A. A. Brooke

Routine Clerical Work: Type-writing and shorthand—Secretaryships—Clerks and Book-keepers—The Civil Service: The Post Office—Number of women employed—Clerkships—Sorterships—Telegraph Learnerships—Counter-women and Telegraphists—The Telephones—Complaints against women—Commerce: Subordinate position of women—Shopkeeping—Trade as a Career—Shop Assistants and their condition: Wages—Deductions from Wages—Fines—Forms of Agreement—Long Hours—“Counter and Bed”—Select Committee on Mr. Provand’s Bill—Evidence from different places—Select Committee 1888—Standing all day—Effect upon health—The Lancet on the provision of seats—Combination of assistants necessary—Insanitary Surroundings—Living in—Evils of the system—Bad food and insufficient accommodation—No social life—Hurried meals—Sunday arrangements—Personal Narratives—Warehouses—Combination among assistants—Objects of the different Societies—Legislation and its probable effects—Addendum: The Reports of the Lady Assistant Commissioners to the Labour Commission—Miss Collet’s summary.

Routine Clerical Work. Type-writing.—There has been a great increase of late in the variety of routine clerical work open to women. The type-writing machine might have been designed for their especial benefit, since it has brought within their reach a number of occupations well suited to their capacities. The lady typist and shorthand writer is a recognised institution in American commercial houses; American women, with their superior adroitness, having promptly seized upon an opening so favourable to their interests and adapted it to their own use. The difficulty as to the two sexes working together is not as much felt in America as here, and where special arrangements have to be made or accommodation provided for women clerks it is done without demur. For type-writing to be satisfactory as an occupation it should be combined with shorthand, for a typist pure and simple can seldom rise beyond a clerkship in a type-writing office, and must not expect more than clerk’s pay; and in this case her weekly wages will certainly be counted by shillings, not by pounds. The addition of shorthand renders many kinds of secretarial work available, and here, as in other occupations, any special skill or knowledge may lead to a considerable increase in wages. An industrious typist who can secure a good connection may make a fair, though not a large, income by working on her own account. Authors and journalists often dictate their work to a shorthand writer and typist, receiving it back in a few hours in a handy and legible form. The usual fee is from 2s. to 3s. 6d. an hour. Doctors, literary and public men, often give permanent employment to a typist, and this kind of work is specially suited to women. Here again, however, brains as well as manual skill are needed. Mere routine work can never earn more than low wages.

Clerks and Book-keepers.—Female clerks and book-keepers are largely employed in retail houses of business. To judge from their rapidly increasing numbers it would seem as if their work were quite as satisfactory as that of men, and yet their wages are invariably lower. Herein, it is to be feared, lies the only difference between them and the male clerks whom they supersede. From 15s. to £1 a week is probably as much as a woman can expect in this employment; but, on the other hand, a girl with an aptitude for business may sometimes make a clerkship the stepping-stone to a forewoman or manager’s post, thus leading, of course, to much higher wages. A well-known shipping firm in Liverpool has for many years employed a lady to take charge of all the ship linen and furniture. Under her is a large staff of clerks and needlewomen, who carry on their work in comfortable and well-arranged premises not far from the Docks. It is probable that as women come to receive a more practical and thorough education they will be more largely employed in posts in which care and attention to small details is important. At present the capacity which women undoubtedly possess in this direction is often neutralised by slovenly business habits.

The Civil Service.—Of clerkships those in connection with the Civil Service are perhaps the most important. From the eagerness with which women compete for its posts, indeed, the Civil Service would seem to be a very El Dorado for its employÉs, a conclusion which is hardly warranted by an examination of its conditions. The work, however, is light, demands only moderate abilities, and is performed on the whole under agreeable conditions. Wages are not high, but pensions are attached to the most important branches, an advantage which hardly any other employment open to women possesses. A woman who has worked for forty years in the Post-office may retire with a pension equal to two-thirds of her salary. Even after ten years of service a pension of one-sixth is available. The respective amounts, in the case of Post-office clerkships (to be described immediately), would probably be about £80 and £15 per annum respectively, and a woman must be earning exceptional wages in any other employment to put by sufficient to bring in an income of even these modest dimensions. It is unfortunate that in this, as in so many other occupations, women are willing to undersell men. The clerks in the Post-office naturally look with anything but favour upon the influx of women clerks at a lower wage, knowing that it means their own gradual supercession. It is sometimes said that the less robust health of women, and their consequently less regular attendance, forms sufficient justification for a lower rate of pay; but the alacrity of the public departments to engage female clerks seems to shew that any disabilities on the score of health are more than balanced by diminished salaries. Where the advantages to the employer are equal there is seldom any eagerness to prefer the labour of women. A similar displacement of men is going on in other Government departments; at the War Office, in Special Commissions, and elsewhere, women are being engaged for routine clerical work, and almost always at a lower rate of payment than men.

The Post-office.—The most important public department with regard to the employment of women is the Post-office. The Postmaster-General’s Report for 1891 shows the total number of officials on the permanent establishment, with sub-postmasters and letter receivers, to be 63,868, of whom 8877 are women. Of these, 906 women are employed as clerks in the chief offices in London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, and 3750 as “counter-women” and telegraphists throughout the kingdom, besides others employed as sub-postmistresses and letter receivers. These figures however do not represent the gross total of the Post-office staff, for we are informed that about 54,000 other persons are employed more or less in Post-office work, and of these 16,000 are women. In this estimate are probably included the extra clerks, generally former employÉs, who come in and help at times of special pressure, as well as the domestic servants and needlewomen whose business it is to keep the buildings and miscellaneous Post-office property in order.

Classification.—An impression prevails that women are only employed by the Post-office in selling stamps and sending off telegrams, that being the only branch of Post-office work of which the general public has cognisance. “Counter-women,” however, as these employÉs are technically called, are only subordinate officials, and their work is both less agreeable and worse paid than that of some of the other departments. Post-office appointments, as far as women are concerned, may be classified thus:

Clerkships.—Of the posts just enumerated the clerkships are the most important and best paid, and are filled by a superior class of women. During some years they were obtained by nomination, and the women chosen generally came from the cultured classes; but now all appointments are thrown open to competition, and anyone within the limits of age (18 to 20) who can pass the not very severe entrance examination is eligible for a vacancy. There is considerable demand for these posts, and it is considered a very small competition if there are only two qualified candidates for every vacancy. The hours of attendance in the office are in most cases seven daily, and a month’s holiday is allowed. Salaries commence at £65 a year, rising by an annual increase of £3 to £80 in the lowest class. There are possibilities however of much higher salaries, as the accompanying table (drawn from the Civil Service Competitor) of numbers and salaries of the female staff at the General Post-office, London, shows—

General Conditions.—Work in the General Post Office is carried on under pleasant conditions. The premises are good, and all reasonable arrangements are made for the comfort of the clerks. Strict privacy is enforced; the clerks never come in contact with the public; and, the routine of the business once mastered, there is a regularity and freedom from worry about Post-office work, which to certain natures is probably attractive. A girl of fair education, but without the special knowledge or aptitude necessary for the teaching profession, may profitably turn her attention to Post-office work, in which the defect of monotony is counterbalanced by regularity of employment and the prospect of a pension in later life. Candidates must be unmarried or widows, and must be duly qualified in respect of character and health. They must further pass an examination in handwriting, spelling, arithmetic, English composition, geography, and English history. A periodical entitled the Civil Service Competitor gives details as to the changes which take place in the regulations from time to time.

Sorterships.—These posts are attached chiefly to the General Post Office in London. Candidates must be “not less than four feet ten inches in height without boots” (a very moderate requirement, surely), and the limit of age is 15 to 18. An examination must be passed in reading and copying badly-written manuscript, handwriting, spelling, arithmetic (first four rules), and the geography of the United Kingdom. Salaries begin at 12s. a week, rising by 1s. a week to 20s., with prospect of promotion to the higher classes. The work chiefly consists, as the title indicates, in sorting the papers of the department. Like the clerkships just described, the occupation is regular and not disagreeable. An advantage in a young girl’s beginning as a sorter is that if she desires to qualify for a clerkship, she may, if she has served for two years, secure an extension of age up to 25. Thus, though she fail to pass the examination at the latest age allowable to outsiders, she may try again, perhaps several times.

Telegraph Learnerships.—The privilege just mentioned is attached to this department also, and appointments as counter-women are now usually filled up from the ranks of the telegraph learners. A preliminary examination must be passed in dictation, handwriting, and arithmetic (first four rules), and successful candidates must attend a Post-office Telegraph School (free) to learn the craft. The course usually takes three months, but pupils who show no aptitude may be discharged. On receiving a certificate from the school the telegraphist begins work in a Post-office at a salary of 10s. a week, rising to 12s. and 14s., as she becomes capable of transmitting messages and taking charge of an instrument; thence, if promoted, to 30s. or 38s. Supervisors may receive from £90 a year to £140. The age for admission in London is 14 to 18, in the provinces 14 to 25.

Counter-women.—This is the only branch of Post-office work which is carried on under the eyes of the general public, the workers serving at the open counters of Post-offices, selling stamps, cashing postal orders, and performing all the miscellaneous duties belonging to a local office. Since the Government took over the management of telegraphs counter-women have been of necessity chiefly recruited from the telegraph learners. A second-class counter-woman receives from 12s. to 30s. a week; a first-class from 30s. to 38s.

Complaints against Women.—It must be acknowledged that women have not altogether distinguished themselves in this branch of employment. Sir James Fergusson, when Postmaster-General, felt called upon to issue a circular to Post-office clerks, with pointed reference to the female clerks, recommending the practice of greater civility in their dealings with the public; and the measure was regarded, I think, with general satisfaction. In some commercial centres similar complaints are made of the indifference and carelessness of the girls in charge of the telephones, who do not seem to realise that important business transactions are dependent upon their promptitude and attention. In a large telephone office which I could name women have been replaced by men to the unconcealed satisfaction of the subscribers. A newspaper editor told me that he always found a great change for the better when evening arrived, and women clerks were replaced by men. It would be easy to make too much of these complaints, but they deserve to be noted in considering the entry of women into new employments.

Commerce.—Leaving clerical work on one side, we may now turn to the wide field of trade and commerce, and examine into the position occupied by women. Here, as in most other departments, their place will be found to be chiefly subordinate. Women rarely enter the higher and more lucrative branches of trade and commerce, while they overcrowd the lower ranks. Isolated cases may be quoted in which the control of large capital is in the hands of women; and as land-owners and managers of large estates they often take an important share in commercial operations. We sometimes hear of women millowners and merchants; but these positions are generally the result of accident rather than choice, and women who have become capitalists by inheritance seldom (except in the case of land) take any active share in the management of their property. There are exceptions, however; and it is possible that if a careful enquiry were made they would prove to be more numerous than was supposed. In a recent lawsuit about a colliery the defendant, a lady coalowner, was asked, “You never go down into the mine, I suppose?” “Indeed I do,” was the reply. “I take the greatest interest in my property, and I frequently go down into the mine.”

Englishwomen lag strangely behind American and French women in the conduct of business enterprise, though whether from lack of talent or opportunity is not clear. Probably they possess neither the talent of the French nor the opportunity of the Americans. In retail trading women take a much larger part, though here their operations, if on any large scale, are generally confined to one or two trades, chiefly those concerned with women’s dress and outfitting. Probably no great number of women are engaged in these enterprises, but in the smaller kinds of shopkeeping they are largely concerned. Very precarious much of this work is. Any decent woman who has saved a little money thinks herself qualified to open a shop and carry on business without preliminary training. The usual result of such experiments is that capital dwindles away before profits have begun to make their appearance. Women do not always realise that the management of even a small business requires knowledge, resource, and an unwearied attention to details.

Trade as a Career.—It is to be regretted that the daughters of shopkeepers, particularly of the wealthier sort, do not more often devote themselves to trade. Their position gives them unrivalled opportunities of learning the business under agreeable conditions, and they would gain thereby an independent position and an occupation of great interest. As forewoman, cashier, buyer, or manager of a department, a girl of superior education with an interest in the well-being of the concern might do good service for the firm. The majority of wealthy shopkeepers’ daughters however usually prefer to dissociate themselves as far as possible from the industry which is the source of their prosperity, while pushing their way into society by its aid. En rÉvanche ladies of the aristocracy, secure of social position, but lacking in means, have recently taken to retail trade; and though not all the aristocratic millinery and dressmaking establishments started a few years ago with a flourish of trumpets have outlived the difficulties of early life, the fact that the attempt has been made has contributed a good deal to change the attitude of society towards retail trading as an occupation for women. A few thoughtful parents, perceiving that such occupations as High School teaching offer but a poor reward for the energies of cultivated women, are training their daughters systematically for trade. The wisdom of such a course deserves to be highly commended, for girls so prepared will enter upon their work with every chance of success, and free from the ignorance which perpetually clogs the steps of women’s enterprise. To parents not themselves in business the matter may present some difficulties; but for girls whose fathers are in trade, the means of training are of course ready to hand. They will do well to get rid, as speedily as may be, of the false sentiment which makes them despise a pleasant and lucrative employment.

Shop Assistants.—When we come to the lower grades of employment, to the work of shop assistants and book-keepers, the proportion quickly alters, and the women far outnumber the men. There are unfortunately no means of ascertaining the number of women so employed, but the total number of both sexes in the retail trade is about one million, and about four-fifths of the assistants in the drapery trade are women. In other trades the proportion is not quite so high, and in the grocery trade about nine-tenths are men. An account of the labour of men and women in shops (for the two sexes cannot be separated in its consideration) must, if truthfully given, be little else than a recital of their grievances. There are, it is true, establishments where the employÉs are well paid and fairly treated, but their number is small compared to those in which poor pay, ungenerous treatment, and unhealthy surroundings are the lot of the shop assistant of either sex.

Their Grievances.—The chief points upon which complaints centre are:—

Wages.—First as to wages. We often hear it said that a young woman serving in a shop is better paid than a governess; and it is true that a young woman of business ability and good appearance engaged as show-woman in a millinery or mantle department can earn from £200 to £300 or even £400 a year—far more than women teachers, except in rare cases, can dream of earning. But these are the plums of the profession, and they are few and far between. The wages of shop assistants are exceedingly variable, small shopkeepers only giving a few shillings a week, the proprietors of large establishments being able to afford a better wage. In the larger shops an entrance premium is often demanded, or at least the assistant must serve for several months without wages. Women assistants, for no apparent reason, receive considerably lower wages than men. The former may earn from £10 to £25 a year with board and lodging, the latter from £20 to £40.[7] Generally speaking the wages of female shop assistants are estimated to be 33 per cent. lower than those of male assistants. I have not been able to find any reason for the difference beyond the willingness of women to take less than men. It would be interesting to know whether there is any real difference in efficiency between the sexes. I believe that in purely manual occupations lack of efficiency is enough to account for women’s lower wages; but in clerical and routine work the reason is not so obvious.

Fines.—The nominal wages of a shop assistant, however, whether high or low to start with, are subject to serious deductions by the way. Few large retail houses are free from a system of vexatious fines, deducted nominally from premiums on sales. I have before me a fine-book belonging to a large London house containing nearly a hundred rules, to the breach of which fines varying from 6d. to 5s. are attached, with threats of even worse penalties behind. Thus for standing on a chair the fine is 6d.; permitting customers to go unserved without calling special attention of buyer or shopwalker, 1s.; second offence reported. Omission of particulars as to filling up duplicate forms and returning change, at discretion up to 5s.; for sending bad coin to cashier, the loss to be made up, and 1s. fine as well. For not having premiums credited on exchange or return of goods, fine 2s. 6d., second offence dismissal. Wrong or insufficient address, 2s. 6d., and so on through a dozen closely-printed pages, until one wonders how human ingenuity could devise so many punishable offences. In another book of rules, more moderate in dimensions, and animated by a less vindictive spirit than the above, a fine of 6d. is levied for taking wrong change, and only half the deficiency is charged when bad coin is presented. Allowing a customer to go unserved without calling the attention of the “buyer,” however, still incurs a fine of 1s. Regulations such as these sufficiently explain the over-eagerness of shop assistants to sell, which is often so annoying to their customers. The unhappy victims of the fine-book have no choice but to cajole or worry the customer into buying, since their very livelihood depends upon success. Where such minute attention to details is necessary as in shop work, fines may be to some extent a necessary evil; but there can hardly be sufficient reason for the endless multiplication of petty exactions which an examination of fine-books reveals. One would gladly see the system exchanged for some plan of profit-sharing which would secure the co-operation of assistants by more agreeable means. It is true that a bonus on purchases is sometimes given during the annual sale, but this apparent boon is again accompanied by a liability to fines which must detract considerably from its advantages.[8]

Agreements.—On entering a situation shop assistants are often obliged to sign agreements which place them practically at the mercy of their employers. In some cases they agree to accept instant dismissal if fault is found with their work or conduct, in which case they bind themselves not to take action in a court of law. A girl may thus be discharged at a moment’s notice, and find herself literally in the streets,[9] The formation of a strong Trade Union among shop assistants is probably the only measure that can avail to check such injustice.

Long Hours.—The most trying feature of a shop assistant’s life, however, is the long hours of labour. Upon this point agitation is at present centred, and rightly, since the length of the working day is not only an evil in itself, but renders the other ills which assistants suffer more difficult to bear and less easy to remove. In order to amend the conditions of their life assistants must have leisure to combine, for nothing breaks the spirit like unceasing toil. At present, as was pathetically remarked by a shop assistant, “counter and bed is the common lot of most of us,” and energies enfeebled by a long day’s work are unequal to grappling with the problem of reform. Both sexes work under the same conditions; women keep the same long hours as men; nor would they regard with approval special legislation in their favour, fearing lest the indirect result of such legislation should be to restrict their employment. How far such a result is really probable it is not easy to say. The Secretary of the Early Closing Association, giving evidence before the Select Committee on the Shop Hours Regulation Bill (1892), expressed himself satisfied that the limitation of women’s hours proposed by the Bill would not prejudice their employment; but though the contention is probably correct as far as the drapery trade is concerned, it is by no means certain that it would hold good of other trades, and women cashiers and clerks would certainly be replaced by men in shops where the latter are most largely employed. On the other hand, the greater cheapness of women’s labour might enable it to keep its place. It is probable, however, that in any case the restriction would be used as an excuse for lowering women’s wages still further.

The act of 1886 limited the hours of children employed in shops to seventy-four; but as no provision was made for inspection to enforce it, the act became a dead letter. The Act of 1892 extended the benefits of restricted hours to “young persons,” but left the appointment of inspectors optional. A few large towns are enforcing the Act by appointing inspectors. As, with these exceptions, each employer is free to do what seems right in his own eyes, shop hours vary indefinitely, and it is impossible to give any figures that are of universal application. An assistant giving evidence before the Select Committee stated that in Chelsea, Fulham, and Hammersmith she had worked from 88 to 90 hours a week, but in Holloway only 63½. Other cases as bad, or even worse, might be cited. A representative of the Early Closing Association estimated the average hours in the southern and eastern districts of London at from 75 to 91 per week, but I am inclined to think this estimate exaggerated.[10] London shops in the poorer districts however are great sinners in the matter of late hours. As a rule hours are shortest in the central districts of large towns, since the exodus of the wealthier classes to the suburbs as evening comes on renders it useless to keep shops open after six or seven o’clock. Saturday afternoon’s holiday is gained in the same manner. As we move towards the suburbs, and towards the working class districts, the hours become longer, and on Saturday, instead of the desired half holiday, toil is prolonged far into the evening, it may be even till midnight. In Manchester, which is said to stand well on the whole from the shop assistant’s point of view, the hours in the central district are about 66 to 68 weekly, in some few cases 50 only, and in the suburbs 80; but in many parts of the city much longer hours are kept, and late Saturday night shopping prevails in the working class districts. To some extent this is inevitable; but in a city like Manchester, where the Saturday half-holiday is general, such extremely late shop hours can hardly be necessary, and with regard to other towns also the necessity of late hours for the shopping of the working classes is probably much exaggerated. It is well known that so long as shops are open customers will come, and if purchases could be made at three o’clock in the morning, individuals would probably be found who preferred that time to any other. The Select Committee of the House of Commons on the Shop Hours Regulation Bill of 1888, reported that they were “satisfied that the hours of shop assistants range in many places as high as from eighty-four to eighty-five hours per week,” and were further “convinced that such long hours must be generally injurious and often ruinous to health, and that the same amount of business might be compressed into a shorter space of time.” Eighty-five hours too, as we have seen, are by no means the extreme limit of weekly work. It is a common thing for shops opened at eight in the morning to be kept open until nine o’clock at night; and what chance, it may be asked, has a girl released at that hour after a long day’s toil of enjoying healthy recreation? A rational life is impossible under such conditions.

Standing.—The long hours of standing are of course apt to be injurious to the health of women, and especially of young girls. Physicians give evidence of diseases contracted in this manner, and the report of the “Sanitary Commission” of the Lancet, though moderate in expression, is sufficiently explicit upon this point.[11] It must be remembered, however, that constitutions differ, and I have been informed by a young woman who had served ten years in a shop (where, however, short hours are kept) that while she herself had grown used to the standing, her sister, serving in the same shop, was quite unable to endure the fatigue, and had failed seriously in health. A few years ago some well-meaning persons, urged on by the Lancet, exerted themselves to get seats provided for shop assistants, and their efforts were apparently successful. Subsequent investigations by the Lancet commissioner, however, disclosed a serious flaw in the arrangements. In one shop he found that although seats were provided anyone “found idle” was fined 6d. “At another very large establishment,” reported the commissioner, “which boasts of the seats it provides, anyone found using them is reprimanded the first time, and dismissed on a repetition of the offence.” The episode is instructive as showing how impossible it is for outsiders to reform trade abuses. Shop assistants must themselves combine for the removal of their grievances if any improvement is to be effected. In the same way “consumers’ leagues,” for the avoidance of late shopping or for boycotting shops where sweating is carried on, are doomed beforehand to failure. Combination among the workers, backed by judicious legislation, is the only sure method of securing reform.[12]

Insanitary Conditions.—An evil almost as great as the long hours of labour is the insanitary condition of many shops. In large establishments proper arrangements are usually made, though it often happens that the building is draughty or ill-ventilated. But in small shops there is sometimes no sanitary provision whatever, and assistants must have recourse to the nearest public house, the only lavatory available. Shops that are merely “fronts” have of course no offices attached, and in those built on to private houses the proprietor often reserves the house premises entirely for his own family. The abuse is a crying one, and from its nature it is difficult to expose. Small shops are also often close, ill-ventilated, and full of foul odours, though perhaps women do not suffer from the latter cause as much as men, being less employed in provision shops, pawnbrokers’, or fur shops. Women cashiers, however, who are confined all day in the elevated boxes rendered necessary by the rolling ball system of giving change, suffer severely from the accumulation of gas and bad air towards the ceiling.

Living-in.—Another matter with regard to which discontent is rapidly spreading is the system of compulsory “living-in,” which prevails widely in drapery and large outfitting establishments. This custom is, I believe, unknown in Scotland. A drapery firm in the North of England, for example, employs 300 assistants of both sexes, and all are obliged to live in the house provided by the employer. In shops where “living-in” is compulsory board and lodging is usually valued at £40 per annum. It is a common complaint, however, among assistants that if after some years’ service they obtain the privilege of living “out” they only receive an allowance of £15 or £20 per annum. This statement has been made over and over again, and its truth can hardly be doubted. For the sum charged by the employer the inmates of a large house ought to be comfortably fed and housed; but though in some cases the arrangements are all that could be desired, yet against the majority grave accusations are made with regard to over-crowding, bad food, and uncomfortable household arrangements.[13] The bedroom accommodation is said to be insufficient, and the furniture scanty; the food provided is often poor, and sometimes uneatable. Sundry small filchings in the shape of charges for blacking boots, use of piano and library, are also strongly resented. There is seldom any provision for social life, perhaps because there would be no time to enjoy it. Usually the two sexes are lodged apart, but some boarding houses are apparently mixed, for in one set of house rules it is stated that talking in the dining-room during meals is “strictly prohibited,” that the young men are not permitted to enter the young ladies’ sitting-room, and visitors are not allowed in the house. At most establishments only twenty minutes or half-an-hour is allowed for dinner, and the assistants are liable to be called off if required in the shop. On this system meals must be simply bolted, to the no small injury of the digestion; and it is not surprising that dyspeptic derangement is a common ailment of shop assistants.

Sundays.—When Sunday comes round a diametrically opposite policy is followed, and after being kept in close confinement during six days of the week the unhappy assistant finds himself or herself put outside the door on the seventh. Either the boarders are given to understand that their presence is not desired within doors, or else no meals are provided, and the assistants are left to shift for themselves as best they may. No doubt the best-conducted houses are careful of their assistants’ comfort on Sundays. Extreme cases, in which the assistants are absolutely shut out, are probably rare; but some are known to exist, and the tendency to make Sunday an uncomfortable day for those who remain indoors appears to be pretty general. The disastrous consequences of throwing female assistants—often mere girls—upon their own resources on the day in the week when respectable means of shelter or refreshment are least accessible can easily be imagined. Here again a strong Trade Union seems to afford the only possible chance of dealing with the evil. The stress of competition is ever at work, driving employers to diminish their expenses in every possible way in order to sell their wares at the cheapest rate; and it is so easy to effect the needful economies out of the domestic establishment of their assistants. It will be readily perceived too that the system of compulsory “living-in” places the assistants more completely in the power of their employers than is desirable for any body of workers, and the assistants themselves do not hesitate to affirm that this is the chief cause of its maintenance. Incidentally also it disfranchises the men, who are not able to claim even the lodgers’ franchise. Attempts are made in some places by philanthropic societies to provide homes for girls employed in shops where living-in is not compulsory. These may be useful in some cases, but their usual defect is a too maternal government, which the girls resent.

Personal Narratives.—In support of what has been here stated as to the general conditions of shop work, I may add some particulars gleaned from one or two lady shop assistants who have been kind enough to tell me frankly their experience. Both are now employed in shops with whose management they are perfectly content, but their previous experiences were of a far less agreeable nature. Miss Smith served for some time in a drapery establishment in a second-rate quarter of a large town. The hours were from 9 a.m. to 9.30 p.m., and to 10, 10.30, or later on Saturdays. No annual holidays were given; the assistants were supposed to have one free day a month, but often they did not get it. An hour was allowed for dinner, which the assistants had to provide either in or out of the building. As my informant’s home was half an hour distant she brought her own dinner, and thus was unable to have warm food. When engaged in the millinery department she divided her time between the showroom and the workroom, and was often kept until 12.30 on Saturday night, or rather Sunday morning, finishing orders. Her sister had been similarly employed in a small country town for eighteen months, during most of which time the working hours were so long that from Monday morning until Sunday morning she only left the counter for bed. “At the end of the time,” added Miss Smith, “she was carried home in blankets,” having broken down completely under the hard conditions of her life. “Country shops,” remarked Miss Smith, “are the worst of all; the work is never at an end.” Asked if she had ever found deficient sanitary arrangements, she stated that in an otherwise well-managed shop the housekeeper had at one time, from some whim, taken to locking the lavatories, opening them only at certain intervals. The rebellion that ensued, however, had forced her to relinquish the practice. Some small shops, it was added, were “merely square rooms,” and were unprovided with offices.

Miss Jones had had a varied experience. In her first situation—a suburban shop, where she lived in the house—the hours were from 8.30 a.m. to 9.30 p.m., with the usual additional hours on Saturday. “I always went straight to bed after my work,” she said, “for there was only the kitchen to sit in, and one could not go out at that time of night.” A large second-class shop in a provincial town was not much better. The hours were from 8.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m., twenty minutes being allowed for dinner, and a quarter of an hour for tea. A week’s holiday was given in summer. The assistants lived in the house; no talking was allowed at meals; and if, as was not unnatural among a gathering of young people of both sexes, the place of conversation was supplied by giggling, the “governor” seated at the head of the table growled his disapprobation. “Our only amusement was to kick each other under the table to make one another laugh,” observed Miss Jones; “but where I am now we talk as much as we like, and enjoy ourselves.” In the first-named establishment there were many fines, in the house as well as in the shop. Four girls slept in a bedroom, two in each bed; if the gas was left lit after a certain hour, the room-mates were all fined 6d. a head, innocent and guilty alike.

My informants laid stress upon the time taken up by straightening the shop after closing hours, an extra burden which is sometimes unavoidable. In a shop which closed at 6.30 Miss Jones had sometimes been busy “straightening” gloves (i.e. arranging them in their boxes and sorting the sizes) till 10 o’clock or even later. At sale times such extra work is frequent. Neither speaker objected to the system of fines if reasonably administered, but they thought it hard to be fined for not making a sale when the article demanded was actually not in stock. About the pressure put upon assistants to effect sales they had some amusing stories. On one occasion a buyer brought a lady customer to the counter where Miss Jones was serving, with the request that she would show her “furniture fringes,” adding in a low tone, “And see that she gets them.” Miss Jones, who knew that furniture fringes were not in the shop, was at her wits’ end. “I showed her everything I could think of,” she said, “and kept her there until I saw the buyer move away, when I whispered hastily, ‘We haven’t got any furniture fringes,’ and the lady took her departure. Fortunately the buyer forgot to ask me any questions afterwards. Another time a lady asked for a kind of beaded dress front which we did not keep; but because I let her go without calling up the buyer I was fined 2s. 6d.”

The details here given from personal experience amply bear out what has been said about the difficulties and disagreeables of a shop assistant’s life, and they may be multiplied ad infinitum by anyone who cares to make personal investigation into the subject.

Warehouses.—The conditions of life in warehouses are much the same as in shops, but some of the special grievances of the latter are absent. Fines, though not wholly unknown, are not customary, and “living-in,” though practised to some extent, especially among London city firms, is not general throughout the country. Women are much employed in furriers’ and trimming warehouses. Wages are poor—often only from 7s. to 10s. a week; but a good saleswoman in a wholesale house may earn as much as £1 a week. Long hours, poor wages, and insanitary conditions are the chief grievances of warehouse assistants, and they are making common cause with workers in shops for their removal.

Combination among Assistants.—Strenuous efforts are now being made to secure combination among shop assistants, but the task is not easy. Shop assistants are apt to regard such measures as suitable only to artisans and labourers, failing to perceive that from lack of combination they themselves are often much worse treated than the labourers whose methods of self-defence they despise. No artisan would think for a moment of enduring the conditions with regard to fines, forms of agreement, and method of living, which are imposed upon shop assistants, whose hours of labour are also, as I have shown, far beyond those worked by factory “hands.”[14] The fear of dismissal is a more real cause for hesitation; but if the union is carefully organised, and causes of offence are avoided during its early days, there seems no reason why this objection should not gradually disappear. There are now in existence the “United Shop Assistants’ Union,” the “National Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen, and Clerks,” with head-quarters in London, and branches in most of the large towns, and the “National Union of Clerks”; besides an outside society, the “Early Closing Association,” which works for one special object—the shortening of shop hours. The others are unions for mutual help and defence, and the “National Union of Shop Assistants, Warehousemen, and Clerks,” which has about 2,000 members, is constituted upon genuine Trade Union lines, giving sick benefits and out-of-work pay upon a graduated scale for payments of 1s. 2d. to 2s. a month.

The passing of the Shop Hours Regulation Act can hardly be expected to effect any general improvement in shop hours; but if efficiently carried out it should do something to shorten the working hours of those for whom it is specially designed—children and young persons. It is satisfactory to note that several towns are appointing inspectors, without whose aid the Act would remain nugatory, and that a number of women are among those appointed. It is highly improbable that public opinion will rest content with such a very imperfect piece of work as the Act of 1892; and before long we may expect to see the working hours of all shop assistants limited by law. If the coming legislation affects all shops alike (with necessary exceptions for special trades, such as chemists), it is not likely to meet with strong opposition, since it is the competition of one shopkeeper with another which forms the chief obstacle to a voluntary change. Often the refusal of a single shopkeeper prevents the adoption of early closing in a whole district. If all are obliged to close no injury is done, and large employers of labour gave evidence in this sense before the Select Committee. Happily, in this case, the question admits of being considered upon its own merits, and we need not fear the appearance of that familiar hindrance to labour reform, the bugbear of foreign competition.

[14] Miss Collet’s tables of factory and shop hours (Report, p. 85) corroborate this statement.