Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1909-12-02

W AlJblO bhot q NSNSA-I SSe~ A~-k~~N
ing life is impossible. 1t is from thi
grade Of workers that immortality
Of all kinds is bred. The owner o
the business Is really running a sub
sidized institution--the families o.
gentlemen friends" of his girl EN-
ployees really making up the deficien
cy OF wages. Hundreds of business
enterprises are run on this system
It is an accepted fact among socia
workers that prostitution Is largely
an economic as we'll as a moral cues
ton. Even charitable societies, al
employers, are not blameless In pay
ing wages too low for a person away
from home to maintain her self-re'
spect. Because of q lack Of know
ledge among governing boards Of the
actual cost Of living, many agencies
requiring expert skill in their EN-
ployees offer lower wages than are
demanded and obtained by a good
cook.
other questions to be asked Of an
employer might be:i
Do you realize that happy indy
idual is better worker, and. do you
insist on vacations, with or without
pay, for your help?
Do you supply decencies In the
shape Of sanitary workshops, guard
ed machinery, closets, lockers pure
drinking water, hot and cold water
at clean sinks, soap, towels, and a
lunch-room for your employees? Do
you allow your workers. especially
women, to sit down whenever posi-
BILE? III n
Are you liable for injuries receiv1
ed In your establishment?
Do the fines go into your pocket.
or are they distributed as a part Of
the sick benefit fund or some such
arrangement for the general good?
What efforts are you making to
train your employees for greater eff
flciencyI
What special reward do you give
for faithful, efficient service?
Do you require Just dealings in
all departments Of your business?
Does any part Of the profits OF
your concern depend on the cheap
labor little children?
Are you dealing in politics? If SO,
for what purpose? y
In the murky gloom cast by the
results of greed, 1t is cheering to-
contemplate the riffs caused by the
development Of a true brotherhood
feeling on the part Of certain en-
ployers. There does exist large
number Of employers who have no
trumpet to sound but who are quiet
ly impessing ideas Of perfect part
nership upon the persons without
whose cooperation their business
would cease. They are employers
known to the writer who pay their
employees according to the value OF
their work and the profits Of the
business, without inquiring as to the
wage scales Of other concerns. Such
firms find It hard to get rid Of their
men, and discharges are rare.
The New PhiIanthropists observe
the signs Of an awakening on the
part Of some employers, but their
hearts ache at the knowledge Of the
outrages committed by others and
by somnolent public. We
are too satisfied with things as they
appear to our indifferent minds. Like
too much knowledge Of germs, we find
many Of the topics preached by social
workers so unpleasant that we are
apt to dismiss them with sigh Of
It is not pleasant to
think that the Christmas season is
a hated season BY the large class Of
persons employed in stores and fac
tories, or who find work as mes
sengers, expressmen and postmen.
We do not like to think of the
prices paid to the workers that we
may get our bargains" and. enjoy
the excitement Of clearance sales"
/ shall not soon forget the picture
Of the tenement mother striving to |
keep her little family together by
making baby dresses such as your
children wear, at forty cents a dozen,
Try as hard as she could, she could
only earn twenty cents q day, and
was forced to seek the aid Of charit-
able society. The manufacturer who
''sweated' her doubtless spent part
Of the profits she helped him earn
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