Against
Tariff on GlOUes and Hosiery.

With two dissenting votes mass meeting OF
cubwomen held at the Hotel Astor yesterday after
noon. at the call of the City Federation of Women s
Clubs, which represents about forty-hve thousand
women, protested against the Increase proposed by
the Payne tariff bill in the duties gloves hosiery
and linen. The resolution in which the protest was
embodied represented that these duties would bear
most heavily on wage-earners and women OF mod
means who are the principal consu ners Of
the articles in question, and urged that II addi-
tionaI revenue needed 1t should be raised by
n tax luxuTies.
A copy of this resolution was dispatched imme-
dately to Representative Payne. and was backed
up by couple of hundred kilograms to New York
Congressman. Miss Mary Garrett Hay, who acted
secretary of the meeting, had come prepared
with telegraph blanks. and all the women had to
do to pay % cents and sign their names Miss
Hay attended to the rest.
The meeting held in the big ballroom OF the
hotel, which filed almost to overhowing and
peTmeated with suppressed excitement Both
sides were invited to and did express their views
and it took stern ruling the part of the chair
man, Mrs Belle de Rivera president OF the city
Federation to keep every one from talking at once
Mrs. de Rivera introduced the subject by saying;
IF it necessary, and could be sure that
the money would go into the United States Treas
ury and not into the pockets of the manufacturers
! am certain that the women of this country Woud
be patriotic enough to wear cotton gloves, as MI
Payne suggested. no gloves at all but in that
case they would point those gloveless fingers at
the cigars. wine upon which no increased
duty has been placed and ask Why are not these
luxuries taxed?" Great applauseD
The resolution was not unanimous, because Mrs
r. c. Benedict and Mrs. Silas p Leveridge
thought that raising the tariff the articles IN
question would raise the wages OF the women
who make them. Mrs Benedict had just come
from Gloversville. and. after describing the hard
conditions Of the glovemakers, she said:
Their wages have been reduced because OF the
agitation for tariff reform, and they can get no
increase until the duty gloves is raised BY
protesting against this increase we are helping u
take the bread out of hundreds of mouths
1t is very strange said Mrs. Frederick Nathan,
president Of the Consumers League, If the manu-
facturers at Gloversvne cannot afford to pay liv-
ing wages because they are making great deal
themselves ! have heard the same thing in de
partment stores here. They cannot afford to pay
girls more than = a week but they have
Yachts and automobiles and everything they want
themselves The reason they can't afford to pay
more than s. a week is because they can get
girls to work for that amount
Maurice Werthheimer. an importer and manu-
facturer said that the increased duty wouldn't
raise wages because the goods In question couldn't
be made here and Mrs. g A Bokmann added
Very often the goods made here and sent TO
Europe 10 be stamped. Then pay duty on
them"
she is right" came from several parts of the
audience.
John NJ Bolts the representative OF large
hosiery house, spoke in favor OF the increased
duties and James G. Parsons. secretary OF the
tariff reform committee of the Reform Club, de-
nolIuced the tariff in general and the Payne bill in
particular Mrs Henry Willard alluded to the bill
as the wicked Payne bill which bears so heavily
and cruelty on women. who wrongfully de
nrived Of the ballot and unable TO defend them
selves