DIFFICULTY OF OBTAINING WOMEN TO DO HOUSEWORK

The present unsatisfactory condition of domestic labor in private houses
is not confined to any special city or country; it is universal. Each
year the difficulty of obtaining women to do housework seems to increase
and the demand is so much greater than the supply, that ignorant and
inefficient employees are retained simply because it is impossible to
find others more competent to replace them.

There is hardly a home to-day where, at one time or another, the
housewife has not gone through the unenviable experience of being
financially able and perfectly willing to pay for the services of some
one to help her in her housekeeping duties, and yet found it almost
impossible to get a really competent and intelligent employee. As a
rule, those who apply for positions in housework are grossly ignorant of
the duties they profess to perform, and the well trained, clever, and
experienced workers are sadly in the minority.

Women and young girls who face the necessity of self support, or who
wish to lead a life of independence, no longer choose housework as a
means of earning a livelihood. It is evident that there is a reason,
and a very potent one, that decides them to accept any kind of
employment in preference to the work offered them in a private home.
Wages, apparently, have little to do with their decision, nor other
considerations which must add very much to their material welfare,
such as good food in abundance, and clean, well ventilated sleeping
accommodations, for these two important items are generally included
at present in the salaries of household employees. Concessions, too,
are frequently made, and favors bestowed upon them by many of their