The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-01-30
CONCERNING SUFFRACISTS AND
 LABOR LEGISLATION FOR WOMEN

with the rest of their time for them selves. They are mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, and if they work at night, they rarely go home to bed with the possibility of getting a full nights rest in the daytime They go to prepare breakfast for the rest of the family, to get the children off to school, clear up the house, do the washing and ironing, the mending or the cleaning for the family. The sleep that such women get Is not enough to sustain their strength; but they rarely insist on their own needs until their health is really broken and it is too late to remedy the mis- chief.
 A third bill is minimum wage a commission of three with power to enquire into the wages of those trades in which women receive less than a living rate of pay. and to es- tablish minimum rates. About a doz- | en states-chiefly those where the women have votes have laws on this | model, and in several states they ! have been in working for three or | four years and have been found ex- | ceedingly beneficial.
 The fourth bill is one for the pro- lection of the girls and women work | ing in offices. It was drawn up by the Bookkeepers. Stenographers, and Accountants Union, and 1t brings
 these workers under the protection oi health laws which formerly applied l al In fo Ntn nd
 also prohibits night work for women
 office workers, with some carefully
 guarded exceptions, for women who
 work in such offices as those of doc tors, lawyers and newspapers.
 The fifth bill covers a new class o1
 workers-a class created by the wal
 which seems likely to become per
 manent. These are the elevator girls i who are now running elevators in SC | many of the big buildings, and who
 have shown their entire competency
 in this work. The bill prohibits thi:
 work for girls under q. It also limit! the day of the elevator girls to min,
 hours. prohibits night work and en
 sures one days rest in seven. It alsC
 provides for the placing of seats 1T
 elevators for the use of the gir
 workers.
 The sixth bill is the only one of thu
 series which is aimed at the protec
 ton of men as we'll as women. Thi
 is the health insurance bill which i
 modelled on legislation that has lon;
 been in force in Great Britain and II other countries of Europe. It pro
 vides for regular weekly payments t
 employees during sickness. The fun
 from which these payments are t come will be provided half by tn
 worker and half by the employer
 The machinery of the Health Insur
 ance Service will be provided by tn state and the state will defray its ex } penses. The payments according | , the bill are not to exceed $500 : week to the sick worker. The in surance payments are regulated b the wages of the employee but tn l. best paid employee would not b } called upon to contribute more tha 24 cents a week.
 Another feature of the Healt , Insurance Bill is it's maternity bene fit. Every woman worker, and the wifi ov every male worker who becomes mother will receive a sum of none r to cover the cost of the confnemen
 This Is a feature which has been C | untold benefit in Great Britain, wher l the difficulty of laying up money fo l the coming event was always I source of deep anxiety to the pros = rective mother. It will undoubtedl g be equally beneficial in New Tor ]; state