Newspaper Page Text
O'HARA COMMISSION DISCOVERS ANOTHER
ROSENWALD BRAND v OF PHILANTHROPIST ,fi
V" - . ' &
Vic for Riesenfeld Is a Settlement Worker and. Knows i
JGirls..Can Live, oh $3 SO a Week, So' Feels
Justified in' Making Thfem Do It. b'
Julius Rosenwald is not the only
,free-handed, big-hearted, slave-driving
"philanthropist" in Chicago. This
was revealed yesterday by the O'Hara
low wages commission.
Victor S.- Riesenfeld was. on the
stand. -Riesenfeld ' is department
manager for Rosenwald & Weil, man
ufacturers of clothing, 500 South
Franklin street.
Riesenfeld. had been forced to ad
mit that some of the girls,in the em
ploy of Rosenwald v & Weil were
paid as little as $2.17 -a "week.
"I want to explain," he added
hastily, "that the girls who got as
low as this did not work all week."
"Well, said Iieut Gov. O'Hara,
"let's take the case of Esther Beren-,
son. She was paid only $3.48 for her
last-week's work. How many hours
did she" work for 'that? "
"Forty-seven hours," 'said Riesen
feld. "Don't you consider thatra week's
work?" asked O'Hara.
"Why, no,", said Riesenfeld. "Un
der the state law .a woman can be
worked sixty hours a week."
The commission gazed curiously at
Riesenfield. ,
t "Esther-Berenson got $3.48 for
one week's'wqrk," said Senator Juul,
at last. "Don't you know that a wo
man cannot live on that amount?
Don't you know that it costs a wo
man afileast $8 a, week for the yery
necessities of life?" '
"No I don't,'' said Riesenfeld. "I
am a settlement worker myself and
know from my experience that a
woman can live honestly on $4 a
week and save from zu to cents
every week."
"You know that of your own
knowledge, from your own expe
rience?" demanded O'Hara. r'
"Yes," said Riesenfeld. ,,
"Then get down to business," said
the lieutenant "governor, harshly,
"and give us the figures on.which.you
base that statement. Tell us how
that girl lives, how she pays her
board, what she pays for board, what
she pays for clothes, and so on."
"Oh, I can't do that," said Riesen
feld. But I know that girls making
even $350 a week are saving 20 and
25 cents a Week and paying their own
way.'
"Well, tell us how much, board
thesB girls pay."
"Oh, I can't do that They live at
home. Of course they paysomething
at home, but 1 don't know how
much."
"You m9an," said Senator Juul,
"that you forcevthesgfrl's "parents to
pay the difference, between what you
pay them for working for you nine
hours six days out of every seven
and-what it costs them to live;"
"Oh, I don't fthink so."
"Well, explain how these girls are
going to live on $350 a week and pay
their way and save that 20 to 25 cents
a week,"- commanded O'Hara.
And Mr. Riesenfeld did not answer.
The commission js filled with cur
iosity about Rosetiwald &' Weil's busi
ness. ' 4
When the Investigation of the com-.
mission showed that it would be
l-worth' while to get a few facts 'from
heads of the firm themselves, sub
poenas were issued for Morris Ro-
senwald and Julius WelL
