Help Wanted

In the Dominion's Labor Department, Canadian housewives have a reputation as the country's toughest employers. They are always short of domestic help, seldom satisfied with what they have. Their sternness, plus the attraction of jobs in factory and store, long ago began to whittle down the supply of Canadian maids who could turn out tasty meals, dust in the corners and keep a civil tongue.

Eight months ago, officials looked to a new source: Europe's D.P. camps. They decided to bring over 2,000 girls (mostly Czechs, Poles and Estonians) as cooks and maids. Shipping shortages cut the first group to ten, but after six months, 2,000 were in Canada and at work (for $35 a month minimum on a one-year contract), half of them in city homes and on farms, the rest in hospitals, schools, etc.

For once, housewives had help that they liked. The girls liked the setup too. Only 25 of the first 2,000 have quit because of rows with employers. About 90% of them plan to stay where they are after their year's contract ends. (Exceptions: the 25 girls who have married since coming to Canada, 75 more who are engaged.)

Of all Canada's immigration projects (factory girls, bush workers, miners, farmers, etc.) the D.P. domestics plan has been the most successful. At week's end, three ships loaded with D.P.s docked in Halifax. On board were 350 future domestics. Canadian agents in Europe have raised their sights to 8,500 to fill the stacks of applications in the Labor Department's offices.

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