A corollary to the proposition may be added. The skilled laborer is a better workman than the unskilled laborer. The question was asked of employers, “What is the nature of the service rendered? Is it ‘excellent,’ ‘good,’ ‘fair,’ or ‘poor’?” The replies show that in proportion to the number of answers the largest percentage of service characterized as “excellent” is rendered by cooks, while the largest percentage characterized as “poor” is given by the general servants. These are, it is true, matters of opinion; and without a fixed standard, which it is impossible to secure, such judgments can have no absolute value. But the fact is of interest as showing the opinion of a large number of housekeepers. The following table will show the results in regard to these two classes of employees: TABLE IX NATURE OF SERVICE RENDERED ==========+=======+=====+================================================ | | | KIND OF SERVICE RENDERED |Total | +-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ OCCUPATION|number |Not | Excellent | Good | Fair | Poor | of |answ-+------+----+------+----+------+----+------+----- |replies|ered |Number| Per|Number| Per|Number| Per|Number| Per | | | |cent| |cent| |cent| |cent ----------+-------+-----+------+----+------+----+------+----+------+----- Cooks | 262 | 30 | 83 | 32 | 113 | 43 | 58 | 22 | 8 | 3 General | | | | | | | | | | servants| 585 | 53 | 151 | 26 | 221 | 38 | 177 | 30 | 36 | 6 ==========+=======+=====+======+====+======+====+======+====+======+===== (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.