The Washington herald., 1920-12-03
TOOK WEEK TO
LEARN TRADE
Col. Easby- Smith Relates
Plumbing Feat at Laun-
dry Wage Hearing.
LAUNDERING DIFFERS
Employers Conferees Claim
Simplest Work Takes
: Years to Master.

= Col. James 8. Easby-Smith. wash
ington lawyer. and veteran Of the
world war. can NJ a leaky water
pipe as well as any other plumber.
But Col Easily Smith isn't plumb
ing just now. and. IL Is understood.
is unavailable for that kind Of work
The awful secret of the colonePs
plumbing education came out al
a meeting Of the District Minimum
Wage Boards laundry conference
yesterday while the conferees were
trying to decide whether a learn
ing period and commensurate pay
should be adopted in local laun-
dries.
II was after someone had audibly
supposed that a person with superior
,intellect and training. not neces-
esarily manual. could learn the laun-
dry business faster than q dull
swftted one. that Col. Easoy-Smith,
who is chairman of the conference,
started to reminisce.
According to his statement, a le-
Dgal case he was handling demand
ed knowledge Of plumbing.
so ! entered a plumbing shop
and knew how to use every tool
in the place at the end of week
he concluded.
= And, according to other testimony.
less gifted workers spend years
and years learning the simplest ele-
ments of laundry work.
o she MADE Her Furniture.
- Ethel Smith, representative of the
public at the conference. didn't get
an opportunity to tell Col. Easily
l.
exceptional, inasmuch as she made
all the furniture in her home, be-
cause when she remarked this the
conference began to laugh and joke
about things in general. and an
other conference member asked
Miss Smith how many shirts she
could iron in a day.
Frank p. Ayalear of the Elite
laundry delivered a discourse on the
% -intrieacies OF putting pins in laun-
tdered pieces. while from time to
time conferees interpolated ques-
-tions. Avalear stated that SO per
cent of his workers were inexpe-
rIenced, although the employers
representatives on the conference at
tempted to show that years were
.required to learn laundry work thor
$}aghly. and that good work could
sn6t be turned out by inexperienced
Shands.
' Col. Easby-Smfth suggested. as
sthe employers closed their presenta-
4tion of their case. that the employ
Iers' and employees conferees come to
"a common conclusion between them
SELVES, the public's representatives
yotinG for the measure agreed upon.
rs yeur delegation full nowT" Col.
EEaSby- Smith asked Miss Smith "Er
II don't mean--er-(unanim
Slaughter) mean have you three
Representatives for the public?"
Miss smith shows Spirit.
= But Miss Smith showed fight. She
rtold the chairman that the public
clad not been heard. although the
employers had, and demanded that
Sthe public be given opportunity to
.present it's testimony.
4 After much wordy wrangling Mrs.
sClsra Mortensen Beyers, secretary
.of the minimum wage board, was
fpcrmitted to make an analysis of the
twages paid in the laundry industry.
FThe Rev George A. Miller, a con-
fierce. frequently interrupted with
Questions and remarks that Mrs.
sByers' testimony had no bearing on
rthe case. until Miss Smith told him
sthat the public could more fittingly
erresent its claim IL he practised the
silenee IS golden" maxim
The conference decided not 10 vote
until another meeting. which will be
sheld In the board room of the Dis
strlet Building next Thursday after
snoon At o'clock. The meetings are
spuslic.