TWO THOUSAND DOMESTICS WANTED.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11840, 1 May 1909, Page 2

TWO THOUSAND DOMESTICS WANTED.

MWIOVEI THE STATUS: BECOMING SKILLED WORKERS.

(Special to Herald.) AUCKLAND, this day

Quite , two thousand apfclicatipris per year reach the Autikhilid Govdl-'ntttent employment bureau for women, and Miss Morrison, the officer in charge, says that for somo time past she could have placed at least 200 domestic assistants per month, had tlley be6n available. Less than lialf this number were forthcoming, however, despite the fact that excellent inducements from a remunerative poilit' of view 1 , y&ete offered. •■"What possibility is there Of ever satisfactorily Coping with the domestic servant problem in New Zealand," was a question put to the officer in charge of the Auckland bursau. , "I am hot despondent about the -fut---ure outlook," 7 Miss Morrison replied, "I am of tlie opinion that the establishment of government tmt-eau-fc- suchy as these, combined With the -higher education of women in domestic economy, will have the effect of raising the status of domestic Work and skilled laboi*. More M-pmen will take up their natural- calling of looking after the home. It is a woman's natural sphere, the home, and the' remuneration offered domestic as--"' sistants is far ahead of the; Wretched pay on which many girls stftigjglfe along m factories ahd offices; *■ I have any amount of ..positions', vacant at .from' 15s' to 25s per* week for dfonesti-c -H3ei_.tants. Then they have nothing to pay for their board, which at the present high rate of living is equivalent to, another 15s per weekj so that these 1 young women devoting themselves to domestic duties are really earning front' 30s to 46s per week,, while. other girjs'] Avork iust .-as" hardYin the factories' for*! half that sum. Most of the vacancies,! Offering are in refilled and comfortable homes, afld / the giflff : axe better .off thus employed than treadling machines in factories. We eOuld dd with 1000: mote applicants for positions esch month, than avo have got. Last month with 200 vacancies on the books we 1 could only place 'B3, .and the month be-j, fore 92. -We could jilace twice this' number, with '.ease, each month, if only the supply was available. Generally speaking the yound. women devoting, themselves to domestic work^ are of . re-" fined istamp, and my experience during, the 12 months that I , have been jin Auckland has been , thatYthe majority are a .-superior ' type of women.; There* is no doubt that women devotiug.^them-' selves to this .sphere of work are be^t' fitted for home life and qualify.'themfielves for the. positiorj. in life a womaii is meant to take, 'white those spending all their time ; in '-- factories and like places of .occupation are inarrihij themselves."