The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-13
Mock Work of Legislators
Wage Investigation
in Chicago
WAGES HAVE LITTLE
EFFECT ON MORALITY
Women Send Letters to Commission
Bearing on Wages of Working
Girls-Other States to Start
Investigations

Chicago, March 12.-Reformers and un-
reformed-the state senate's vice investi-
cation commission and the women for
whose moral downfall the commission is
trying to determine the causes-differed
today on the rela ton between low wages
and low morality. Letters received by
the commission from women of the un-
derworld Knocked at the work which the
legislators are doing.
One of these letters signed "K. r. L."
reads.
ITO the commission-Girls don't go
wrong because they are hungry, or be-
cause they need clothes. They go wrong
because they are tempted by lies and
overpowered by the evil in men.
''They listen to the fair and pretty
things that men tell them and they fall
because they think they can trust them
selves and trust the tempters. 1t is
not the employer. was a good girl and
worked in a store.
Lived on So Week
II didn't get much money but that
didn't matter. I lived on IS a week and
would be living like that now--but I met
men. They seemed to consider me their
prey and all the time it was fght-fight.
They wanted to be nice to me, they said,
and to take me to the theatre and treat
me fair-and give me a chance to enjoy
life
II didn't know men were bad-all bad
where girl is concerned 1 thought only
women were bad. I thought all a girl had
to Il tr IL, fo ha ft,I
with herself. God pity women who think
that and who keep their trust in men
until it is too late.
Every day it was someone else-al-
ways smiling at me-always trying to
give me a fair chance to be happy. In
the street they followed me. These /
could avoid-but the friends who hung
around-that is the big, big secret of
things that makes a good girl bad. II
they had left me be-if they had only left
me be--only let me live as I wanted 20.
| wouldn't have had to stink into the
room when your commission was trying
to solve things and wouldn't have had
to sit in a corner with my veil down,
afraid to look a good woman in the
face
Spirit of Letter Reacted
Another cry from the underworld
echoed the words of this letter. 1t was
more bitter, though, and it read in part:
You're looking for the things that made
such women as 7. Low wages. dance
halls, hunger. cold.-they all helped a
bit but they didn't turn the trick them
selves. You're all bunch of hypocrites,
afraid to look the thing in the face and
afraid TO learn the truth.
II don't know any girl who sold them
selves for money to buy bread or clothes
D.. IL -. 1t Al.
road for hell because a lot of black
guards kept bounding them with their
rotten attentions God help the men and
not us. We're all right when we start
All we need is to be left alone. There
are hundreds and hundreds of kids and
sports who hang around State street and
wait like wolves for the tired girls to
leave the store.
"why don't you make the men be good?
All the wages in the world won't help
us. Make the men good and the girls
will be good.
Now they haven't got a chance and
they never will have as long as the law
smiles at one and spits at another"
This letter was signed with the initials
Il. NJ"
While these comments on the situation
continued to pour in, the civic conscious
ness awakened by the commission be-
stirred itself in the launching of commit
tees and private investigating forces
In some stores numbers of girls ap-
preached their employers to demand
larger salaries. All were assured that
they would be taken care OF as soon as
something definite has been agreed upon
Several designations were rendered by
girl employees as a result of parental ad-
vice.
a mass meeting for the discussion of a
living wage and a Saturday half holi-
day was scheduled by the juvenile pro-
tcctive association, the consumers league
and the women's trade union league for
next Friday night.
The commission suggested 81 a day as
the proper minimum, but thus far the
merchants believe that IS a week is the
most practicable wage for beginners.
There are two knotty problems engag-
ing their attention. These are the ex-
tent to which higher minimum would
be reflected in compensating the more
skilled workers, and how many women
and girls would be forced out of en-
ployment If minimum wage law created
standard under which it would be
cheaper to hire men or boys
Investigations Indorsed