The day book. [volume], February 24, 1914, NOON EDITION, Image 6

About The day book. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1911-1917

Image provided by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

                
AS USUAL, THE LAW IS RIGHTING WITH THE
SIDE OF WEALTH NOT THE SIDE OF RIGHT
BY JANE WHITAKER
It was bitterly cold. I stood as close as I could to a fat "fly cop" in the
hope that some"of-he chill wind might focus on him, but my feet became
lumps of ice that gradually lost all feeling; my nose was stained as red as
that of the "copper," chills chased up and down my back, and at the end
of less than an hour I was defeated and sought a warm place where I might
thaw out. ,
Yet, for two hours eight girls walked up and down and up and down
in that freezing, biting, penetrating wind for the sake of a principle.
They are the waitresses on strike at' Henrici's restaurant. If you have
been reading the expensive advertisements Henrici's are running in the
trust newspapers, you will declare there is no strike of the waitresses there
but there is.
Mabel Waumbaugh, one or the girls hurt by a cowardly officer in the,
employ of Henrici's, is a girl who formerly worked in Henrici's., Moreover,
she was pointed out to a detective by Collins, manager of Henrici's, who
excitedly exclaimed: "Get that girl away from here."
And, shortly afterward, an officer caught Mabel Waumbaugh by the
arm and) twisted it so that when she reached the police station, her shoulder
was wrenched and she had to go to a hospital.
The principle these girls are fighting for is a living wage, and they
have fixed tnis wage at wnat tne
O'Hara .Welfare Commission calls
"just above th bread line," $8 a
week for six days' work;
They tta not get this at Henrici's.
They are paid $7 a week for seven
days' w?rk. Out of this starvation
wage fivelients.a day is taken by the
employer for laundering aprons, and
an average of thirty cents a day is
paid by each-waitress to a bus boy,
an employe jhose duty it is to re
move the used' dishes from the table.
As his, own, wage is also a "starva
tion" one, the waitresses supplement
it by tips, and ffie" girl who doe's not
tip liberally sets poor service. .
If 3waitfess makes a mistake in
taking an order, or even perhaps you
are gossiping with. a friend-ahd give
your order carelessly only to decide
Vhen it is served that you wanted
roast beef and not roast mutton, the
girl is forced to pay, out of that beg
garly wage of $7 a week, the cost of
the food you refused.
"This is one cute little joker. You
might ease your conscience by imag
ining that since she pays for the food
she is at least permitted to eat it or
to take it away, but that would defeat
the scheme of Henrici's and other
restaurants who have this clever plan
in operation. The order is either serv-.
ed again to another customer, or you
may get it served up in hash the next
day.
In some restaurants, if you want
another piece of butter and the wait
ress goes back to get it, she is fined
ten cents for that extra piece of but
ter that you consume.
In Childs' restaurant, referred to by
Carrie Alexander of the Waitresses'
Union as the "six million-dollar
trust," because it is backed by $6,
000,000 capital, Miss Alexander says
that a girl is .fined 25 cents if you
haven't your check when you get rip;
that she is fined' 10 jcents if she has
a crooked heel on her shoe, and that
before she is employed she must buy
uniforms from the six million-dollar
trust at the cost of $8.
In Henrici's the girls are require '
to do porter work inthelr spare tinK.
The dining rooms contain 325 chairs.