New-York tribune., 1919-05-25
Governor Tells
W omen Night
Law Will Stand
Neither Arguments Nor
Tears Move Him TO Prom
ise Change in Act That
Limits Consecutive Work

"Is your excellency going to say that
/ women cannot work on the stage after
10 o'clock at night?" asked Miss Amy
Wrenn, counsel for the Brooklyn Rapid
Transit Women's League for Equal Op-
! portunity, at the protest meeting be-
fore Governor Smith at the City Hall
yesterday on the Lockwood Caulfeld
bill limiting hours of work for women
on transportation lines.
"There has been no attempt to reg
ulate the hours of labor of professional
women," replied the Governor. "But
the time may come when that may be
done. And if some medical authority
certifies that it ought to be done, III
sign the bill"
Don't you think the work of chorus
girls is more strenuous that that of the
women whom you have heard here to-
day." continued Miss Wrenn.
"Please confine yourself to the case
at hand" said the Governor.
Fixed Policy, Said Governor
This dialogue occurred after nearly
test against the bill, which prohibits
the employment Of women before in
the morning and after 10 at night and
for more than nine consecutive hours.
1t was provoked by the declaration of
the Governor that he was emphatically
in favor of legislation regulating the
hours of work of women; that it was
the fixed policy of the state, and that
it had been determined after COM
petent medical authorities had testified
that work at night was injurious to
women.
Apart from the fear that cabarets
and theatres may have casts composed
entirely of men, the meeting developed
that:
1. The Governor will not call an
extra session Of the Legislature to
repeal the law
q The State Industrial Commits
sion will interpret the law literally,
so as to prevent unnecessary hard
ships being inflicted on women en-
| ployed on transportation lines.
200 Women Present
The meeting, which filled the Board
Of Estimate room, started little after
q o'clock. More than two hundred
women, most of them In uniform. had
been waiting nearly an hour for the
Governor and John Mitchell, State In
dustrial Commissioner, to arrive. When
he arrived all stood up and applauded
vigorously until the Governor rose and
bowed his thanks.
Lo
forcefully One of them, who spoke
with the soft accent of the West Of
Ireland, had most Of the women in
tears. She was Mrs Anastasia Ma
loney, whose frail body was accen-
tuated by the trim conductors uniform
and the close fitting mans cap with the
nickel number and plate.
"This is bad law, your worship"
began Mrs. Maloney, her blue eyes
sparkling. ~ was left by my husband
three years ago. | had three little
children. And | went out washing.
But | could not make enough to keep
us all together. So I had to put them
in n homein the Home Of Our Lady
Of the Guardian Angels.
Hired Woman to Help
"Then the war came on. and got
job on the cars. l made good money,
$28 week. So took my children out,
and I've been supporting them. And /
was able to hire woman for SIP
month to take care Of them And we
were all 30 happy until this law was
passed. The rich are not treating the
poor right to pass a law like this.
Now / can only make SLIT a day.
That's all any Of us can make. don't
want"--
Mrs. Maloney paused to take deep
breath. Then she continued, her voice
breaking;
II don't want to put those little kid
dies back In a homo. You'd ought to see
Continued on nn0e eLaren