The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1913-03-08
MINIMUM WAGE!
LAW IMPOSSIBLE,
SAY MERCHANT IS
Chicago Employers Try to
Convince Investigators
Women Can Live
on So a Week
QUESTIONS PUT TO
CITY'S DEMIMONDE
Many Girls in Stores Found
to Be Working for But
81 a Week


CHICAGO, March The employers
think low wages have nothing to do
with immortality among women. The
women who have fallen think low
wages have everything to do with IT.
That was the way member of the
I state senate vice investigation commit
tee summed up the conflicting testi-
mony given at the committee hearing
today.
Arrayed on the one side were julius
Rosenwald. president of Sears, Roe
| buck & Co.; James Simpson, vice presi-
dent OF Marshall Field & CO.; e. r.
Mandel, president of Mandel Brothers,
and Roy shayne, president of John T.
shayne & CO. Their firms employ
many thousands of girls and women.
On the other side were half dozen
denizens of the ''tenderloin," brought
before the committee on Jane Doe"
warrants
DECLARE LAW IMPOSSIBLE
The committee explained to the en-
ployers that 1t wished information
bearing on bill now pending in the
legislature establishing a minimum
wage scale OF s12 a week for women.
The employers held this figure to be
excessive and declared the law an i'm
possibility.
1t developed that practically all the
women employed III the retail stores
live at home. Mush time was con-
sumed in discussing a proper wage
| scale for those so situated.
The employers took the position
that they are under no obligation to
pay errand girls and unskilied help
| classed as Juveniles a living wage, as
titled to a living wage at the expense
of their parents.
FAMILY WOULD SUFFER
Senator Nels JUL of the committee
insisted that the other members of a
working girls family earn no more
than enough to support themselves,
| and that ii any member of such a
family earns less than a living wage
| the family suffers
Mandel and Rosenwald expressed the
! opinion that a girls character and her
| environment shape her life. Wages
have little to do with 1t, they said.
| They laid stress on environment
But doesn't living wage or a
wage under that have much to do with
environment" queried Lieutenant Gov
| tee. This was admitted
IF girl can not live on her in
come, don't you think that with the
| pitfalls which surround young
woman an immoral life offers the easi-
est way outg' Mandel was asked.
| CHANCE AS "DOMESTICo
Not If she is the right kind of girl:
II she is starving and immortality is
| repugnant to her, as 1t should be, she
can go into domestic service"
What" exclaimed Senator. JUL, do
you think there are enough places for
derpafd girls and women working In
stores and factories?"
Mandel expressed the opinion that
| So is a living wage for girl depend
ent upon herself alone.
JUL asked him to show how this
should be spent to provide the neces-
stiles of life.
After Mande1 had enumerated 81 for
clothes, 25 cents for laundry, 81 for
board and room, 60cents for sickness,
| 70 cents for lunches. so cents for car
fare and 10 cents for the collection
box In church, Juul declared that these
items included only about half the
girls necessary expenses.
Mr. simpson presented figures which
showed that the Marshall Field retail
stores employ 4,222 females. whose
average wage is $1o.76.
SHORT HOUR EMPLOYEES
OF these 44o are short hour en-
ployes who work during the rush
hours and while the regular clerks are
at lunch. 1t developed that the short
hour employees are paid on basis of
So a week, so that clerk working but
four hours day would receive but 81.
The last witnesses of the day, the
women of the tenderloin, talked In
whispers. All said that they had been
unable to make living at reputable
| callings.
"A. R.. was a woman OF 50. She
worked in a laundry at $3.50 a week
after her husband died and left her
with two children.
you couldn't support a family on
that, could your inquired o'Hara-
mo; found out that couldn't even
support myself on 1t, so went wrong =
where are the children now?' she
was asked.
well. you may be sure they are not
in Chicago"