(a) to be granted a differential in wrage rates in favor
 of the southern territories.

 (b) to fix a minimum wage for semi-skilled workerss at
 37, per hour.

 (c) to permit learners for a period of ten ;:eek:s at a
 minimum wage of 240 ?er hour, not to exceed 15 )er
 cent of the entire number of employees.

 The Virginia Art Goods Studios, Inc. in support of their petition
claim that the manufacturers of Ladies' handbags in the northern states
have skilled labor who vor: with a "speed which h can be equalled only by
equally skilled ox-erienced lJbor."

 Fifty -crcent of the hnnc.ag industry is loc7.ted outsidLe the metro-
politan .re-a of ITew York: in which no e:zerienced he is available, and
the manufacturers obtain their workers in the same manner as C.oes the
Virginia Art Goods Studios, Inc. In the metropolitan area of .1ev York,
in which e::-crienccdc hel is .av-.:ila'ble, the vr7ps *a.id such hel-, is from
two to three times more t.-..n -:id t'. .ne:;)eriinced hel.

 The Virginia Art Goods Studios, Inc. cl-.im that they a re pioneers
in their locality.

 The records show th-is firm h1ns be3n established over ei,.ht years,
and that during the -nast five years, th-e;'- hav. enjoyed a large volume
of business in the industry, e ,.riloyin.. at t anss as :.iany s 168 workers.
These worlzkers have .ll had some training by this time, a:nd are avail-
able mostly at the mininrun wa,:e ra.te. The question whether the labor
in Lynchburg, Virginia ca.i comma-ro 'ith northern workers s in volume in
speed of -,roductic.> is not deternm-in-.ble, cilce the kind and quality of
work varies 1n1 each factory', an.-..d la.c'k: of --)ro.-u.ction frequently the re-
sult of inefficiency in f ctory m..i:-. em.!onts as has been disclosed
through investigation made in other imh'..tries in ,h;ich similar claims
have been made.

 The statement of the Virg:inia Art Goods Studios, Inc. that "the
practical ,.nd inevitable resialt is tri-it t.he Vir&inia Art Goods Studios,
Inc. cannot successfully cornetc with other manuf-cturers whose output
enor caoita of employees is so .-Tiach greater"--this merely expresses their
opinion.

 The loss sustained by the Virginia. Art Goods Studios, Inc. during '
the year 1933 may have been hlue to n C ozen or more causes, and to have ,
this Company claim that such losses resulted from increased labor costs, ,
is merely e"'-ressing a coiiveniient conclusion. Any incre-se in labor costS
might have been included in the coc-t, of their product or they have offsel
this increase by taking the differ--nce out of the value of materials,.
if they fail to do so, the" cannot justly attribute it to increased labor
costs.





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