St. Landry democrat., 1889-01-26
WORK FOR WOMEN.
Wages Paid in Chicago for So-Called Un.
skilled Female Labor.

Wages Paid in Chicago for So-Called On.
skilled Female Labor.
Investigation proves that unskilled fe-
male labor in Chicago is not poorly paid,
says the Ne,os OF that city. The humblest
work performed by women for hire receives
fair compensation in each and every in
stance, and there is plenty of work to do.
Under the head of unskilled female labor are
laundry girls, washerwomen, unprofession-
al nurses, scrubwomen, chambermaids,
mattresses and domestics.
There are perhaps 1900 women in Chicago
working in laundries. They work nine
hours each day and receive as compensation
not less than 50 week. Since the intro
duction of steam laundry machinery their
labor is comparatively light, the only hard
ship endured being the heat in the summer.
There is no apprenticeship except one week
at the beginning Of the employment, and
any girl can earn full salary at the end of
the first week. There are, however, small
girls who perform light work, such as
dampening linen by sprinklng water on it,
and they do not receive more than 81 for a
weeks service.
Washerwomen who go out by the day to
wash for private families receive 50 for q
days work and in many instances are given
their meals. Those who take in washing at
their homes are generally widows or de-
deserted wives who have small children
that need their attention. They fix their
own prices by the piece, and charge the
same as steam laundrles. Inquiry at sew
eral female employment agencies showed a
demand for this kind of service that could
not be supplied.
Unprofessional nurses are paid $50 q
- ,t,oir c,Io ~ -.
cludes board and room. They are neat and
tidy girls, who have intelligence enough to
make themselves useful around a sick
room, and many are often paid $50 month
for their services. II they are careful and
reliable, physicians will recommend them,
and they need never want for employment
At twelve o'clock every night the scrub
women in the big hotels begin th-ir work
They get down on their hands and knees
and with soap, water and stiff brush
scrub the marble floors, wiping them dry
with cloth as they 60 along. These
women are mostly Poles and Bohemians.
Their pay ranges from Sl2 to 16 a month,
which includes board and room. There is an
army Of these women employed to scrub
.he downtown Office buildings, and they
receive, in most instances, SO day.
The white-capped chambermaid, who al
ways looks SO neat in her plain calico dress,
receives an income of So a week, including
board and room. She needs no previous
experience if she is intelligent and is
capable of executing the orders of the house
Keeper.
The waiter girls in restaurants, boarding
houses and hotels get not less than So a
week, which always includes board and, ex-
sept in restaurants, room. Many of them
receive 81 and Is week, while the kitchen
girls and dish-washers get "a week with
board.
There has never been a time In Chicago
when girls were not In demand at good
wages to do general homework. There
seems always to be scarcity Of this kind
Of domestic service, although the lowest
wages paid are $3.50 a week and in many
cases IS is offered without securing help. A
very estimable woman who keeps female
employment Office on Washington boulevard
said:
~ can offer good explanation for the
scarcity of domestic servants. Girls refuse
to work where they are nisused. Even the
worm will turn If trampled upon, and in
my opinion the mistress Of the house is
often to blame for the dissatisfaction of
servants. Their poodle dog is petted while
a sensitive girl has her life made miserable.
The fault is not in the girls, but in those
who hire them"