The Cairo bulletin., 1913-03-14
WAGE ARGUMENT
|. ATTRACTS NOIlCE:
Of LOCAL FIRMS
Cairo Merchants Advance Belief
That Minimum Wage Would
be Disastrous
WOULD LOSE THEIR JOBS
Many Women Would be Let Out
Which Would Result in En-
ployment Of Men.
WOULD LOSE THEIR JOBS

What wages are necessary for d
woman in Cairo TO support herself
In comparative comfortg
Is minimum wage scale desir-
able?
! These questions are being warmly
agitated Ia Cairo retail circles. fol-
lowing disclosures in the inyestiga-
tion that have been made by COM
mittee from the Illinois senate ia
Chicago with view OF ascertaining
+, whether the wage question has any
bearing on the side OF life that some
women live. 1t has been suggested
that a minimum wage OF $1s be es-
tablished by law in this state and
the measure has focused the atten-
tion Of business men, wage earners
and social workers on the develops
ments Of the committee.
Announcement that the senate
committee is to visit number of
down state cities to inquire into
wage conditions, and that the MEM
bers might possibly include Cairo
in their itinerary, has caused The
Bulletin to ascertain what salaries
are paid generally to women Ill
Cairo who work IN the fetail stores
and to gain their employers views III
the matter.
Generally speaking, those who
work in the stores here are paid
neat salary The minimum wage
seems to be SIS week among those
who work in the dry goods stores.
Some OF the most capable ones get
Z SIS, and there are quite number
who receive sl2. The starting WACO
Is generally $4 for the first several
weeks or SO, but II the girl shows
any ability at all. she soon earns s5.
Her increase from then on depends
upon her energy to succeed ana her
aptitude in selling goods.
This is the status OF things in
most OF the dry goods stores, bur Ii
is said that in the ten cent stores.
SIS Is the highest ever paid and the
average girl only makes So a week.
Iiowever it is stated that most OF
the emp Dyes are young girls. who
live at home with their parents and
are not forced to exist on theirr pay
alone. q
''Cairo would not suffer from
visit OF the senate committee said
a. prominent Commercial avenue re-
taller to The Bulletin yesterday.
"The girls who work in the stores
here get good pay and they work
under favorable conditions. Quite
a number of them make $40 and
$i2 week. or course there are
some stores here that would have to
dispense with girls as clerks II Illi-
nois had even an SIS week minis
mum wage scale or raise the prices
of everything they sell considerably.
This, of course could not be done
unless there was uniform mage
scale in all the states and then it
would not be fair since the cost OF
living is not the same in all locali-
ties"
eve shall have new order or
things in our business institutions
if the minimum wage scale IS
adopted said another local mer-
chant Lots OF us have women and
girls working for SIS or S6 a week but
that is all their services are worth
to us, and If the law should compel
us to pay them more, we would
have to dispense with their services.
| believe there would then be loo
of women out of employment OF any
character unless they turned TO
housework.'
One merchant stated in answer -
query, that he thought it possible
fer the average woman TO live on W
per week, il not too many limo
cent diversions were indalged in,
or fastidious dressing was not
part of her desire He said further,
that conditions are somewhat DIFF
/ ferent in city Cairo's size. becausc
the majority OF those who work
: i've with their parents or relatives.
and their salary goes into the family
maintenance and not for individual
snstenance.
&