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SOME REASONS WHY MEN WON'T TAKE GIRLS"
PLACES UNDER A MINIMUM WAGE LAW. ,)
y-- bV jane whitaker - "
How to' defeat Justice! -That is a great hobby with employers, whoi
hire corporation lawyers by -the year, to accomplish . this purpose, and
already Julius Rosenwald, of Sears-Roebuck, is adopting- a clever plan
which one of his employes disclosed. -. u
Mr. Rosenwald seems to realize that- something will come of this in
vestigation, 'hi spite of. the concerted efforts to prevent it. And he also
believes tha the minimum wage will, be established at what Lieut. Gov.
O'Hara called, "just beyond the. bread line" $8.
"I suppose, as yopi say, some of us -must be martyrs in "a cause like
this," the Sears-Roebuck girl said to me, "but don't you know women are
spectacular creatures they don't want to suffer in silence they want a
brass band and .a sandwich man. to tell it to thehworld."
"Suppose you t.eU it to me and let, me be the sandwich man. "What
is this secret suffering?" ' - . ; - ' i
"Well, a lot of girls have been turned out of Sears-Roebuck since-this
investigation, and I feel my head every day .to see.if it is on. The girls that
nave Deen nrea are au giris wno nave
' hisfn there for vears and are earn
ing. $9 and $10.. '
"You can. readily, .understand what
this means.. If Sears-Roebuck must
pay a minimum wage, of $8 they will
hire nothing but. $8 girls. The ones
they are taking on. now are getting
$Evand $6 and the giris who should
expect proportionate increases in
their wages will all be cleared out
"The same' fate wiltfollow the minimum-wage
girl if she ever thinks
she 'is worth more than $8. Only the
contemptible thing is that they keep
the girls who know how to do things
long enough to teach the new girls,
then they fire them..
"You need not laugh, because -.1
want my suffering advertised when it
comesJulius Rosenwald. is just' as
tonioV if thft minimum-waee
10 law is put into .'effect Julius will rise
up ana say:
" shall not evade the law. I am
in sympathy with giving my employes
the wage -you ' have, decided they
should receive.'
"And Lieut.-Gov. O'Hara will say-,
Let. me shake hands with you, JVIr.,
Rosenwald, you are a fairrminded
business man and I am proud, tor
know you;' Won't Julius have one
big laugh?"
I suppose he-will, but the majority"1
'of philanthropists have had big
laughs when the -world has acclaimed
them an benefactors, of mankind.
The action of Sears-Roebuck dis-'
clos.es one thinghowever. They rea
lize that :they will never be able" to
put men in the places of women.
As I told you before, there are two
;reasons ior this. In the first place,
women., are. directly responsible for
the low wages paid them.
When it first became necessary for
womeh to help support the family by ;
going to work, their sex was against
'them, their innate refinement was
against them their sensitive na--tures,
too, and in .order to enter at
all,,they accepted the terms of greedy
employers, whp said they were not
worth the "same wage that-.men got,
'and who gave women just, half that
.wage. . x.
This .does not apply alone .to de-,
partment stores. Take stenographers.
A girl will begin at $6. A man won't
stast at less than $12, lyet he is no
more proficient. If the girl ever
reaches,.$18, she thanks the. good..
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