The sun., 1884-02-10
Not Il Very Disturbing Question.

Ol lUs correspondents. Most ndtive women,
they say, refuse to bccomc domes,ics. and
rather than be clnsscd among family SER
| wants they will take much poorer pay, do
harder work, md suffer greater physical
discomfort In shops and factories.
A female domestic gets her board and
! lodging in addition to hcr. wages, and, to II
| large extent, enjoys comforts equal tn those OF
the family employing her. Shr dwcls in the
same house, aud shares its warmth and Sc
| curity. Her sleeping room may DO less elo-
| giant In its appointments than those occupied
| by her employers, but 1t is hardly less COM
| Portable in reality. She is we'll fcd. and hcr
wages enable her to keep herself we'll
| clothed. Besides, she has al indoor life,
| which seems tu be best adapted to women.
As to her wages in money, In u large num-
ber Of cases they are rs largo rs tho earnings
OF women in shops and factories who pay for
their own board and lodging. On the aver
| ago, they nre not very much less. Tho noe
essary expenses OF tho domestic, too are
| few and small. She has nothing to buy OK
ccpt her clothes, and oftentlmes largo part
OF those nre given her by tho family, especial
| ly II she exhibits fidelity to their interests.
| Yet our native girls goncrnly spurn oil tho
advantages aud comforts of domestic SER
vico, and 1t seems. according to correspond
ents of our contemporary, that many OF the
foreign born soon acquire an equal distaste
for 1t. They will do harder work for smaller
pay In shops and factories, rather than seek
q haven of rest and warmth aud security as
domestic servants.
This, however, is no now thing, and the
discussion on which the Evening Post has en-
tered Is one which Is periodically revived.
| The complaints Of servant girls In our con-
| temporary are the same as those made twen-
ty-five years and fifty years ago. Yet In
reality there probably was never time
| when there was 80 little occasion for them
as now. or rather when tho evils complained
OF could be so easily avoided
Undoubtedly, however, the distaste for do
nestle service is very strong among women.
and a creator and greater proportion OF those
who work prefer some other employment
But within quarter Of q century the num-
ber Of employments open to them has vastly
increased. Whereas women once had scarce
ly any othor gainful labor within their reach
than that Of domestic service or that OF
needle work, they have now n large variety
OF occupations to choose from, and wo be-
lleve it is to-day easier for girl to get work
In New York than 1t is for man.
Not many years ago tho clerks in shops
wore almost uniformly mon, II we except
Philadelphia, where women were employed
to a much greater eXtont than In other
cities. At present the retail dry goods trade
relies largely on women to attend Its coun-
tcrs In all factories where the work is not
rough. women are extensively employed. and
the business of manufacture has enormously
| .yjkh -E,,n
York Ia also distinguished for tho multi.
plicity Of its finer Industries, and for those
women are we'll adapted. There is also de-
mand for female labor in printing estab-
lishments and telegraph Offices, and the
rapid growth OF tho wholesale millinery and
dressmakng business gives great numbers OF
them employment adapted to their tastes
and abilities.
A working woman Is accordingly no longer
either domestic servant or seamstress as a
matter of course. She can do something clse
She can engage In any one of q score of occu.
pations. Having that choice tho run of native
women undoubtedly prefer other work than
that OF domestic service oven at loss pay
They seize the opportunity to escape being
family servants, even il in doing so they
make sacrifices so far "a wages and comforts
are conccrned. They do not like the name
Everybody who works for another is hiE
servant, undoubtedly, and we are all servants
In broad sense, but the only class of work
cTs who are commonly spoken Of IA servants
and commonly regarded rs servants speclil-
cally are domc,tlcs.
Besides, domestic servants suffer undel
, peculiar disadvantages which. in the view o.
nn increasing proportion OF the community
more than compensate for tho physical com
forts they enjoy to greater degree thar
workers in other spheres. They nrc always
: at beck AM! call, they must be subscrvient il
; manner. and they are all the time made con
srious of their inferior position In q wa!
against which tho average self-lovc protests
The girl in shop or n factory feels that
: She is un independent being when the day 4
over, and sho therefore willingly submit
J to discipline during her working hours whicl
. Is far more severe than that to which the do
nestle servant Is commonly subjected. Tha
Independence she prizes above everything
else. TO get it she will take poor wages ea
5 poor food, endure heat and cold. and dwell II
!, close quarters. In her hours of leisure she Il
beyond the control OF taskmastcr and ava,
0 from his eye. She Is mistress OF herself, an,
J, she IL not called q servant.
: As u consequence, tho most Intelligent bes
(; educated, most capable. and most self-relian
women workers nre apt to seek other en-
t ployment than that OF domestic service; an
c so long as human nature IL what 1t is tho
a will continue tn do SO, however logical an
: eloquent people may be In setting befor
+ them the superior advantages OF that seryic
l. in respect to personal comfort.
y Yet, as a matter Of fact tho average ca
y pacity of those who are dpnestlcs Is as hig
r. now as 1t ever was in this country. Til
s average demands of families employing SCI
1t wants undoubtedly have grown more exac
H. ing than they used to b.. People want bctts
70 cookery and more skilful service. and ncitht
10 can be obtained except from experts, WHO n
l. quiro high wages. Peoples notions OF cool