Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-08
Mere Man Found
Very Mere Indeed
By Labor Women
Restaurateurs Who Judge
Mattresses by Form
''Unspeakable.''

he man WHO a
necktie to the machine-made article Is
an unspeakable. and the restaurant
proprietor who won't employ a waitress
if she isn't pretty or weighs more than
100 pounds is menace to society. Men
are not so smart. any way you take EN-.
These conclusions were arrived ar this
morning by woman workers affiliated
with the National Women's Trade Union
League, meeting in convention in the
Grace Dodge Hotel. IL symposium on
wages was the order of the day and
what resulted was an experience meet
ing, with no one present tu give mere
man break. William Mcmahon, pres
ident of the United Textile Workers,
walked in just as a garment worker
hurled a split inf1nitive at employers
generally, but he was not N humor to
take any sides. having just returned
from Elizabethton, Tenn, where 5000
rayon workers are on strike.
All the members of the League are
actively identified with the labor move
ment among women. Several, who spoke
this morning, are on leave from their
jobs in various trades. Garment work.
ers, mattresses. telephone company en-
ployeS, and others worked themselves
into a fine state of vigor and table
pounding as they set forth the in
equalitieS" of women in industry.
Coed Mattresses Hit.
"If the school teachers and college
co-eds would mind their business and
quit trying to wait on table, wages
would be better in the waitress bust
ness" Miss Sarah Green of Kansas
City. vehemently told the delegates.
I weigh more than 100 pounds and my
figure didn't suit the proprietor" she
said. THE school teachers are not
mattresses, and If they don't stay out
of the business they'll have us all in
the bread line"
Attracting considerable applause, Miss
Green warmed to her subject.
Two years ago I was In Glacier Ma
tional Park and the people were admir-
ing the pretty Dutch mattresses at the
inn," she related. IT found that every
one of them was country school
teacher. wanted to kill every one of
them before left"
Men who prefer the handmade neck
ties were put on the block during dis
cussion of the effect of seasonal and
part-time employment on earnings
Miss Rose Schneiderman, president of
the league, suggested that the time has
come when woman workers should de-
mand a guaranteed tenure OF employ
ment such as school teachers enjoy. 1t
was suggested, however, that an en-
ployer cannot guarantee jobs when he
has no way of determining the demand
for the article he is manufacturing.
Part-time Workers Discussed.
For example, said Miss Mary Engle-
man of New York City, the increasing
demand of men for the handmade ties
had caused reduction Of from 80 to
40 per cent in average earnings in the
necktie industry in New York State in
the last five years. Married women and
others seeking extra money take home
worker assigned to the machine is de-
prived of that much labor.
And the effect of changing fashions"
said another worker, signing. There
was a time when the shoe trade was
considered stable. But will a woman
wear last seasons brown oxfords? She
will not. She has to have pink. and
while the factory is readjusting its ma
chinery to make pink shoes the work.
erS are idle"
Miss Lillian Herstein of Chicago Fed
Grafton of Labor, asserted that women
should ask the question what price
fashion" and determine whether there
is any esthetic value in changing modes.
The consensus was that the situation
resulting from changing styles in shoes
obtains throughout that part of in
dustry catering to women's wear.
Prosperity Not Seen.
The prosperity of the country has
not been reflected in workers earnings,
insisted Miss Ethel Smith of Washing
ton. Mems earnings have increased in
the last five years, but women's have
decreased, she said Miss Herstein
wanted to know why.
ut is because men have brought from
their Garden of Eden days the idea
that women ought to be protected?" she
asked. THE employers say women are
not as regular in their work as men
that they have to be at home when
their family has illness. But why stay
home when others are sick? Can't a
child or husband give Aunt Sarah q
hot-water bottle?"
Earnings Half Those Of Men.
The women could not satisfy them
selves why they earn less money, but
they were armed with an imposing ar
ray of figures and reports to show that
such is the case. Miss Herstein quoted
from Massachusetts,, Illinois and New
York reports to show that women wage
earners in industry received on an aver
age of SIS per cent of the weekly wage
earnings of men.
The women took the position that no
accurate check on unemployment could
be had until part-time workers were
taken into account. Company pay rolls
do not show this division Of labor. they
said, and it was on the part-time worker
they placed most of the onus.