The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1938-02-10

| residents OF wash
Washington ington are located
Neus here because it is
the site and seat
of the federal government. In 9TH
er words, Washington is a great
city because it is the capital OF the
nation. The statement is not COM
pletely the truth, but bare analysis
by whomever made cannot fail to
demonstrate that there are thou
sands who live in Washington for
the reasons mentioned.
In consequence of this condition,
therefore, Washington news does
not get into the newspapers OF the
country as does other news. The
Washington date line in ninety-nine
out of each one hundred cases is
over a story that deals with some
phase of government or politics.
Since Westinghouse have no vote,
Westinghouse cannot be in poll
tics.
Nevertheless, sometimes there is
news about Washingtonians that is
of interest to all of the country. The
observation is peculiarly true of a
circumstance that has lately devel-
oped. Moreover, the case in point
holds a lesson for the country as a
whole.
Lately, congress passed a law es-
tablishing a minimum wage for
women workers in the District of
Columbia. The statute was rather
loosely drawn, as it had to be if it
were to work at all. 1t left much
to the discretion of controlling
agency called minimum wage
board. One of the reasons why so
much discretion was left to the 10
cal agency, however, was because
the subject with which the legisla-
ton deals contains political dyna-
mite and congress did not want to
establish a precedent by going too
far in fixing wages. So the District
of Columbia was left a rather wide
scope within which to build its mini
mum wage structure.
That was the basis for the cir
cumstance above mentioned, the
news about Westinghouse, the les
son for the nation.
The wage board started out to
hold hearings to obtain facts about
the wage level and what was need
ed by the women workers. Stenog-
raphers, office workers, clerks in
stores and this and that and the
other type of employed women. FL
nally, the board got around to wait
resses and their wages. That was
where the lid blew off, because who
does not knowTthat mattresses col
lect considerable money in tips?
Promptly, up bobbed red hot ques-
ton: should the tips, or the average
monthly take" in tips be consid-
cred as a part of the wage of wait
resseS?
Well, the question has not been
settled yet and even when an order
is issued, it will not have been set
tied. It will go on and on and there
will be some racketeers who will or
ganize a society or something to
fight for exclusion Of tips as part
of the wage, if that be the order.
If the board eventually decides to
exclude tips end fix a minimum
wage without regard to tips, the
employers will carry on drum fire
of criticism about it. Why? Because
the question strikes at the very
heart of the relationship between
employer and worker.
Any worker naturally wants as
much of a return for his or her la
Dor as can be obtained. Any en-
ployer feels equally that he is en-
titled to obtain needed labor as
cheaply as is possible. The wait
resses, therefore, took the position
that the proprietor had no right to
consider the tips as part of the
wage. On the other hand, the pro-
prietor - probably with the same
justification said in effect that
without the job the waitress will not
get tips, and that the owner who
takes the risk ought to be allowed
to count those tips as part of the
compensation.
Further, the customers Of the res
taurant were entitled to some con-
=, sideration, d
Consider tn e proprietors.
Customers That is, they ar
gued that the Gus
toners were charged prices for food
and service that would yield the
proprietor a fair profit. The tips, it
was held, were gratuities on the
part of the customer and they vary
in amount, some large, some small.
If the wage rate was to be raised
and the tips Embellishments
would have to pay more for food.
The mattresses used the argument
that the tips were gratuities, Just
as the owners did, but since they
are gratuities, said the mattresses,
in no wise was it fair to include
them in the wage scale.
And so the argument went! But
the lesson remains. No better IL
lustration is possible, I think, than
the Washington waitress wage con-
troversy; there is no better way
to show how utterly silly it is for
government to mess into private af-
fairs. Whenever government sticks
it's hooked nose into private affairs.
just there begins an unbalancing of
human nature. That is to say, there
is no substitute for negotiation be-