Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-07-06
PAY OF GIRLS SHOWS
LITTLE OVER EXPENSES
Cases of Five in Washington In
serted in Congressional Record
by Representative Heating.

EXPENSE accounts of five girls in
Washington who work for their living
are made a part of the Congressional
Record today by Representative keat-
ing of Colorado whose resolution to
investigate the cost of living in the
District of Columbia may be made a
part of some appropriation act at the
present session of Congress. Repre-
sentative Heating, in extending his re-
marks. said in part:
Here are some cases gathered by
the Consumers League of the District
of Columbia. the philanthropic organ
ization under the auspices of which
the eight hour law was introduced.
Here is what life holds for five
Washington young women, whose
stories. it is believed. are typical of
the lives lived by thousands:
Has 10 Cents Left Each Week.
Il. One girl working in a retail store
earns SIS a week. She is wholly de-
pendent on herself, so boards with
friends. to whom she pays $3.50 a week
for her room and two meals. Each
week she pays so cents for her laun-
dry 30 cents for her luncheons Us
cents Il day) 81 on a suit which she is
buying; and this, as you see. leaves
her 10 cents each week for all the rest
of her clothing, her car fare, if the
weather is bad, for recreation. If you
consider that part of a rational scheme
of life; and this leaves her no provi-
sion for illness, church, and SO forth.
"2. girl working in a box factory re-
ceives IS per week She is absolutely
alone in the world, is living in a
-k.1 h. Oh Z N fF
her room and board. The $3.50 re-
naming must pay for her clothing, her
car fare. and so forth, and she is fur
thermore trying to save money to put
stone over her parents grave
S. A girl earning 81 a week lives at
home She pays So week to her fam
lily and $50 a week regularly on
charge account which she runs at the
store where she works and on which
she buys clothing for herself and her
sister. Even her so cents remaining
Is often needed for extras at home.
"a Another girl earns Sc week.
OF this she pays $3.50 for her board,
room, laundry and so forth. She has
a regular charge account of $50, pays
so cents car fare, and thus has so cents
for other necessities and pleasures.
IS Another girl. a stenographer,
whose work was of a very responsible
nature. earns s. week. Since she was
the sole support of her mother and a
younger sister and brother. she gave
her entire pay envelope to her mother.
Believed to Be Typical.
Now, it is because it is believed that
these stories are not exceptional, but
are typical of the lives of thousands of
women in the District of Columbia to-
day that we want this information.
AT the hearings the story was told
of an Investigator who discovered a
sweatshop in Washington where 200
women were employed to make bunga-
low aprons a 40 cents per dozen. The
Investigator was paid two 2-cent post
age stamps for her work on one apron
and that same experience might befau
any one of the thousands of working
women in the District. We cannot in
sist on specific changes in such condi-
tons until we have in hand the neces-
sary facts so that we may make intel
Hgent suggestions. That is what this
resolution calls for-an exposition of
facts
In Massachusetts, when such a study
was made last year. SSH a week was
the sum decided upon as the least on
which a woman could live in decent
comfort"