Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1877-02-21
Daughters as Lady Helps


to be found In which ladies can, with
advantage to themselves and their EN-
ployees, undertake the duties hitherto
performed by servants. There Is no
doubt that many well-born and we'll
educated gentle-women would rather
cook all day long than to teach vii
lage school, and would infinitely prefer
dusting a piano to listening to child
playing scales upon it. But, after, all,
the system of lady helps Is retrogres-
sive ovement, and therefore can only
have a partial and temporary success.
Refined women who are obliged to earn
their livelihood will by degrees see
that they ought to try to find employ
ment in some sphere where their cul-
ture and accomplishments would be of
value, instead of being unproductive.
IL is because they are not as yet suifi-
eiently educated that they are obliged
to raise the cry of having no work to
do, and in despair of finding cOngenial
occupation, take to manual labor of a
not very remunerative kind. But it
seems a pity to go searching for new
openings in backward direction. Ii
is labor lost, and induces wasteful ex-
penditure of enthusiasm on the part of
enthusiasm on the part of social re-
formers. There is still plenty of raw
material to supply more than all the
servants wanted for use, provided rich
people would. not keep so many merely
for show. The raw material might be
turned into good servants if We had any
organization by which girls could be
apprenticed and taught their trade.
There is really no sufficient reason why
young ladies of the rising generation
should take to sweeping rooms and
cleaning CRATES in strange houses, or
even passing sleepless nights with
teething babies not their own. Domes-
tic service can never solve the question
of "women's work." although it may
for the present stop a gap and furnish
a subject for conversation. On the
other hand, there can be no question
that many of our social difficulties would
be almost entirely mastered if young
ladies would consent TO become lady
helps in their own homes. Nothing
can be more intolerable than the mis-
management and discomfort to be found
in countless households where there are
plenty of grown-up daughters, who
have really little to do but grumble at
the dreariness of their lives, and fret
themselves into permanent il-health.
Perhaps they take sufficient interest in
the housekeeping to wonder contemptu-
ously how their mother can be troubled
with such inefficient servants, 'crea-
lures" who cannot even make palatable
coffee or keep the silver bright. They
have no patience with the shortcomings
of the overworked house-maid, from
whom they expect as much personal at
tendance as if she had only a lady
maids duties to perform. They cannot
think why the gardener does not show
more taste in his arrangement of the
flower beds, and why he does not cut
off the withered roses. Half the young
women one meets in the country sink
into a state of semi-imbecility from idle
Eess and want of interest in their sur
roundings. From mere thoughtless-
ness and ignorance they grow up ex.
acting and unreasonable. From want
of active exercise they become the ready
prey of hysteria, dyspepsia, and spine
complaints. They marry any one who
will have them, simply because they are
so bored that any change is welcome
They make bad wives, because they
have never learned the rudiments o.
domestic economy. When the unfortu.
nate mother of such daughter allows
herself to be persuaded to add lady
help to the establishments, the height o
absurdity is reached. Four or fiy'
plain commonplace stupid girls MAJ
lounge about the house-he with piec'
of soiled fancy-work, another playin:
snatches of dance music, a third read
ing French novels on the sofa, whil'
perhaps a pretty graceful lady lays tn
fire, dusts the room, and endeavors
probably in vain, to bring order int
the uncomfortable and chaotic estab
lishment.-SdturddH Revietc.