The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-06-20
They Tell Welfare Commission
1t Is Running Their Business.
One Offers to Marry Member of
Board to Get Relief.
FARMERS BUY At NIGHT
They Are Too Busy Raising
Crops To Do Otherwise.
Miss Bresette Defends Down.
trOdden Working Girl.

The extent to which Kansas mer-
chants are willing to go to have the
nine-hour ruling for women changed
was shown this morning at the an
nual convention of the Kansas Re
taiIers' association when Samuel Roth
weller. a widower, of Bison, told the
commission he would be perfectly
willing to marry a member of the
commission if he thought this would
produce the desired result. Roth
weller was the only merchant who
went so far as to offer his heart for
a chance to return to conditions more
similar to those of the old days, but
practically every one of the other
delegates, with the exception of E. p.
Coffey of Salina, indicated they would
go the limit to have the present rule
changed, and to make an impression
on the commission they did everything
from introducing petitions signed by
their girl clerks to Offering evidence
to show that war conditions have
made the application of the rule little
short of reasonable.
Most of the pleas for change in
the rule came from merchants in
small towns who assert that their big
trade comes on Saturday night from
farmers who are unable to get to
town during the week or even in the
afternoons on Saturdays, and strong
argument was introduced to show
that the farmers cannot carry out the
double their agricultural efforts unless
the stores remain open until after 9
o'clock Saturday nights so that they
can do their shopping after it gets
too dark to pillow corn or pitch alfafa-
Cities Object Too.
However, all of the opposition to
the present ruling did not come from
the small town merchants and among
those who cited instances of hard
ships worked upon them by the pres
1ax
Warren NJ. Crosby store, of Topeka,
and A. l. Duckwall, who owns big
store in Salina and chain of stores
in other parts of the state
J. E. Brewer, ex-senator from Abb
lene, L. B. Crawford of Winfield and
J. c. Martin of Wellington were
among the others who told the com
mission of the way the present rule is
driving away business and forcing
many of their customers to order their
goods from Montgomery Ward and
other mail order houses.
Immediately following a patriotic
address by A. NJ. Keene of Fort Scott,
former speaker of the house of rep
resentatives, and before the welfare
commission came on the floor, the
delegates unanimously adopted a res
olution asking that the nine-hour rul-
ing be changed so as to allow female
employees to be employed one day each
week at least as late as 10 p. m. and
asking that that part OF the ruling be
abolished which requires that the time
of going to meals. be posted and that
all employees be allowed one hour for
each meal.
This resolution was presented TO the
commission and Chairman Mcbride
assured the convention it would have
due and deliberate consideration.
After all of the pleas had been made
by the merchants for a change, Miss
Bresette, secretary Of the Industrial
Welfare commission, was called upon
and when she had conclusiveIy shown
that the Bison widower's offer would
receive no personal consideration from
her, she waded into the welfare side of
the issue courageously and without
mincing words asserted that it was her
opinion the merchants have not been
dealing as fairly with the commission
as the commission has with them.
You have had lot of entertain
ment here with widowers offering their
hand in marriage and employers tell
ing of their clerks who are able to
buy liberty bonds and Ford automo-
biles and to go away to take a course
in corset fitting, but not speaker
has mentioned the poor girl who has
to work for IS a week and who is
finding It next to impossible to live
at this wage with the present high
prices she said.
You present us with petitions
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