The Washington herald., 1912-12-08
A SECOND SYMPOSIUM UPON "THE~VEXED QUESTION:

an oversupply Of factory hands, and, at
the same time, a scarcity Of domestic help
The report stated that minute !nvestiga-
tion had been made, and a great many
Intelligent young women, who had formerly
been domestics. questioned as to their rea-
sons for quitting and these reasons were
not, as supposed. the stigma attached to
menial employment, nor the tyranny and
unrea asOnabIeness Of some employers. They
had plenty Of the latter TO put up with
from tyrannical 'foreladies,' nor dIi they
complain OF the work being harc. but it was
invariably the long hours and the almost
complete isolation from their own kind.
They said that although they wore not
obliged to work until bedtime. they always
had the feeling Of being tied to their work
E in solitary confinement as one girl ex-
pressed it. and had to ask for leave TO go
out even when their work for the day was
al done.
" In summing up results Miss de Graffen-
ried gave her conclusion that the problem
Will never be solved until housework Is
put on basis Of day labor ike all other
lines Of work
- The writer Of this then undertook to ex.
pertinent, and advertised for girl to do
housework by the day Sixteen girls
answered the ad and l engaged the first one.
Some came out Of curiosity. and othe=ssaid
they must have a room in the hoUse. but
three or four were very much disappointed
and asked If they might come the next day
TO see If that girl turned up and two
actually came, but found Mary installed.
She was with Us for three and half years.
only leaving then because my daughters
were old enough TO help. so We let the maid
go. Mary lived with her parents and came
every morning in time to get breakfast,
leaving after the dinner dishes were put
away.
paid her the same as others were re-
ceiving for general housework, and gave
her every Thursday and every Sunday
afternoon out Ishe was a Sunday school
teacherI My friends, TO whom mentioned
the plan. said never could be sure Of her
coming in the morning. but she was absent
only once, and her father called to tell US
she had been taken Ill in the night. and
she came in time TO get lunch. I had had
very much worse things than that happen
with maids living in the house one woman
objected that she wanted to know where
her maid was at night which seemed to me
rather impossible unless she accompanied
her every time she went 10 a party and
stayed over night with a friend.
am quite aware that there are many
families where this plan would not work.
but If those who could adjust themselves
would try Il a number OF young Women
might be drawn in. Who are now earning d
bare subsistence in stores and factories.
and thus relieve the present congestion so
that those who must have the maid in the
house might frd sufficient supply for the
decreased demand.
Il have visions also OF some OF those
women who are doing so much for the we.-
fare OF their fellow women taking hold OF
this idea and formulating some plan for
obtaining the interest of employers. and
then perhaps establishing central home
where the young women who have no home
OF their own might have their room and
the Compa niOrsh:p they crave under the
motherly protection Of good ma;ron.
In the 1911 report OF the Massachusetts
bureau a fact was disclosed which may
have a not very remote bearing on the pre-
valIing scarcity. TIE searchEght was
turned on the white slave traffic with the
view Of determining which class or group
OF workers furnishes the largest number
Of victims and i was found that by far
the largest proportion is drawn from the
domestic servant class
KATHERINE W"