34 KANSAS INIVKKSIIA- CJUAR TERrA'. 



is onl}' $54.61 while that of dry-goods clerk is ^5197.50. The latter 

 in some cases spends as much as $300.00 yearly for clothing, while 

 $115.00 is the greatest amount recorded by the former. 



The two clerks who live at home save respectively $100.00 and 

 $120.00, spending $16.00 and $60.00 for incidentals, but it will be 

 readily seen that these amounts, $116.00 and $180.00, are neither of 

 them equal to the $188.67, the average expense for board and room. 



Taking each table separatel}', if we add together the amounts 

 under the headings " Inddentals," "Family," and "Savings," the 

 following result is secured. From the sum obtained from Table 

 No. I, we get an average amount of $86.33. This represents the 

 money not consumed by clothing, board and room, while in the 

 case of the clerks, the corresponding average is $57.00 or just 

 $29.33 l^ss. 



It will be necessary to explain that in making out the average 

 just mentioned, the savings and incidentals of the two girls who 

 live at home were omitted because the mone}- in their case is not 

 saved, and $100.00 was added to the list because one clerk has 

 included incidentals in the $400.00 for clothing. 



From the study of all the figures obtained from these reports 

 the fact is strikingly evident that the servant girls save more money 

 than the dry-goods clerks, and have more to use for incidentals 

 antl for the assistance of friends. 



Employees in these stores, moreover, have the advantage of 

 reduction in the price of the dry-goods they purchase. At one of 

 the largest 'estalilishments visited, clerks have a discount of ten 

 per cent., at another the}- have goods at cost. 



Two or three cases of thrift among the servants inteviewed are per- 

 haps worth mentioning. One American girl receiving $3.00 a week, 

 laid up enough mone}^ to invest in cattle. She was married, and, 

 adding her own to her husband's savings, they were able to buy a 

 quarter section farm. 



The colored people are noted for their shiftless habits, but there 

 are occasionally striking exceptions among servant girls. One 

 colored woman who has for years received $3.00 a week has 

 recently bought a place for $150.00, and has a neat sum invested 

 in the building association. Another has from $3.50 to $4.00 with 

 which she supports herself and three children, and pays $5.00 a 

 month for a small house. 



The fact is, the wages of servants are not affected by financial 

 embarrassments. They were raised in a marked degree during the 

 war and have never been lowered. There is one important point 

 which should be mentioned in favor of the position of dry-goods 



