Evening star., 1937-09-24
V|NGCOST DATA
PROVOKE DISPUTE
ON MINIMUM PAY
Retail Clerk and Employer
Representatives TangIe
During Negotiations.
TRADE SUBMITS $14.57
FIGURE, WORKERS S21.51
Some Wide Differences Appear
in Various Items to Determine
Standard in District.

Sharply divided on their separate
estimates of the cost of living, worker
and employer groups next week will
resume a determined battle over the
minimum wage that is to be set for
Washington's retail clerks.
Representatives of the worker. en-
ployer and the general public, meet
ing last night with members of the
District Minimum Wage Board,
struggled for nearly three hours to
ascertain the minimum costs of living
suitable for the lowest paid clerks, and
at the end still were far from agree
ment.
Employer spokesmen submitted to
the boards Conference Committee a
budget placing the minimum proper
costs of living at $14.57 per week. or
nearly 50 per week less than the mini
mum wages specified for retail clerks
nearly 20 years ago by the old Mini
mum Wage Board.
Employe Estimate S21.51.
Employe Spokesmen placed the mini
mum cost of living budget at s2l.51
per week, or nearly 81 higher than the
estimate Of the employers.
While both sides submitted total
budget estimates, nearly all of the
three-hour debate revolved around
estimates of the costs of room, or board
and room. Other details will be taken
up at later meetings. The next is
scheduled for next Tuesday night.
John H. Hanna, chairman of the
board of the Capital Transit Co., the
representative of employers on the
Minimum Wage Board, cross examined
worker representatives to the con-
ference on their estimates. He was
aided by the three employer spokes-
men on the conference, John j. Halsey,
general manager of Palais Royal;
Jacob Hemminger, manager of Wool
worth's, and Edwin Hahn of Hahn g.
Co. shoe stores. The case of the en-
ployes was presented by Arthur l..
Schoenthal, representative of workers
on the board. and the three worker
members of the conference body, Mrs.
Erma Ketchem, Mis- Anna Thornhill
and Mrs. A. E. Milstead.
Workers Give Figures.
At the insistance of the employer
spokesmen, the worker delegates were
called first to state their estimates of
the cost of rooms for the clerks. Mrs.
Ketchem said they had found the
minimum price for a room that as
sured minimum protection for the
health and morals of women workers
would be SIS per week.
Hanna, Hahn and other employer
spokesmen insisted the worker group
should report the actual number of
rooms involved in the study. Schoen-
thai under persistent questioning,
later estimated that the price of room
rent paid by some $500 women work.
ers in the whole mercantile industry
was the basis of the estimate.
Improper Procedure Charged.
At one point, Hemminger suggested
that Schoenthal was not being quite
frank" and the labor spokesmen re-
torted that the procedure Of the hear
ing was improper since employer rep
resentatives had not allowed a full
statement of the workers case before
cross-examination.
Hanna called w. H. Press assistant
secretary Of the Board of Trade, to
supply the employer data, which con-
tanned an estimate that the cost of
board and room would be but $8 A
breakdown of this figure gave So q
week for room and SIS week for
board. Hanna explained that his
group had asked the Industrial In
terests Committee of the Board of
Trade and the Merchants and Manu-
facturers' Association to make the sur
vey. Hanna said he felt the resulting
budget was fair" but that the en-
ployer members of the conference were
not responsible" for it.
Press explained that he had first
attempted to use QUESTIONABLE, but
found that impossible, and resorted to
an appraisal of the price of available
room and room and board from ad-
vertisements published in the news
papers, plus some data gathered from
replies to blind" advertisements he
had inserted in the papers. He said
his survey of rooms-for-rent "ads
covered some 1900 rooms, making
allowances for duplication of "ads
Majority SO to 81.
proce I,a fo,,ol tl,oro ,x,o,o r...
l6o rooms advertised at SO per week
and about ITO rooms at 81. There
were smaller numbers at both higher
and lower prices, he said. Under
questioning by Schoenthal, he reported
that some places advertised for $3.50
were found not to be available, bui
that the landlords had higher priced
rooms.
For clothing, the employer budget
estimate was $l49.38 per year a.
against $242.35 offered by the worker
group, but the latter group included
$45 for repair and cleaning Of cloth
ing, whereas the employer bulge
listed $26 as separate item for such
costs.
DIner on Otner Items.
For health costs, the employee
budget provided $26 year as agains
$39 listed by the employees. For vaca
tions, the employers allowed $13 I,
year, as against $20.80 by the workers
For church and charity, the employer
allowed $500 year and the employe
s12. For transportation the employer
allowed $46.80 year and the worker
$65. For self improvement and care
including beauty parlor, cosmetics AM
newspapers and magazines, the EN-
ployers allowed $31.2o and the EN-
ployes $685.. For insurance ant
savings the employers listed $500
year and the employees $26.58. Fo
recreation the employers allowed $10.4
year and the workers listed as
proper charge for amusements $50
Aye'r. Z