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Show Utah Manufacturer's Representative Explains Group View On Wage Law "The proposed minimum wage of $16 for women and girls in the manufacturing industries of Utah is unsound", declared S. J. Stephens, representative of the "Build Utah", association in a speech given before Associated Civic clubs directors and St. George townspeople in the College auditorium last Saturday. "Whether a girl or woman can live decently or properly earning less than S16 a week is dcbateable on the grounds of whether she is (Continued on page ten) Utah Manufacturer's Representative Explains Group View On Wage Law (Continued from first page) happier and better off earning less than this amount, than she would be without an income or if she is forced to accept relief", he declared. Mr. Stephens affirmed that nobody no-body that he had talked to opposed oppos-ed the $16 minimum on any grounds except the lack of capacity to pay that amount. He asked consideration of the fact that only fourteen states have imposed any minimum wage, and leaving out California, the highest minimum ordered anywhere is $14.50 or less. He went on to point out that it means a loss if not a complete elimination eli-mination of Utah products from the markets of these other states, and it may mean that the products of these other states will inevitably inevit-ably push Utah-made products from the shelves of Utah's own stores. He also urged the group to consider con-sider that if there were to be a national floor under wages so that competition would rest upon efficiency ef-ficiency and intelligent merchandising merchan-dising instead of unfair wage differentials, dif-ferentials, then whether the minimum mini-mum was $16 or more would be a matter of the public at large paying the difference. "The public in one respect is very much alike", he said, "It wan to get the most for its money and whether it is cookies or grand pianos, I doubt if the average buyer inquires as to whether high priced labor is used in the making of products as much as he asks, 'Where can I buy it the cheapest'? You will grasp the point that no matter how chartiable Utah employers might be, even if they were disposed dis-posed to lead the nation in the matter of high minimum wages they could not get this increased cost for their articles so long as the same articles can be made elsewhere with cheaper labor and cheaper transportation costs." "I cannot get away from . the opposition that what Utah needs and needs more desperately is more jobs for more people. Certainly Cer-tainly the relief load is not going down, and young people are not going to find employment unless we can create more jobs. It will be tragic if women have to give over the right to work to men, and it will be tragic if young people peo-ple are not given the opportunity to learn, and this is what may happen if the minimum wage is put so high that these types of workers are eliminated." |