The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1913-10-24
MINIMUM WAGE
HEARING HELD
MEMBERS OF THE INDUS
TRIAL WELFARE COMMITS
SION MEET EMPLOYEES AND
EMPLOYERS IN PRELIMIN-
AIRY HEARINGS.

How is a minimum wage to be de-
termined? What is a girl worth in
wages to her employer? Is it fair to
compel an employer to pay girl the
minimum weekly wage when she act
ually works but five days week?
Does it cost more or less for a woman
to live decently in Everett than in the
other first class cities of Washington?
Will the minimum wage have a tend
ency to bring higher skilled women
down to the minimum pay? Should
the minimum be large enough to allow
a girl to lay by a little against sick
ness or other misfortune? Is a wom-
an with two little children to support
and a wage inadequate to care for
them properly, justified in selling her
self physically to provide food and
shelter for those children?
The above are but a few of the
many questions fired at the Industrial
Welfare Commission which met in
Everett Wednesday for series of pre-
liminary hearings with both employ
ers and employees. The questions
cover a wide range of enquiry and the
Commission has it's work cut out for
it in determining what the minimum
wage shall be.
The minimum wage law was passed
at the last session of the legislature
and was supported vigorously by or
ganized labor of the state, Briefly
the law provides for a commission of
five members to be appointed by the
Governor, with the State Labor Com
missioner as an ex-officio member and
chairman of the commission. Cities
of relative size and Importance, or
ing widely in size, may be grouped to-
gether in Investigations and awards,
or may be taken singly as the COM
mission shall determine. Conferences
are called in each city, informally at
first, between the commission and the
employers and employees. Later, after
the unit shall have been established,
representatives of employers, en-
ployes and the public in each city of
the group shall come together for a
public hearing and conference and a
minimum wage in each industry is
recommended to the state commits
mission The commission then re-
views the hearings and recommends
tions of the conferences and finally
decides what the minimum wage shall
be. The courts may review the action
of the commission on questions of law
but not on findings of fact. The COM
mission has power to examine the
books of proprietors coming under the
law and discharge or punishment of
employees for testifying before the
commission or it's representatives is
made a misdemeanor.
There are four members of the COM
mission at present, the fifth having
The commission consists of Ed Olson,
state labor commissioner, chairman;
Mrs. Mcmahon, instructor of political
science at the University of Washing
ton; Mrs. Florence Swanson, promi-
nent club woman and civic worker of
Raymond; Mrs. Jackson Silbaugh of
Spokane. Stuart Rice of Seattle is
secretary of the commission. All were
present at the Everett hearings ex-
cept Mrs. Silbaugh.
The commission decided to begin
with three industries, viz, manufac-
turing establishments, mercantile es-
tablishments and laundries, and to
group Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Bell
ingham and Everett in the first work
of the commission. Four conferences
were held in Everett Wednesday and
Continued on Page Three.)