St. Paul daily globe., 1888-08-05
ings, dosheir own sewing and mend

dSk6u OF several ldQleS.
"We don't like them at ALL" was in
variably the reply.
'Why not?" 1 asked.
''Girls are such nuisance, always
poking about every corner of the house,
forever wanting to borrow something or
demanding extra attention and refus-
ing to pay for it. Then they gossip and
quarrel so that the house is always in an
uproar, and besides, they eat just as
much as men,"
On the other hand the girls complain
that i'll the ordinary boarding house no
references are required. They have to
associate with all sorts of people OF be
sent to coventry for exclusiveness'
rooms at all tidy, and lastly that it's al
most impossible to get good board.
have often wondered why it is that
IN the ordinary boarding house the meat
is tough. potatoes and vegetables half
cold and tea or coffee past description.
The cake and pastry being furnished
from the bakery, is generally rather
"foury." In fact have known
THE SAME PIE
to appear on the table at dinner every
day for week. l carried it out in the
yard and there was not dog or chicken
| to be seen about for the next three
weeks: hope the pie didn't prove in
| dlgeStlble. L forgot to say that the
bread is usually sour. On such fare it
is not strange that the girls grow thin;
but then the boarding mistress rejOices.
They don't eat SO much but the rates
are the same.
Every working girl will agree with
me that the lunch put up in boarding
house is wonderful production. have
experimental with many, but it is ever
the same, consisting of two half slices
of stale bread and butter, chunk OF
meat, piece of pie and cookie. These
are packed tightly in a tiny basket, and
mass, in which it is difficult to detect
the original elements. But the girls eat
1t day after day with stoical sort of
resignation. They know that nothing
better can be afforded, and why waste
time in regret?
The rate charged in the ordinary
boarding house, such as | have deS-
cribed, is from $3.50 to $3.50 per week,
washing and ironing not included. Ref
erences are seldom required on either
side. There are no rules governing the
establishment. Each boarder comes
and goes as she pleaSeS, so long as she
pays promptly.
Two ladies advertise a "Woman's
Boarding Home" where ladies only are
admitted. One on Sixth street south
was undergoing repairs, and could not
be seen at its best. The rates were from
So to $3.50 per week for room and table
board, two persons being assigned to
each room. References are required.
and the rules are not more strict than
are necessary. The house seemed neat
and pleasant. The majority of the
bOarderS are teachers, clerks and STEM
ographerS.
THE OTHER BOARDING HOME
is advertised for working girls espe-
cially. 1t is large house on the corner
of Laurel and Lyndale avenues. There
is but little furniture, and the great par
lorS look bare and cold. No old maids
or widows are allowed to stay. The
rate of board is $3.50 per week, not in
Guiding washing or ironing, which the
girls can do for themselves, if they
choose, being charged 20 cents for use
of materials. The dining room was not
over neat, but the food, though plain.
was we'll cooked. A free reading room
was advertised, but has never material
lied. Not a book was to be seen. Each
room contains from three to four mar
row bedSteadS, one of which is allotted
to each boarder. The girls take care of
their own rooms. thus saving large
force of chambermaids. The girls
grumbied little about the evening
rules, no one being allowed out later
than 10 p. m. unless by special permis-
sion. Many religious pictures were
scattered about the house, grace is said
before and after meals and evening de-
votions are a portion of the daily rou-
tine. The matron told me that
not as many boarders had been
obtained as she had expected,
hI1t of trih fn1 hi 1o. .l- 70
distance at which the home is situated
from places where girls work, rather
than any dislike they might have. for
her system. All classes board here. l
counted one or two from almost every
place of employment. 1t would seem
that such a collection would have plenty
to talk about, but they didn't. A more
silent lot of girls never saw outside
of factory. Perhaps | am wrong, but
l attributed their depression to the
influence of the bare and gloomy aspect
of the house. +.
The matron is no philanthropist, but
woman, and intends to make the home
pay good profit Oh capital invested.
Although this house is far from being
an ideal home for girls, yet it is a step
in the right direction, and much prefer
able to the ordinary boarding house.
1t seems to me that fortune could be
made by boarding house mistress who
could furnish a house tastefullv and
comfortably, even were it ever so plain.
In addition to this let her set a table.
leaving off the hideous colored glass.
ware, faded. raiDbow-hued tablecloth
and smoky or cracked dishes. Crock
cry and table linen are cheap enough:
that it is want of taste rather than the
expense which makes the boarding
house table look like junk shop after
a cyclone had passed by. MANY times
the appearance of the table disgusts one
before the food is tasted. If nv
IDEAL LANDLADY
procures a cook who knows the rudi-
ments of her art, success is certain. It
doesn't cost any more to prepare food
palatably than to spoil it. But under
the present cheap boarding house
regime, the bill of fare comes on half
prepared, or not at all, as the cook NAV
fancy. and is then rehashed every meal,
until the boarders eat it in sheer des;
peration. l don't often preach about
remedies, but would suggest to some of
our ladies, who are inclined to do
good wherever possible, that there are
hundreds of girls in this city paying for
the privilege of being starved to death.
They are powerless to help themselves.
but if some Christian workers would
divert in another channel the energies
which now go to convert the heathen,
they would find an ample field for their
efforts without going outside the city
limits.