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Show LOW WAGES MIGHT CAUSE IMMORALITY Department Store Owner Hlllman First Employer to Make Admission. JAYS MORAL STANDARD IN HIS STORE IS HIGH Would Not Feel Responsible If Low Salaried Girl Went Wrong. H-H I M-r M 1 I I I I HttI Mil H t ' hUCAOO. March .-The v work ot the Illinois senate f vice commissioB bore fruit to w day, when a letter was received r by I hsirmsn Harratt O'Hara f ram K. V. Mandel, president of t Mandel Brothers, who was a f witness yesterday, stHting tliat b he had raised the minimum wage r "f juveniles to at. The juiau r iktt are girls between the ages f ol 1.1 and IS years who are etn b ployed on small errands. Whar- fr ever possible, by reason of tha f nnlnesa or geseril fitnesa of tha f girl, the Hte will be over 4 In f addition. Mandel stated that. Tr following a suggestion of the commission, he will employ an 4 t investigator to Ibok into the statements bv applicants to as- r certain if they can live on the a '.- thev are to receive. I I HI( AGO. March . Kdward Hill-nan Hill-nan of "Hillman's." one of the city's rget department stores, was the first sritness before the Illinois vice com-Bission com-Bission today. The witneas thought that there waa in Mime i a sea a connection between low a age and immorality among women. " Iki you thmk that a woman would ell her virtue before she would tarvef" asked Lieutenant Governor Harratt O'Hara. chairman of the commission com-mission " Ves. I do," tame the prompt an cr. the 6rat of the kind from em plovers, thus far heard. "Tbsuk vou," said O'Hara, appar ently surprised at the ailmiaeiou. Store Employ (17 Olrla. II I'm mi said that 817 girls and ws men sre employed st his stors. Of these, forty six iiirla receive twenty-four get $4; tweatv three esrn 5.5(1. and ail receive s.1. These last ars sr-rand sr-rand girls, mostlv brought in by thsir parent" who want them to learn the buainess ao thev msy advance to higher salaries, hs said. "If oae of your p3 girls lost her sir tue would it hurt your conscience f" asked O 'Hara. "Yssj certainly." "Would you hold voursslf rssponsi-blsl" rssponsi-blsl" "Well, aow, let's think; would It Here's a girl brought in by her parents, par-ents, living at homo should I be re sponsible! I think not. I think the parents would be responsible. " Hill ma n spoke distinctly, to the greet relief of tke spectators, half of them womeo, who were uaable to hear most of tbs testimony yesterday. The witness said hs asvsr had heard of a girl being blacklisted for bad eondaet, nut did koew of a floorwalker who had suffered tkat fate for immorality. Witneas Self Made Mao. Ilillman admitted tkat ke was a self made msn Hs started at work at $2 a week as a cash boy. "Could you live oa itf " inquired the chairman of the commission. "Well, mv father earned 114 and my 2 hslped out. 1 wslksd to and from work. ' Readinsss of the big merchant to agree with the commission surprised and delighted the legislators. Tor instance, in-stance, O'Hara aaked if it had ever occurred oc-curred to bim to investigate applications applica-tions for positions to ascertain if tbs applicant would live on the salary in prospect. It had never occurred to him Dut, eaid he, "it 'a a good idea." "Mr. Ilillman. will you promise thii committee to hire such an investi-gstort" investi-gstort" "Yes. rertsialy; glad to; it's a good idea, " and ths stocky witness nodded his iron gray head emphatically. A-V..I villi h. thnunht rrirl enllld Aaked what he taougat a gin coma i support beraelf on independently, Hill-man Hill-man said I or t9 a week. Could Lira on gio Himself. "I could live on 1- myself, yes, I could squeeze through on $10, I think," he added. "So $8 or $S would sustain a girl in Chicago, hut it wouldn't leave much for the 'movie,' and sodaa would itf" observed Senator Juul. "No. gtieaa you can't get frivolous on that. laughed Hlllman. Secretary Tossy asked if tkere wss a tacit agreement among tke retailers wkerehv oae would not outbid the other to obtain a desirable clerk. The answer an-swer was aa emphatic denial. He said clerks wers always leaving one firm to go with BBOtber. Representative Lloyd informed the witneaa that the report of the Chicago viee commission showed that many department de-partment store girls lead llvse of shame. i ... TTt n. a. This was news to Hlllman. who da Bled aay such condition. In his stoga). "Why," bs exrlaimad. "let me tell vou about one of those 'mashers' who are alwava taking up the time of tke girls. Two weeks ago ons of oar detectives de-tectives caugkt one of them and, bonnet, bon-net, when that 'bull' got through with bim be was a sight. Honest, be got more than was coming to bim." Say Moral Standard High Asked what he thought of the moral standards of tbe girls at Hillman's, Ilillman said be thought they were high. . , ''Come oa over and aixe 'em up," he invited, "you rna tell aa, much about 'em a I can." Turning 'to Senator Sen-ator Beall, he made tbe invitation specific. "I'll show you around myself." my-self." Besll, formerly known ss the "stork mayor of Alton, ni., re-splendcnt re-splendcnt in a white vest and a large diamond stud, laughed aad said: "111 be there." James Simpson of Marshall Field A ICo., who declined vesterday to discltse I tbe nrofita of his firm, offered tbe eom mission private screes to the hooka of tbe company. Hlllman also agreed to do 'the esme. Senator Beall, addressing Mill man as a self made man, asked if he gave Ills emplovees the same chance to advanco that tie had. "You bet," replied the mereha it. "We want 'em to advance. Why, there 'a a sign In mv office, 'Grow or got" |