(3) The foreign born in domestic service receive higher wages than the native born.
This was found to be true in every class of occupations, in every section, in the case of both men and women, and in the returns made by both employers and employees. But two trifling exceptions were found, both accidental. The principle cannot of course be stated absolutely as the facts at command are far from exhaustive, but so striking a uniformity cannot be considered purely accidental. An explanation is found in three facts: (1) the preference of the foreign born for the large cities, where wages in domestic service are higher than in the country; (2) the large proportion of negroes among the native born; (3) the relatively better class of foreign born than of native born women who enter domestic service. This statement must be made somewhat dogmatically here, since its proof demands a discussion of the entire subject of the unwillingness of native born women to enter domestic service.
(4) The wages of men engaged in domestic service are higher than the wages of women.
This will be evident by reference to Table VII and to Table VIII. Two things, however, must be borne in mind: first, that nearly all the men classified as cooks are employed on the Pacific coast, where wages are relatively high; second, that forty per cent of the men in domestic service do not receive board and lodging in addition to wages in money, while only two per cent of women so employed, principally laundresses, do not receive board and lodging. But although these facts modify the discrepancy between the wages of men and women, they do not wholly remove it. Whether the difference is as great as in other occupations cannot be stated.
(5) A tendency is found towards an increase in wages paid by employers, as is seen in Table X on the following page.
An interesting historical illustration of the same fact is given in a summary of wages and prices in Massachusetts from 1752 to 1860. In 1815, the first time the work of women is mentioned specifically, domestic servants received with board $.50 per week, while at the same time women were able to earn as papermakers $6.50 a week.[208]
TABLE X
Comparison of Wages paid
| Wages paid | Number | Per Cent | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | Total | |
| Same as last year | 414 | 1638 | 2052 | 87.72 | 79.02 | 80.63 |
| More than last year | 54 | 368 | 422 | 11.44 | 17.75 | 16.58 |
| Less than last year | 4 | 67 | 71 | .84 | 3.23 | 2.79 |
(6) The wages received in domestic service are relatively and sometimes absolutely higher than the average wages received in other wage-earning occupations open to women.
A comparison may be made between the wages received by domestic employees and by two other classes—teachers in representative city schools and the wage-earning women included in the investigations made by the Commissioner of Labor. As illustrating the wages received in domestic service, the following tables are given, showing (1) the classified weekly and daily wages received and (2) the average weekly and daily wages with the percentages receiving more or less than the average. These facts are taken from the general schedules. Similar tables are given showing a somewhat higher rate of wages in all domestic occupations in the special city of Boston.