Chart showing the Number of Persons to each Domestic Employee in the Fifty Largest Cities
The same fact may be illustrated in two other ways. In Washington, Richmond, Atlanta, Memphis, and Nashville,—the five cities having the largest number of domestic employees in proportion to the population,—the domestic employees constitute in each city more than fourteen per cent of the entire number of persons engaged in all gainful occupations. In these five cities more than one third of all women engaged in remunerative occupations are in domestic service. On the other hand, in Camden, Trenton, Lowell, Paterson, and Fall River,—the five cities having the smallest number of domestic employees in proportion to the population,—the per cent of domestic employees with reference to the total number of persons engaged in all gainful occupations is less than seven, while in Lowell and Paterson only ten per cent and in Fall River only seven per cent of all women engaged in remunerative occupations are in domestic service. The following table will show these contrasts:
TABLE VI
Domestic Servants and Women compared with those in Gainful Occupations
| Cities | Per cent of domestic servants as compared with the total number of persons in all gainful occupations | Per cent of women in domestic service as compared with the total number of women in all gainful occupations |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 17.10 | 40.46 |
| Richmond | 16.66 | 40.36 |
| Atlanta | 5.43 | 36.72 |
| Memphis | 5.21 | 39.07 |
| Nashville | 4.61 | 38.69 |
| Camden | 5.89 | 26.13 |
| Trenton | 6.13 | 26.07 |
| Lowell | 4.48 | 10.29 |
| Paterson | 3.34 | 10.84 |
| Fall River | 2.82 | 6.98 |
(7) Neither per capita wealth nor aggregate wealth has an appreciable influence in determining the number of servants in cities.
Three illustrations of this are seen: (1) Washington, Richmond, Atlanta, Memphis, and Nashville rank respectively as regards per capita wealth, 13, 27, 19, 24, and 41, although they are the five cities that head the list in the proportion of servants to the total population; (2) Lowell and Fall River are at the foot of the list as regards the proportion of servants, but rank 10 and 12 in per capita wealth; (3) Nashville ranks fifth in the number of servants and Paterson forty-ninth, while both rank nearly the same in point of wealth.[205] There are indeed many instances where there is apparent connection between these two conditions, but they seem rather to be illustrations of the following point:
(8) The prevailing industry of a city, rather than its population or wealth, determines the number of domestic employees.