The evening world., 1913-03-10

opinion that the underpaid employe
be blamed for her derelietion.
New. In view Of the fact that IN
Chicago, - IN New York, there are
sAoussnds Of girls who I've on -
ana - . wssk sna maintain
moral rsotituds which few queens
have sQualled, u seems tremen.
deusiy unfair 70 assume that any
woman earning less than e1s
weekly 10 without moral indspsn-
dsncs-that she must, In fsct sup
ploment Ter income With the wager
Of sin.
While the girl who works. and falls
deserves tho sympathy anc tho help
which society In the last fe'' years has
undertaken to give her. the public
should not be permitted to lose sight
OF the girl who works and wins.
olscoURAoiNo NEWS FOR HON.
EST GIRLS.
II investigation into the conditions
which produce the deserter from the
army OF working women can benefit
her without harming the little soldiers
stili in the ranks. so much the better.
But It must certainly be discouraging
to the girl who lives honestly on Sc a
week to read that 1t Ia impossible for
woman to maintain her moral indepen-
dence on less than Sl2 some years
ago a sensational novel called The
House of Bondage was published.
which dealt with the white slave prob
lem. Many social reformers hailed the
book as q tremendous revelation or the
conditions affecting the working girl
Yet tho only possible moral to be
drawn from this novel-in fact. the the
sis of the book-was that girls WORKING
for low wages escape the Minotaur OF
vice purely through the blind luck which
enables them to marry or through some
other adventitious occurrence not to be
expected In the average life.
such a moral 10 disillusioning. Such
a moral Is weakening. And however
false. It may constitute the determin-
ing disaster In the lives OF those
tomen who stand hssitatinsiy at the
sorksd roads that lead to heaven and
hell. OF course. use heaven and hell
In the sense that Omar gave them when
he said: Thou thyself art heaven and
hell"
I believe that girls who stand st
these crossroads would be more
helped by stories OF success than
Of failure; that the giri who works
and wins 10 most capable OF CIV
! ing advice and encouragement to
the girl In peril. ! would like to
hear from any girl who lives ON
small salary and to learn from her
| Just how she does II, or from any
one familiar with tine facts regard
Ing her Nfs.
Let II be granted, of course, that
many young women are fri2htfully un-
! der?aid. and that any commission to
establish a minimum wage fer wome1
has undertaken II great work. Never
theless, l am inclined to agree with the
Chicago employer who said that the
individual character of a girl has much
more to do with what she makes ot
her life than the wages she receives
There are more employers who profit
by and exploit tine goodness and the
strength of women than there are wnf
take advantage of their moral weak
ness. / mean. there are more employ
ers who pay girls IS and $6 a week
knowing that they WILL live on II
than there are who pay less than 9
living wage with the idea that taes
will hnd ways of supplementing theil
income.
A FEW QUESTIONS ON THE SUB
JEcT BEFORE THE HOUSE.
OF those persons who believe tina
the white slave traffic Is the immediate
result of the low wages OF wOrkini
women I would like to ask few Ques
tions. for instance:
II girls have no choice - 70
their morality, whsn they ere IN
.. asspaia, Why 70 II that NE greater