Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-03-11
Members of the Consumers
League Ask Congressional
Inquiry Into Living Cost.
ElGHT-HOUR LAW CAUSE
OF CUT IN PAY OF SOME
Intended, It Is Declared, to Pave
Way for Enactment of Mini
mum Wage Law.

Declaring frankly that following the
by Congress Of a law limiting
the hours of work for women in the Dis
trict Of Columbia to eight day, six days
in the week. it is their purpose to bring
about fair adjustment Of wages for
women, representatives Of the National
subcommittee of the Senate committee on
and labor in support Of a reso-
luton introduced by Senator Kenyon OF
Iowa. calling for an investigation OF the
cost of living in the District OF Columbia.
This investigation is to be made by the
bureau of labor statistics.
Not until we know what it costs to
live In Washington will we be able TO
say what is a fair living wage for
women here" Miss Constance D. Leupp.
president Of the local Consumers
League, told the members of the suocom-
mittee THE bureau Of labor statistics al
ready has made an investigation Of the
wages paid in Washington. We know
what that report is.
Average in Stores, $3.50.
We know. for instance, that the
average wage paid in department
stores Is $3.50 a week. But whether
that Is a living wage we cannot know
until an investigation has been maze
to show just how much 1t costs wage
earners to live ia Washington"
Miss Leupp prefaced her statement
to the committee by saying that the
hnd taken a nTOmf-
nent part in obtaining the enactmen.
of the eight-hour law for women. and
that now the league desired to do all
in IT'S power to bring about an ad-
justment of wages which would give
I'VE were willing to wait until July
/. when the new District appropriation
law will go into effect. before the new
law was enforced" said Miss Leupp.
I'VE knew that 1t would cause many
ers should be given an opportunity to
adjust themselves to the new condi-
tions. But the District Commission
ers have thought otherwise. Although
an appropriation for the pay OF In
spectors to see that the law 10 en-
forced has not yet gone through. many
OF the employers here have already
changed the hours Of labor for their
woman employees Many of them have
reduced wages also. We are getting
help them to obtain better pay.
-, Widows Wages Gut.
Ono letter came signed "A widow 1,
stated that she had been employed for
several years at $50 day. but that
since the new law had gone into effect
her pay had been. reduced to s1.2o a day.
This, she said. was too little for her to
live on.
I'm another instance one of the girls
employed in a Large restaurant here told
a friend. Of ours that she didn't see that
the new law made much difference to
her, since she only received q cents an
hour for work in the restaurant anyway.
Miss Leupp said that she had been In
formed that the laundries were cutting
wages of their women. that the women
were now being paid 10 cents an hour.
instead OF being paid by the day as here
tofore. This made the maximum wage
for a woman in a laundry $3.50 a week.
BEFORE this the women usually made
something over IS week.
II understand that the laundries are
raising their prices to customers. added
Miss Leupp. 80 apparently they do not
intend to lose by reason Of the new law.
Miss Marie Obenauer, chief of the wom-
ems division in the bureau OF labor sta
tistics, urged the committee to report
fayorably the Kenyon resolution for an
Investigation OF the cost OF living in
Washington. She said. however. that she
would have the investigation confined to
the cost of living OF wage-earners.
Cost of Investigation.
She suggested that she could furnish
estimates Of the cost of such an investi-
cation. and was requested to do so. She
said that Congress should appropriate the
RI. 900 for such an investigation recon-
mended in the Kenyon resolution. and
tnat the investigation should be broad
enough 70 cover the cost OF living for the
normal family Of wage-earners. This.
.he said, would be an entering wedge
for a general investigation Of the cost OF
living for the entire country.
re-. Florence Kelley of New York.
secretary of the National Consumers
League, also strongly advocated the pas
sage Of the resolution. She was asked
II she thought that women In the Dis
trict would lose employment because OF
the enactment of the .eight-hour law.
.I don't think that dozen Of them
will,' was her reply.
She said, however. that there was i'm
mediate need Of this investigation be-
cause of the threats Of employers to re-
duce the wages Of women.
Senator Kenyon interrupted to say that
one woman had telephoned him this
morning that she was threatened with
the loss Of her place because Of the new
law.
For Minimum Wage Law.
Mrs Kelley said that it was the pur-
pose OF the Consumers League. in get
ting the eight-hour law enacted. to pave
the way for the passage Of a minimum
wage law.
resolution consists of Senators Shields.
Johnson and Kenyon. Senator johnson
was not present today. 1t Is expected.
howeyer that a favorable report will be
made on the Kenyon resolution.
Those who appeared before the COM
mittee today were Miss Constance D.
I.aupp, Mrs Florence Kelley of New
York. general secretary of the national
lea que: Miss Marie Obenauer, Mrs. Mar
tha F1agg, Miss Elizabeth Bryan. Miss
EVELYN Hodges and Miss Throckmorton.
FIRE SWEEPS H0NDURAN CITY.
Ceiba Reported Practically Destroy
ed. With Million Dollar Loss.