Norwich bulletin., 1915-10-09
coNsuMERs' LEAGUE r REVIEWS HOLLOWAY REPORT.
Brings Out siani6esn. Point Regard
 ing Department Store Girls-


 many facts and side lights on the work of department store girls throughout the state. The investiga- ton covered 1ss stores and of the as 4.soS were interviewed and oues- toned About s2 per cent of the girls workSEg in and 10 cent stores were under ase, and 5s per cent of tne other department store girls were
 While the majority of the depart ment stores obey the law which says f women shall not work more than nlty-eight hours a week. and not before Christmas and Easter when | few proprietors slip. Some Bridge port and New Haven stores are de- | scribed as having a law unto them | selves. being run by .foreisners who ulations. One wife. who was work Ing in a store overtime. told the investigator, the state does not cere for wives" and the following con- versation; between a fioorwalker and a saleswoman was overheard by the investigator:
 F1oorvslker--'"wm you stay on the half-hour schedule tonightr Saleswoman--You know what that
 F1oorwaiher@"wm you stayT'
 Snlcswoman--"My mother will wor- | ry about me all the evening and II can't reach her by telephone ! sF1oorwalker@sWoil you stay r Saleswoman-"I suppose so."
 In fairness to the stores in general. 1t Is added. this conversation seemed 10 be an exceptional one
 Girls are attracted to department | stores as a sort of paradise, for the setting is decidedly feminine. and the | work is described as being a pleasure | since they are able by 1t to meet socially at their daily tasks mar T Ffo own. Tn hands and, good clothes who have at any rate the outward aspect of gen. tlemen. For these privileges in preference to the coarser- associa- tions of the factory. because. as the investigator puts it-their work is Tess irksome and more genteer-they practically pay money by accepting low wage, and their parents prefer
 Some stores stin maintain the nna on the part of girls. but other stores have discarded the fine system en- tirely.
 The pay of the girls is generally
 The investigator reports that 7s per cent of the employees in the five and ten cent stores. or AIS out of 544 girls, receive from s3 to S5.50 a week Of these. 1o5 receive s4 a
 
 That families do exist for years on q bare pittanee earned by the father. and that the fourteenth birthday of the oldest child is an event long looked forward to can not be ce- nied- Many families are living on sl.50 day or se a week. and the little workers earnings at SS a week | are bonanza to the. mother who is -sufering from every kind of depri- vation in her struggle to make both |. Ha Ia mm1E the standard of living maintained by such families is very low. Still births and infant mortality are more , common than almost anybody sup oI person considers a necessity like the : care of the teeth are for them inn a possible luxuries.
 Few Work For Pin Money. ,i Few of the girls work for Dir q money, despite the belief of the pub !. lie to the contrary. Of the others | as many as 2o2 had but 50 cents ! n board. 2ss had s1, and others hat : money left over after paying board 2 as follows: 24s had sl.50. 5I7 haC sz. 1ss had s2.50, 53s had 8. IT
 237 had s5. and 5ss had over 35
 There Is a lack of welfare work 1T
 Connecticut. looking to the installai ton of rest and emergency rooms 1T
 different establishments, and tn, ' sanitary conditions in great manl c stores can easily be improved. ac k cording to Miss welies.
 z Recommendations.
 The pamphlet closes with the fol !, 1. The commissioner recommend d that 'all violations of the child laboi d laws be reported to the bureau O. e labor statistics for consideration ant
 
 By our present laws, all cases O
 children employed under age of without the required qualification 7 are reported to the state board O g forceinent of these laws has beer = exceptionally thorough. The secre : tary of the league would therefor, ' deplore the adoption of the commis
 forcement of the hours of employ
 ment law and the dangerous trade n law for minors is now in the hand l. of the office of factory inspection l. where it logically belongs. an, ss where it appears to be weIl handled n 2. The comnissioner recommend that every mercantile establishment
 having five or more female em
 ployes provide a properly equippe
 rest and emergency room.
 I6 Such provision would lay a heav- s- burden on the smaller stores. man s. of which are occupying a single room
 and would seem unnecessary.
 3. The recommendation that fir n drills be made obligatory in. all es tablishments employing more tha twenty-five women and that fire ex tinguishers be- in plain sight of tn employees in every department woul - probably meet with general approv
 al {. The recommendation that ever - store (employing women) be com
 pelled by law to have a toilet for wo s, men on the premises everyone wi
 heartily endorse.