Rockefeller says he made his millions saving pennies. By apparently the same method the great Marshall Field corporation is adding to its millions by docking girls 50 cents out of their $6 pay envelope when they refuse to donated an afternoon's services to the company.
This is the story of a slip of a girl of 20 who hasn't been working long enough to lose her belief that the laborer is worthy of his hire.
Ten weeks ago she answered a blind ad of the Marshall Field Co. The ad stated that "girls were wanted at 226 Fifth avenue. Ask for Croft."
The work was folding circulars, pasting and sewing samples, handling catalogues and is of such a nature that often girls get their hands cut and bleeding.
This girl interviewed Croft. He told her the pay was $6 a week, but the thing he made much of was that the girls didn't work Saturday afternoons. All through the year they could just go home and loaf on Saturday afternoons. Which meant a lot to the girl who has to live on $6 and consequently does her own laundry and sewing in her spare time. Though Croft was over the girl, according to her story, a man is a regular king fish of the department acted as chief speeder-up. His name is Swalleich and he spends his time going around telling the girls that the "work must all be gotten out to-day, etc."
There wasn't anything permanent about the position..For instance, twenty-five girls were hired two weeks ago. They were speeded up until the work was finished, then laid off on Wednesday and told to come back Monday morning. They came back, were speeded up again and laid off Monday noon.
They told me if I would work hard they would raise my wages, but the harder you worked the quicker you put yourself out of a job because they didn't keep you only when they had plenty of work.
I had often worked overtime in the evening and had been told several times we would have to work Saturday afternoon, but it did not happen during my time until last Saturday.
In the morning Swalleich told us that the work we were on had to go out that day and we wold have to work all day to get it finished, but if we got it finished by noon we could quit.
We speeded up and we finished it before 1 o'clock, when, to my surprise, we were given a fresh batch of work and informed we would have to work all afternoon.
Five girls and myself decided we would not work unless we were paid overtime and we went home at 1 o'clock.
Monday I went to work. They paid us every two weeks and Monday was payday. I was informed by Mr. Croft that on Swalleich's orders the six girls who went home Saturday afternoon were to be docked 50 cents.
I protested that they had never paid us for overtime and that I had worked my full time.
I got my pay and it was short 50 cents. So was the pay of each of the other six girls. Four of them determined to see it through. Two resolved that it was better to lose the 50 cents than to lose work, even though they knew they might lose out in a week anyway.
I went to Mr. Swalleich. I told him that 50 cents meant my week's carfare. I told him that he knew I was a very fast worker and that Mr. Croft had said I was one of the best workers and I didn't think I should be docked when I had worked a full day.
He said I was paid by the day, not the week, and I reminded him that they paid me every two weeks and not every day. Then he said I could either lose the 50 cents or quit, and told me to see Mr. Croft.
I had talked to Mr. Croft and been referred to Mr. Swalleich, but I went back to Mr. Croft. While I was talking to him he said: "I want you to leave this place; you are attracting the attention of the other girls." I told him that if the other girls could not understand the injustice of a big concern like Marshall Field deducting 50 cents because girls wouldn't work overtime their attention better be attracted. He said I was too radical and referred me back to Mr. Swalleich.
It was very late then, so I left, and Tuesday I went to the wholesale department and saw a Mr. Gregg.
Mr. Gregg told me I was hired by the day and not by the week. He also told me I must accommodate my employers. He called Mr. Swalleich on the phone and Swalleich came over to the wholesale and said he had docked us the 50 cents.
I told Mr. Gregg that to accommodate a firm by working overtime when that accommodation merely meant that you finish work and be out of a job didn't seem commendable to me and that was what speeding had meant to the girls. I told him that though I had worked for the concern for ten weeks and was considered a very fast worker, it had not in any way added to my pay envelope, but the moment I refused to be accommodating it took money out of my pay envelope.
Mr. Gregg impressed upon me many times what a nice man he was and how thoughtful of the people who worked under him and after I had talked for one hour and ten minutes he gave the four of us the 50 cents that had been docked from us and asked us if we didn't consider Marshall Field & Co. were very fair to their employes and if he wasn't very fair with us.
The girl who hasn't yet lost the idea that the laborer is worthy of his hire, paused, then she added: