Evening star., 1937-10-05
COST OF CLOTHES
TOPIC FOR DEBATE.
AT WAGE HEARING.
Sales Girls Can Dress on
$149.38, Say Employers.
They Reply "No!"
Minimum PAY BOARD
GET" "CASE" TONIGHT
Record Attendance Is Expected at
s,-th Conference on Women's
Salaries.

Can the average retail sales girl in
Washington dress decently and be-
eomingly on a minimum clothing
budget of sl49.38 per year.
"Yes, they cam say representative
employers.
mo! A thousand times no." chorus
tire sales girls.
To prove their convictions on the
subject of dress-and shoes-they put
In q counter claim of $242.35 per
year below which, they contend, no
girl should spend if she respects her
personal appearance and her job.
Leaving aside the question Of which
group is right or wrong, the issues in
volved will be the subject Of interesting
controversy tonight at o'clock in
room 219 at the District Building.
The judges of the debate-who will
withhold their decision for the time
being-will be the District Minimum
Wage Board.
May Set Record.
At five previous meetings. repre-
sentatives of employers and employees
hove discussed the elements entering
into a minimum wage for girl and
women workers. With every woman
interested in clothing it was expected
attendance at tonight's conference
would break previous records-none of
which, incidentally, has been any too
large.
The clothing budget advanced by
the employers equal s2.s7 per week.
The representatives of the employees
say the girls can't possibly get along on
less than s4.66 per week.
A young matron in the District
Building, who claims to know how to
shop economically. shook her head
decisively when shown the employers
clothing budget and checked OF a
few items against which she turned
thumbs down. They were: Heavy
coat. sl4.75; light coat. ss47la; bras
siers. s7.3s; bloomers, 1884; night
gowns. $23s: kimona. ss7ia.
AS for stockings. this young woman
said xhe believed the girls could get
BY" on An allowance of s2l.36 which
they claim. but doubted the SIS 56
stocking budget put forward by the
employers.
But Is Miss Gwen Geach. secretary
OF the Minimum Wage Board, pointed
out the clothing budget for girls in
retail shops can hardly be expected to
match the expenditures of the average
feminine employe in the Government
service.
Advertisement for Stores.
yet" she said today in discussing
the needs of sales girl, there is an
important matter to be taken into
consideration.
These girls really are an adver-
tisement for the stores 1t would never
do for a salesgirl in dress shop, for
instance, to wear out-moded styles.
What would the customer think9 And
possibly, what would the employer
think? They expect a girl to look her
best always"
The chief points of difference be-
tween the two budgets are in the items
OF dresses, shoes, stockings and coats
Miss Geach pointed out the en-
ployes' representative want $40 added
to the budget for Winter dresses and
Gil added for Summer dresses. They
claim 1t is next to impossible to sup
ply the need of nice" Winter dresses
on less than $2985. For Summer
dresses. they put In a claim of s22.80.
So, also. with the matter Of working
shoes. The girls want $7S5 more for
the shoes in which they must stand
all day: and $500 more for the dress
shoes in which to trip occasionally to
the movies or to dance. For work
shoes they claim q minimum of S17.85
Tor the year. They figure they can
get along on Sl1.90 for dress or sports.
$26,36 for Hosiery.
In the matter of hosiery, the girls
are more conscious OF their lower
eXtremltle3, perhaps, than are Their
employers. It would take $2l.36 pei
year, they claim. to satisfy their min.
imum needs in this respect. Theil
employers opine the girls can make 6
satisfactory appearance on $16.56 fol
hosiery, with careful mending.
Miss Geach said that in arrangin,
the clothing budget the Minimum
Wage Board-which formerly fixed {
wage of $3.50 for working girls
had the constant changes in style ane
costumes to take into consideration
On the other hand, she said. sales
girl can get print" of an expensive
latest style" at q very REASONABLE
figure.
After the matter of clothing is dis
posed Of, the wage board will direc
Its next conference on "sundries,
Under which come many tmportan
items. In fact, the sum total of sun
dries" Is In excess Of the clothinI
budget. They include such items q
personal care, health, recreation
savings and insurance, church an,
charity tranxnorfation Afr