Today's forays

One of the pivotal moments of my novel is Susie's conscious decision to marry a man who stood up for many progressive ideas-- such as labor unions, single-tax, birth control and votes for women. Many of these ideas were considered radical and even against the values of her own social class. However, I believe she shared many of these beliefs with Bolton Hall and was even actively involved independent of him.

While I was conducting research online I discovered this listing of Mrs. Bolton Hall as one of the first governing members of the Consumer's League of the City of New York:

In 1890 there was a public presentation by the Working Women's Society about the unsanitary conditions and long working hours for most of New York's working women. Outraged, many of the influential and wealthy women who attended this meeting formed a committee--the first "Consumer's League" to identify and keep a list of businesses which treated women fairly. It was their hope that consumers would shop accordingly and put pressure on businesses to change their bad practices. They called this the "White List" because it encouraged shopping at designated locations as opposed to blacklisting them. In addition to the list they developed the "White Label," a precursor to the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.

Because of the success of its early initiatives, other chapters formed and in 1899, the NCL became a national organization. It's founding principles were stated as, "The working conditions we accept for our fellow citizens should be reflected by our purchases, and that consumers should demand safety and reliability from the goods and services they buy."

Following its formation, the NCL exposed child labor violations, fought for a minimum wage for women, promoted the Meat Inspection Act of 1905 and convinced the Supreme Court to promote the 10 hour-work day law of in 1908. The NCL still exists today and you can visit its web site at www.ncinet.org.