3. "Following up." After the girls are placed it is necessary to keep track of them. In order to do this satisfactorily, blanks have been printed in two different forms, one for the employer and the other for the worker. The former asks about the quality of the girl's work (whether it is satisfactory, and if not, why not) and about her wages. The latter asks the girl to report on her work, wages, and shop conditions. By this system the Placement Secretary is able to keep in close touch with the students who have been placed, and to hear and act upon complaints from either employer or girl with a promptness that often has the result of establishing the worker in a "good" place or, occasionally, rescuing her from a poor one. Employers are almost uniformly prompt and courteous in returning the reports, and all but a very small percentage of the students are equally responsive. In cases where a girl is not heard from, the Students' Aid Secretary makes a personal visit to her home.
4. Keeping of Records. Card catalogues are kept, giving the full data obtainable in each case: (1) for girls applying for positions; (2) for girls placed; (3) for employers visited; (4) for employers applying or worth investigating, but not yet visited. All data from employers and girls which have been obtained from the blanks before mentioned or from other sources are recorded on the cards.
The Placement Bureau, in addition to its specific work, performs certain services for the general benefit of the school. Data are obtained as to the conditions of work and wage in certain trades and the length of training advisable in others. Advice from the trade is often needed in one or another of the departments, and through the Bureau's acquaintance with employers, managers, or foremen and forewomen, it is able to ascertain and report their expert opinion. It is also possible to induce some of these busy people to come and view the problem in the light of conditions at the school as well as in their own business.
General Results
Although the Placement Bureau is still in its infancy, some results may be recorded. It is already in touch with some 700 employers, about 550 having been personally visited. The table below gives the facts as to placements in former years, and may be interesting for comparison.
Girls Placed and Reported Upon
| By Self or School. | By Alliance Employment Bureau. | Total. | |
| 1902 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1903 | 39 | 7 | 46 |
| 1904 | 52 | 36 | 88 |
| 1905 | 29 | 61 | 90 |
| 1906 | 22 | 81 | 103 |
| 1907 | 10 | 77 | 87 |
| 1908 | 119 | 39 | 158 |
| 1909 By school | 157 | 1 | 158 |
| 428 | 302 | 730 |
This refers merely to the original or first placement of a girl. The total of re-placements for 1909 was an additional 230, including those of many former pupils who had heretofore placed themselves or been placed by the Alliance Employment Bureau.
The crucial question of wages is one that is extremely difficult to deal with in brief. The accompanying table gives a very general statement as to the range of wages obtained by graduates and the future possibilities in their trades, and read in the light of the comment below it is as specifically accurate as any "summary" can be.
| Trade. | Wages When First Placed. | After Two to Five Years. | Future Possibilities. | |||||||
| 1903 | 1909 | |||||||||
| Dressmaking | $3 | to | $5 | $4 | to | $6 | $6 | to | $13 | $25 or own establishment |
| Millinery | 2.50 | to | 4 | 4 | 5 | to | 15 | 12 to 25 or own establishment | ||
| Operating | 3 | to | 6 | 4 | to | 11 | 6 | to | 25 | 15 to 40 |
| Novelty | 4 | to | 5 | 4 | to | 9[A] | 6 | to | 11 | 18 to 25 |
| Art since 1907 | 5 | to | 8 | 4 | to | 7 | 7 | to | 15 | 20 to 30 |