The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-02-08

and other arrangements for the entertain
ment of the girls after working hours. Wine
or beer is usually served at dinner and
some Of the higher grades of employees
have their choice of beverages. In the
larger establishments the merchants en-
courage their people to form social clubs
and provide for them various kinds of
amusements to help them pass away the
time. Lectures and smoking concerts are
quite frequent, and a great deal of care is
taken by the employer to keep his help in
good temper. The restrictions which this
mode of life imposes would be very obnoxi-
Gus to an American girl. In fact, few
women in our country would submit to the
general arrangements that are here imposed
for the control of those who labor in shops
The doors Of these great lodging houses, as
they may properly be called, are closed at IL
o'clock at night, and there is no admission
after that hour. With this exception there
are no restrictions and the girls are at lib
erty to come and go as they please. The
moral effect of this housing of large num-
Der of young women together may be ques-
toned, put it does not seem to disturb the
average conditions of English life. But it
would seem to an American to be
MORE OR LESS DEMoRALIzING.
these people seem to be so settled that moth
ing seems to affect them. They are not seri-
ously disturbed by ambitions and appear
quite satisfied to remain clerks as long as
they are obliged to labor. From their stand
point then they are well off, for they have
no care as to where they shall sleep or how
they shall get something TO eat.
The care with which a merchant looks
after the physical welfare of his working
people is very interesting phase of this
inquiry. People of like class in the United
States would not give up the time to it or
go to the expense that these people do. But
those who employ what may be called this
high grade of help assert that it is time and
money well spent. They claim to get more
and better work out of their employees be-
cause they are relieved from all anxiety as
to their maintenance and have practically
no cares. They claim that girls and women
who live at home and provide for them
selves are apt to keep late hours, have I'M
comfortable homes to sleep in and often
little or no food to sat. This units them
for the duties of the day, while when the
merchant provides both food and lodging
there is certain to be regularity of habits
and wholesome food to keep the body in
prime condition. Those who employ tell
me that it is no saving for them to look
after their help except that they are sure of
better work and always have their en-
ployees in hand if they need them in an
emergency.
THE QUESTION OF WAGES
is always an important one, and whatever
money is paid to working women or shop
girls in these big stores is SO much year
over and above their board and lodgings
In Whiteley's establishment the wages run
from twenty two pounds to seventy pounds
year for the female clerk. Out of this
they are only obliged to p"avide their CLOTH
ing; everything else is furnished them. A
shop girl in New York would think she was
doing pretty well to receive from two to
twelve dollars a week over and above her
living expenses, even if she did have to
wear black silk dresses every day when she
reached the seventy pound grade. The
shop girl here having her clothing only to
purchase has a big advantage over her
sister in the United States. The purchas-
ing power of dollar, so far as clothing is
concerned, is double here to what it is in
our country, so that the humblest lady clerk
usually gets "a a week while the higher
grades often get S24 in saving in their ex-
penditures when compared with the neces-
stiles and changed economic conditions in
the new world. But | imagine our inde-
| pendent American girl would prefer to
| struggle along with the meagre salary most
| of them receive with the power to come and
! go as they please rather than to live IN the
cock loft over the store and have no care as
| to what she shall eat and where she shall
sleep, but be obliged to live up to certain
rules and be in the house every night at Ii
o'clock
! From every standpoint the women who
wait behind the counter and tend the, lunch