Report of the Senate Wage Commission for Women and Children in the State of Missouri to the Senate of the 48th General Assembly of Missouri

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1915 Excerpt: ...of these figures show that estimates of the necessary cost of living for women workers varied from the minimum of $6.50 per week to a maximum of $10.60. The estimates fall into three clearly marked groups. Those of $10 or more, those of $7, and those near the St. Louis and Kansas City estimates of $8.50. The estimates below $7 represent the cost of living at the subsistence level, not a living wage. They include only a minimum provision of food and lodging, clothing, laundry and carfare. They allow nothing for illness, or recreation. At the other extreme the estimate of over $10 represent rather an ideal standard of confort rather than a practical living wage. The higher range of prices in Oregon reflected by the higher provision for food accounts for a large part of the increased cost in that case. It will be noted that the St. Louis estimate not only agrees with that of Kansas City but is in close correspondence with the estimates made in Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin as a basis of actual wage awards. In considering the item of clothing the first influencing factor is occupation. A department store clerk usually is required to wear black or white. She must have a clean blouse each morning. Thus the question of laundry is added to a problem already vexatious. The factory girl on the other hand, while she wears her suit to work, usually dons a gingham apron to run the machine in, by which means her street clothes are saved the wear and tear that those of a girl in a shop receives. Many of course cannot afford the separate aprons which are quite expensive, costing between 50 cents and 75 cents apiece. Standing all day brings the shoe bill up and the practice of buying damaged shoes from 98 cents to $1.15 rather than higher priced footwear seems to b...