The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-08-03
LABOR NOTES OF
WIDE INTEREST
Women of Barre Urged to Form
Union Label League Because of
Their Lack of knowledge of
Union-M Made Goods.

4 -
If there is anything that will materi-
ally assist in boosting the union label, it
is the female members of families of or
gained working people. And this city
is in great need of ladies' label league.
We need such contingent, and if we
can get one started, we know the ladies
will be the best union people that can be
gotten together in bunch and do more
for the cause of fair-made goods and
stiffen up the spines of weak brothers
than anything that can be conceived.
There is woeful lack of knowledge on
sgch matters among the ladies', that
should not exist. In the first place,
there is too great a distance between
the wives. The men meet each other at
the union meetings and become acquaint-
ed. There they hear what is fair and
unfair and learn not to patronize their
enemies. They work together toward
the same end--for the wherewithal to
provide sustenance for their families. In
many cases they hand over their earn
ings to their wives. And the wives,
knowing nothing of conditions, take their
money and go here and there doing it
out for family necessities, trying to save
a penny here and penny there, think
ing she is doing right by buying only at
places where she can get the cheapest,
supposing thereby she is boosting
course toward making her husband in
dependent in time of adversely, when at
the same time she is booming the BUSH
ness of his enemies and finally making
conditions that will compel her husband
TO take less wages or force him TO be
idle. This is no fairy-tale, but an every
day occurrence. And the money the
wife supposed she was saving by buying
non union goods is more than counter
acted by the lower rate which her pro-
tector is forced to receive. So it is a
losing proposition. Now, if all can be
organized with ladies' label league,
such dilemma will not exist. Then
the wives of workingmen will have an
opportunity to get together. become ae-
quainted and form fraternity that will
be most beneficial to the cause we es-
pouse. Then they can talk over the
woes, trials and tribulations of the work
ing girl and learn under what terrible
conditions some have to toll, and con-
vince one another if boss entails such
bad methods on his female employees that
they and their sisters ought not to pur-
chase any of the products of his fac.
tory. Publicity through a ladies' label
league can and will do much good. Get |
together and let us have one.
The retail clerks association in Spring |
field, O., has added 100 new members |
during the last two months and has
established uniform nine hour work |
day, excepting Saturdays. A 54-hour "a
week law for women was enacted by the
last general assembly, but the law ex-
empted mercantile establishments en-
gagged in retail business The larger mer-
chants in Springfield were instrumental
in placing this exemption in the statute.
Many women and girls are employed in
factories and printing offices in this city
The result of the 54-hour law has been
TO drive the girls into those institu-
tions, where they cannot be worked over
10 hours per day, and not more than
"a hours per week. Their wages are
even greater than what are paid in the
retail stores. The merchants are handi-
capped for female labor. They are now
sorry they obtained the exemption of
the statute and are now seeking an
to the law to make "a hours
uniform for all employers of working
This proves the strength of the
force in the trade union when,
with its political strength in
The state legislature.
The United States bureau of educa.
lion is making an urgent plea for an
increase in salaries now being paid in
;truetors in public institutions of learn
ng. The bureaus report deals with
he decade, l900-l9l0, inclusive, and calls
public attention to the fact that al
though the salaries of male instructors