The St. Johns herald., 1889-04-04
WORK FOR WOMEN.
Wages Paid ill Chicago for So-Called Cn
 skilled Female Labor.

StSi1-ed
 Investigation proves that unskilled fe- male labor in Chicago Is not poorly paid, says the Ners of that city. The humblcst work performed by women for hire receives fair compensation in each and every in stance, and there is plenty of work 10 do Under the head of unslIilled female labor are laundry girls, washerWoEcn, unprofessioc- al nurses, scrubwomen. chGmbermaiGs, waitresses and domestics.
 There are perhaps 2,000women in Chicago working in laundrics. They work nine hours each day and receive as compensation not less than 5 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 beG22ning Of the employment, and any girl can earn full salary ct tho end of the first week. Thcro arc, however, small girls who perform light work, such as dampening linen by sprinkling water on it, and they do not receive more th2n S4 for weeks service.
 Washerwcmcn who go out by the day to wash for private families receive 8 for day's work and in many instances are given theIr meals. Those who take in washing at 
 deserted wives who have small children that need their attention. They fix their own prices by the piece, and charge the same as steam laundues. Inquiry at sev- eral female employment agencies showed demand for this kind of service that could not be supplied.
 UnprofeSslonal nurses arc paid S20 a month as a minim lm salary, and this in dudes board and room. They are neat and tidy girls, who have intelligence enough to make themselves useful around sick room, and many arc often paid s3O month for their services. If they arc careful and reliable, physicians will recommend them, and they need never want fer employment
 At twelve o'clock every night tho scrub women in the big Eotc!5 begin their 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 go along These women are mostly Poles and BOhemians Their pay ranges from Sl3 to 16a month, which includes board and room. There is an army of those women employed to scrub the downtown office buildings, and they receive, in most instances, g a day.
 The white-capped charhbcrmaid, who d. ways looks so neat i'll her plaln calico dress receives an income of g week, including board and room. She needs no previous experience if she is intelligent and i5 capable of executing the orders of the house keeper.
 The waiter girls In restaurants, boarding houses and hotels get not less than g. . week, which always includes board and, cx- cept in restaurants, q room. Many of them receive S4 and 5 week, while the kitchen girls and dish-washcrs get <4 week with board.
 There has never been a time in Chicago when girls were not Tn demand at good wages to do general housework Thcrc seems always to De 2 scarcity of this kind of domestic service, although tho lowest wages paid arc t250 Q week and in many cases 5 is offered without securing help 4 very cstirnable woman who keeps a female employment office on Washington boulevard said:
 II can offer q good explanation for the scarcity of domestic servants. Girls refuse to work where they gre m;sused. 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 pettcd while a sensitive girl has her life made miserable The fault is not in the girls, but il those who hire them"