Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-09-19
Humanity In
Government
By JAMES j. DAVIS
Secretary OF Labor


morrow
Great numbers of our women, the
mothers of our future generations,
have been forced by economic ne
cessity into industry as workers.
They present a grave problem, for
their welfare is vital to the MAIN
tenance of sturdy American man.
hood, virile and responsible. to meet
the issues which America of tomor-
row will face. The Department of
Labor, through the Women's Bureau,
is the agency through which the
government is seeking to make GER
tain that the nations women in their
migration from the home to the shop
| and factory are safeguarded in every
direction, in order that the future of
the race may not be impaired. The
bureau was created in 1920, after the
Women In Industry service, organ
lied to meet the necessities of the
war period, had completed it's work.
The purpose of the bureau as set
forth in the act of congress author
izing its creation is to formulate
standards and policies which shall
promote the welfare Of wage-earning
women, improve their working con-
ditions, increase their efficiency. and
advance their opportunities for prof.
table employment" The bureau is
composed of women, directed by q
woman and concerned specifically
with the welfare Of women.
Women are in industry to stay.
This Is a fact that is generally recog-
nized in view of the vast numbers
engaged therein. Another rapidly
spreading fact is that women's So
called pin-money is frequently the
family coupling-pin, the only means
of holding the family together. Wom-
en- have been cogs in wheels of in
dustry not only because they are in
dispensable to the industrial world
but because the Industrial world in
turn is indispensable to them in their
economic struggles. The Women's
Bureau finds that practically 100 per
cent. of the married women in in
dustry are devoting their entire wage
while the unmarried women assume
fully as much responsibility as do
the unmarried men.
Careful study to produce the
smooth adjustment of the workers
il industry is essential not only for
a successful industrialism but for a
successful society. The protection
and adjustment of women workers
is especially imperative since they
have the additional role of mothers
and home-makers. They are the
producers of future citizens as we'll
as of economic goods, and Ameri 4,
of tomorrow will be as strong as her
women Of today. Moreover, the
greater necessity for control of
standards affecting women workers
is due to the fact that women have
been in a weaker position economi-
cally than men. They came into in
dustry more or less on sufferancc
and they have not yet bonded them
selves together strongly enough to
insist successfully upon better con-
ditions. Also since most women in
industry are there because of finan-
cial necessity, they can not afford
to turn down a job because OF low
wages, long hours, or unsatisfactory
conditions. Therefore, it is necessary
to provide an opportunity for the
upbuilding of safeguards to conserve
alike the industrial efficiency and the
health of women and to make 1t I'M
possible for selfish interests to ex-
plot them as unwilling competitors
in lowering those standards of wages,
working conditions, hours. and IN
dustrial relations which are for the
best interest of the workers, the in
dustries, and society as a whole.
1t is the function of the Women's
Bureau to collect and present facts
and statistics for use in throwing
light on these problems, to co-ope-
ate with other agencies in h rec
ommendation and establishment Of
standards for the protection and ad-
vancement of wage-earning women.
About such bones of legislative con-
tention as the minimum wage. the
48-hour week, night work for wom-
en-, and working conditions the bu-
reau necessarily has formulated def
mite policies and labelled them the
standards for women in industry"
These have been circulated until
they have become natl vide slo-
gans. First, there is il. for the
ideal industrial week for W..I.n,
that is the S-hour day, the hal Ii
day on Saturday, one day of = in
seven, and no night work. Equllly
important has been the cry Of equal
pay for equal work. A woman who
does a mans work in the facory and
carries a mans responsibilities in the
home in the maintenance of a family
obviously should receive the same
rate should cover the cost of living
for dependents and not merely for
the individual.
OF no less interest are standardized
working conditions for women wage
earners. One of the guiding princi-
pies of modern industrial engineer
ing is that a working environment
established on the corne stones of
comfort and hygiene, science and
sanitation. forms a strong founda-
ton for a superstructure of ef1icien-
cy. The bureau points out that as
long as women work in plants grimy
with the accumulation of dirt and
lint strain their ewes at their. inhS