It seems to the women who have studied these things that proper
sanitary conditions, lunch rooms, comfortable seats, provision for
rest, vacations with pay, and the like are no more than the wage
earner's due. They are a part of the laborer's hire, and should be
guaranteed by law, exactly as wages are guaranteed. An employer deserves
gratitude for overtime pay no more than for fire escapes.

Testimony gathered from all sources by the Consumers' League, women's
clubs, and women's labor organizations has proved beyond doubt that good
working conditions, reasonable hours of work, and living wages vastly
increase the efficiency of the workers, and thus increase the profits of
the employers.

The New York Telephone Company does not set itself up to be a
benevolent institution. Its directors know that its profits depend on
the excellence of its service. There is one exchange in the Borough of
Brooklyn which handles a large part of the Long Island traffic. This
traffic is very heavy in summer on account of the number of summer
resorts along the coast. In the fall and winter the traffic is very
light. Six months in the year the operators at this exchange work only
half the day, yet the company keeps them on full salary the year round.
"We cannot afford to do anything else," explains the traffic manager.
"We cannot afford operators who would be content with half wages."


[Illustration: MISS ELIZABETH MALONEY]

The old-time dry-goods merchant sincerely believed that his business
would suffer if he provided seats for his saleswomen. He believed that