East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1915-01-02


NEW YORK. Jan. 2.-How to live
on SO a week was the story told by
Miss Esther Packard at the hearing
before the New York state factory In
vestigation commission in the county
court house a few days ago. II was
not the story Of one girl. but Of many.
Among them was Miss T.. a woman OF
81, who had served all her life in
a department store and had reached
a wage OF IS. Her vacation OF one
week was spent In trying 20 rest In
her skyllght room and every day she
went TO the store "just 10 see II her
Job hadn't been taken away.
At the opening OF the session Miss
Mary L. Dreier was the only member
OF the commission present. Samuel
Gompers arrived later and presided
over the remainder OF the hearing.
Testimony Is Read.
Miss Packard read her testimony.
which was in part as follows:
How do they manage TO do II. In
what mysterious ways do girls stretch
less than a living wage Into a lIv-
ing one7" Is the question which the
public most often asks when II hears
Of girls living on IS. So and 81 per
week. Miss c. w. a department store
clerk. answers quickly: When have
TO pay for n pair OF shoes or some
thing like that, I don't buy meat for
weeks at a time You see yourself
the only thing that IS left me TO econ
omize on is food says another de-
partment store clerk. I never eat
any breakfast at all. BY experiment
] found that was the easiest meal TO
do without
'These and similar answers are CIV
en- by the budgets gathered from
working girls all over New York
state. While the number OF girls in
terviewed Is not large enough for sta
tisticai conclusions. II is large enough
to illumine the wage data already col
lected.
800 Girls Interviewed.
About 500 girls and women. living
In the large cities all over the state,
we're interviewed and the account OF
their expenditures carefully tabulat- |
I'd. The fact most strikingly brought
out by this study is that on less than
4 living wage. one or another item
essential to every normal persons
reduced TO a minimum or
dropped entirely.
"a little girl Of 20. who Is getting
1850 a week in the millinery work.
'oom Of large department store
said: II buy my suits with
ny lunches"
Dependence on friends for occa-
donal meals is regularly counted up
m by a few girls who were frank
'nough to admit II. Quite often the
gentleman friend Is regularly count.
d on for help.
STEADY Helps One.
"'Gee! but feel sorry for the
iris who haven't got a steady said
aiss II. A. why! II had 10 buy all
ny meals ia never get along When
he knows that her friend is coming
n the evening she eats only a sand
rich and a cup OF tea for supper and
hen lets his treat OF an ice cream
oda or candy make up for the rest !
Z her dinner. Sunday dinner 1 al :
rays count on him for she ingenu-
usly admitted. As II is now my
ood bill rarely runs above 81
Miss T. Is a woman OF about 81 |
ears who has spent most OF her life
$ clerk in a department store. OFT. /
n she would write the advertisements
Or her department, but after nine I
ears OF such services her wage was |
My IS. She had widowed mother {
wing in the country TO whom she !
ad 10 send one or two dollars every
eek. She lived in the lodging house I
,ction ~ Buffalo In small attic I
pom with only a skylight window {
,r light and air. For this she paid :
ESQ week. Her breakfasts and ,
nners she cooked herself. At night \
,e would buy some cold ham and
IN OF tomatoes for her supper. These y
-ovisions she would make last for :,
ro or three days. f,
Lunch Costs 6 or Gents. )
"At noon she would buy a dish OF .
ans for 3 cents and some bread for .
cents. Hardly ever did she pay :,
ore than G or 7 cents for her lunch
ute often she went without any i,
'takfast because she had no
oney in her pocketbook.
statistics tell US. that thousands OF .
orklng girls are receiving only IS, !,
and 81 a week To one girl 80
III mean lack OF food to anther 1t q
III be poor living quarters and to
Il another mo savings for the rainy :
ny But invariably Il will mean TO
ousands a cramped, subnormal way
llfe-a mere existing. not a real :
rinR"