Evening star., 1923-05-16
WOMEN TOFORM
WAGE COMMITTEE
Labor, Church, Consumers
and Other Interests Will
Be Represented.

The minimum wage conference of
twenty-seven national organizations
of women, including labor, church.
consumers. collegiate and numerous
other interests, today moved to or
ganize a joint committee to study
means of protecting women workers
wages.
A committee Of three was author
adopted by the conference TO organ
ize a joint committee out of all the
groups represented for the study of
program which is to be reported by
the first of November to another
meeting of the conference.
The committee of three is to be ap-
pointed by the National Woman's
Trade Union League. which spon-
sored the conference, at its headQuar-
ters here. 1923 New York avenue. and
will consist of representatives of the
league, the American Federation of
League.
Compromise Clause.
compromise was reached over
the trade union clause of the resolu-
tion which some representatives of
non-union organizations said they
were not in power to vote upon. The
resolution as finally drafted was
unanimously adopted.
The committee went into session
shortly after noon with instructions
to make the resolution read that it
was the sense of the twenty-seven
national organizations represented to
consider that they would give in
tensive study through joint COM
mittee to all means proposed during
the conference for lettering the con-
ditions for woman workers.
Hit ID. c. Wage Law Ruling.
The Supreme Courts decision de-
claring unconstitutional the District
of Columbia minimum wage law for
women and girls was assailed by
Samuel Gompers. president of the
American Federation of Labor. and
other speakers yesterday afternoon.
Mr.. Gompers declared the greatest
wrong" in the minimum wage law de-
ciSion was that Justice Sutherland.
in the majority opinion, likened 1.-The
labor Of woman to the purchase of
a shfn-bone over the counter to make
SOUP" thus overturning "the princi-
pie which we thought was established
in the Clayton act, that the labor Of
or article of commerce." He urged
adoption of a constitutional amend
ment to give Congress power to over
ride decisions of the Supreme Court
Woll, vice president of the fedora
tion. deplored the alleged usurpation
of legislative and executive functions
by the judicial branch of the gov
ernment
The most revolutionary thing we
have today" said Mr.. Woll, "is the
power Of five men to cast aside the
law of the land. No other country
in the world has vested in nine men
so far removed from the source of
their selection such power as is in
the United States Supreme Court"
Rev. John A. Ryan. director of the
social action department of the Ma
tional Catholic Welfare Council, ad-
vocated an amendment to the Con-
stitution which would fix minimum
Industrial standards. and enactment
of a statute to require concurrence
of seven or eight OF the nine Su-
preme Court justices to declare a
law unconstitutional.
Mrs. Florence Kelley. general Sec
retary Of the National Consumers
League, urged appointment of a
woman as a Supreme Court justice.
E. p. Costigan sent a written mes
sage to the conference. in which he
favored general welfare. amend
ntent to insure welfare legislation.