Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1937-10-20
&14 PAY MINIMUM
FOR WOMEN URGED
AT BOARD SESSION
Marketing Expert for Wool
worth Co. Would Have
Scale Run Up to SIS.
CUT IN JOBS, INJURY
TO BUSINESS WARNED
Too High a Standard, Professor
Says, Might Force Some to
Close Up Shop.

The battle over the minimum wage
10 be fixed for Washington's 5000 re-
tail trade workers was continued today
Is spokesman for employers made
public the recommends tions of mar
keting expert for the F. w Woolworth
Co. that the scale be graded from s14
to SIS per week.
The recommendations were those of
Or. Paul Nystrom, Columbia Univer-
sity professor, who is to testify at the
next meeting of the Minimum Wage
4 witness for Jacob Hemminger, man.
ager OF the Woolworth F street store,
. conference member
Nystrom coupled his wage recon-
htendations with warning that the
establishment of too high wage prob
ably would result in discharge of some
clerks, reduction of the size of sales
STATS and possibly force some retailers
cut OF business.
His brief. distributed today to all
II members OF the conference. was
called up by the employers after the
conference struggled for three hours
last night to arrive at a decision but
found itself in a deadlock, which it
hopes to break next week
Workers Want s215l.
Representatives Of employees have
commended the budget for unattached
female workers sohuld be no less than
e21.5l per week. Employer spokes-
man have insisted weekly budget Of
e14.57 would be sufficient.
Nystrom declared the minimum
should be sl4 for those working 40
hours week, s1450 for clerks work.
Ing "A hours a week and SIS week
for those working 48 hours. He said
the scales should be 81 less per week
for minors and 81 less for workers
having less than one year of expert
ence.
Declaring establishment of a mini
mum wage almost evitably" will re-
suit in dismissal of some emploves
whose productiveness is not equal in
value to the minimum wage" DR..
Nystrom cited reports of the Bureau
of Labor Statistics to show that in
In the number of girls employed in re-
tail stores after minimum wage went
into effect.
May Lose to Virginia.
DR., Nystrom argued that while
profits vary among stores and among
different types of retail stores. 1T is
unlikely that the profits of all the
stores in Washington affected by the
wage law will average more than 212
per cent Of sales. Some stores are not
even now making any profit They are
hanging on and continuing in the hope
OF future improvement. A minimum
wage fixed too high will effectually
crush such hopes"
The expert also warned that if the
wage causes an increase in operating
costs. which is passed along to the
consumer through price increases,
Washington may lose some of its trade
TO stores in MARYLAND and Virginia,
which have no minimum wage laws,
or even to places farther removed
modern transportation.
Supporting one of the major con-
tentions Of the employer spokesman
on the conference, Dr. Nystrom said
the cost of living today is about 20
per cent lower than it was in 1929.
Proposals Not Disclosed.
Members of the conference declined
10 reveal proposals offered by spokes-
men for the public, the employees or
the employers. but indications were
that the conference members were
still far apart at the conclusion of a
three-hour session. which had been
scheduled as the final meeting of the
retail conference.
John J. Esch. representative of
the general public, who Is chairman
OF the conference, said the body de-
voted most of last nights meeting to
o discussion Of the widely different
items in the four main elements of
the proposed budgets - rent, food,
clothing and sundries.
A rate of $3.50 per week was fixed
nearly 20 years ago for retail trade
workers by the original District Mini
mum Wage Board. This was effective
for several years but eventually was
declared unconstitutional by the
United States Supreme Court. The
Law was revived last March by de-
cision by the high court in which the
former ruling was reversed.
The members of the Wage Board
are Mrs. William Kittle. chairman,
who Is a public representative; Arthur
L. schoenthal, spokesman for en-
ploves. and John H. Hanna. spokes-
man for employers. Hanna yester-
day submitted his resignation from
the board. to take effect at the con-
elusion of the work of the Retail