The Connecticut labor press., 1920-03-13
ORGANIZED WOMEN DEMAND CONGRESS
 PROVIDE BUREAU
Trades Union League Finally Gets Favorable Bill Before
 House.
ASK $l5O,OOO FUND
More Spent on Cattle Than Work CTS, Labor Committee
 Is Told.

Washington, March 12.-Organized Republican women, organized Demo- cratic women, organized non-partisan women, organized women consumers united this week in backing the demand of the organized working women of the United States at a joint hearing before the Labor committees of the Senate and House for law to establish on a per- manent statutory basis the Women's Bureau of the U. s. Department of La Dor. Two mere men, representing the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the De- partment of Labor, and the American Federation of Labor, were also on the list of advocates of the bill which has been introduced by Representative Philip P. Campbell of Kansas, at the request of the National Women's Trade Union League. A bill of similar pur- viously introduced by Representative John E.. Baker of California, was also under consideration by the committee. Both Mir. Campbell and MT. Baker made statements in behalf of their respective measures.
 The advocates of the legislation (and no opponents have appeared), not only ask for the .permanence of the existing bureau, but they want an increased appropriation, to the amount of S15O,O ,OOO The existing bureau created under the war powers of the Secretary of Labor, has been getting along on fneager 10000 year, while Congress was ap- propriating $300,000 for the improve ment of the breeds of domestic animals and over $5,000000 for animal industry
 This latter point was made by Mrs. George Bass, speaker for the Woman's S R11raa,1 nf fha committee. Spokeswomen for the Re- publican women's executive committee of the national Republican committee were Mrs. Rosalie Loew Whitney of Brooklyn, N. Y.. and Miss Mary Stew art of Washington, D. C., who pointed to the fact that the Republican women in three interstate. conferences had adopted set of blanks to present to their party managers, one of which blanks was for the establishment of the Woman's Bureau on a permanent statutory basis. The women of both parties declared they would look to their eongres to meet this demand of the new voters.
 That women only can bring to the study of industrial questions the wornan's point of view was insisted up- on by several speakers in reply to re peated questions by Representative John MacCrate of New York, a member of the House committee, who wished to know why there should be any special agency to deal with women's problems. It was urged by Miss Mary Van Keeck, former director of the existing bureau, by Dr. Royal Meeker, chief of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by Miss Julia Lathrop, chief of the Chi1dren's Bureau. that the director of this bureau should be a woman of coordinate rank and salary with other bureau chiefs in the Department of Labor, because of the necessity of securing woman of the best equipment, as well as matter of fairness. Miss Van K1eeck urged the importance of a woman's bureau not only in its special field, but as bringing women into the administration of the Department of Labor and the considera- tion of industrial questions upon an equal footing with men.
 Miss Agnes Nestor(a glove worker by trade, spoke of the lack of stand ardization of working conditions of women in factories and commercial occupations, and the usefulness of federal agency which could investigate those conditions and give publicity to the need of improvement.