GIRLS WANTED.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9307, 6 August 1908, Page 3

GIRLS WANTED.

FACTORY v. HOUSEWORK. [From Our Correspondent.] ! WELLINGTON, August 5. The attractions of the factory, as compared with the charms of the position of maid-of-all-work, is still apparent. Men, says a writer in this evening's "Post," are crying for employers and employers are crying for girls to help New Zealand industries along. In Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland there are situations in plenty for girls. ! The situations increase much more i rapidly than the girls. The head of a i household sighs for domestic help; but ! the ghl does not heed the prayer. The j march is towards the shops, offices and i factories, but the army is not large i enough to satisfy the captains of industry. The Wellington representative of a Christchurch firm which employs many girls (and longs for many more) was in a gloomy mood to-day. He had heard that an American Company was to start in business, here, and it would set out to capture girls. There were not enough girls now for the local manufacturers' needs. How, then, were they to fare with another big employer seeking to engage battalions of ihe fair? The speaker stated that the shortage of feminine toilers was a serious matter for some industries. The employers would be more cheerful if i the girls were permitted to work more j overtime, but the permits were restrictI ed to less than thirty a year for each j employes. If it was desired to bring j a girl back to work for half ah hour | extra a permit had to be secured. The ( girls themselves wished to have more j opportunities to earn overtime money, ! but the law stood in the way. The j "better half" of New Zealand's population, from the numerical point of view, is male. The masculine element appreciably exceeds the feminine, but •still the cry is for "more girls."