Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-08-04
THE PARTISAN STYLE.
Servants who sStand In' with the
Grocers and Butchers.
From the Cincinnati Commercial


The other day, in conversation with a lead.
ing business man of the city, the subject OF
| dishonest servants came up. "Do You know II
he asked, "how it is that some of the servant
| girls are able to dress as well, and even bet
| ter than mistresses?" A negative reply hav.
ing been given, the gentleman proceeded az
| follows:
Il do not care how well people dress, what
ever their station in life, provided they can
| afford it; but how my cook, receiving only
- 90 per week, could manage TO have nearly
| as hne an assortment of dresses as my wife,
with lewelry, etc, to correspond was a puzzle
| until one time we changed cooks, and the
new one revealed 10 my wife the secret. She
had been sent out to a certain grocer to do
some marketing, snd while gone, was accosted
by another grocer and offered by him 4 silk
dress If she would give him my trade. Being
honest she came straight home and told of
1t. This set my vile to thinking, and she
asked the girl if that was common prac-
tlce. oh, yes she replied, but / never
would beat my mistress that way The in
quiry developed the fact that the servant
girls, especially the cooks, who do most of
the marketing, stand in with the grecers
and meat men, and carry their custom
where they can make the Best commits
sions. When lived in the city did my
own marketing, but when / moved out on
the hills l arranged with q grocer to supply
me, and took pass-book. gave thisto the
cook with directions to always buy the best of
everything at that place. Thesame was done
with the butcher. Soon the tea and coffee
became unfit to drink, the butter was bad
and the meat, from place where / always
got the best, was tough and almost unfit for
use. My wife complained and the girl told her
that that grocer and that meat man cheated
her, or did net keep frst-class articles, but
she knew where she could get the best of
everything. We accordingly withdrew our
patronage from our old places and the
change was Immediately apparent for every
thing appeared on the table in 6rst-class
condition. How did l account for it? Why,
simply this way: The girl had been hired
by the other grocer and butcher, by per-
centage OF what she purchased, 10 spoil the
tea and coffee from the old grocer, and to get
inferior meat from the butcher, as pretext
of leaving them, and she carried out the
terms of the contract. We came to notice
that whenever we changed cooks We likewise
changed grecers and butchers, until we en-
ployed the honest one who put US ON to it ,
but how do the new grocer aud butcher
get even?"
'Well you know everything is intrusted TO
the cooks, and as they carry the book it is
very easy to cheat in weight, prices, etc. My
bills are invariably larger than when did
my own marketing, though we consume no
more"
is the same thing done in other trades?"
u have no doubt it is often with coal
dealers and others. 1t is an imposition, and
ought to be exposed. Still don't know as,
it is any worse than the brokerage
system generally. In all trades now the
consumer has TO pay brokerage on every
hing, even to flour, meat and all the necessa-
ries of life. On wheat the farmer gets his |
profit, the wheat buyer his the city broker
ais, the miller his, the wholesale dealer his, |
he retail dealer his, and last, the servant
girl hers. But with her the case is different,
or the broker does his business openly, and |
depends upon it for his living. while the |
,irl is paid by her employer, and resorts to ]
his method of increasing her gains by con- |
iivance with the retailers to absolutely 7
heat their customers"
"Can it be prevented?"
81 don't know how, unless every man or
Woman who employs servants does his or
Ter own marketing, or unless they discharge
heir servants the moment they begin to lay
heir ropes for playing that game"