The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-06-21
The Servant Girl.
An Idea that the More Bridget Learns, the
Less She Knows.
New York Times.l

New York Times.l
II is to be hoped that the ingenious per-
son who shipped 25 newly-arrived imml-
grants to Saratoga last week, having swim
died them out of commissions for "plaees"
which he had not secured for them, may be
caught and punished. 1t seems, however.
that he did them no serious harm, since ev-
cry one of the 20 secured situation in Sar-
atoga on the day of her arrival.
The sequel of the story is more interest
ing than the story itself. A heartless swim
dler deceives party of strangers in a
strange land with stories of situations in
store for them and lures them a hundred
miles and more inland. Although he DELHI
erately and wilfully lies, as Horace Greeley
used to say, with naked intent to deceive,
they find situations waiting for them and
are earning their own living before they
have been in the place a day.
There is no reason to believe that the fact
that Saratoga is watering-place has any
thing to do with the readiness with which
these servants found places. If an equal
number of servants were taken from Castle
Garden into any village in the state of the
same population they would doubtless, have
no more difficulty than these girls did in
finding places. The advantage they would
have over the resident servant would be
precisely the fact that they were strangers,
not only to the village, but to the country.
This inexperience, instead of being a draw
Dack, is positive recommendation, Ser
wants in want of places find it to their in
terest TO advertise that they have s'iust land
ed, ana consequently know nothing of the
ways of the country or the duties they will
be expected to perform. And experienced
housewives justify their confidence by en-
gazing the newly arrived immigrants in pref
erence to those who have been for a long
time Ia service. Some housewives, in fact,
haunt Castle Garden when they are in want
OF servants, in order TO secure the treasure
of complete inexperience.
This is very strange state of things, and
there is probably nothing like it anywhere
else iii the world. The comparative useless
ness into which servant degenerates after
an experience which ought TO make her a
more valuable servant comes from an igno-
rant misconception of the American doc
trine OF equality. In the second generation
this mistaken notion, which in the first
makes bad servants, keeps the people who
entertain IT from going out to service at all.
A girl will be shop girl and call herself a
ss'ASoAssuJ5 Va al opCidlfc III u idClUfy,
where she has far harder work, poorer pay
and rougher usage than she would have in a
decent family, by reason of the superior dig
nifty which she finds or fancies in the more
d.sagreeable occupation. An ex-servant
girl expresses her view of the case by in
forming the person TO whom she applied for
situation as "saleslady" that she had been
good while in the country and she want
ed to put on some style, like the resi- This
is probably fair enough representation of
the attitude of the experienced servant girl.
Obviously there is not much intelligence in
1t nor much sense of human dignity. In
fact, 1t Is noticeable that the more intelli-
gent and self-respectful servants are, the
less they are troubled with this way of think
ing, and the more respectful and efficient
they are as servants. But while this is the
prevailing view, 1t is inevitable that the
more experienced servants are the less they
are In demand, aud the more the rural
housewife halls the young girl just land
ed' as a treasure in the household.