Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-09-08

eign lands, costs far more than it comes to
in almost every case.
"Why don't you treat your girls in the
kitchen as l do my men in the ditches?"
asked contractor of his wife. "You don't
suppose would spend nv time getting
down there with a shovel to teach an in
competent man how to work? Not muchl I
simply fire him out, and get another that
knows how and can 60 better"
The answer is easy. The supply of do
mestic workers is not equal to the demand
Moreover, a man can be very independent
who has not the care and claims of small
children to consider. In many cases the
dilemma is presented to the housewife that
either the house or the children must be
neglected, and-sad to say-it is oftentimes
the latter who have to suffer.
This domestic problem is bad enough, and
pressing enough here at home, where natural
gas has relieved 'the glrl'' of the hardest
labor: but the women of the West say it is
simply awful out there, and something has
to be done about it. Farmers wives suffer
especially for lack of help. In the cities
bread and cooked supplies may be procured
when emergencies occur; laundries furnish
a way to dispose of the washing and ironing
when strike takes place in the household;
but on the farms and in the villages
NO SUCH EASEMENTS
are to be procured, even if the money were in
hand. The way out of it, say some, is to
simplify housekeeping; cut off all of the
superhuous, and do only what is necessary.
1t is folly for women to overwork them
selves and leave their children to the care of
step-mothprs and hirelings.
But the trouble about many women is
that they have been trained to the idea that
G. - Ia
endurance of wrong is virtue that merits
heaven-that work to and worry, and wear
out before their prime is something that will
add an extra brilliance to their crowns
hereafter. But as some distinguished man
used to say, they should "disbandon the
idea." They should make up their minds
to their constitutional right of life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness, and act ac-
cordingly.
Another idea advanced by a brilliant
woman is that men should be trained to do
mestic work-since the supply of men is
greater than the demand for their labor.
This seems feasible. Black men in the
South do housework, and do it well. Por-
tiers on cars do chamber work, and do it
we'll. Men make the best cooks, as has been
made very plain. In all history no woman
has achieved fame as a cook, though the
in the art of gastronomy. The Chinese are
famous as making good servants, so why
should not other men? The subject is open
to other suggestions on this point.
A COUNCIL OF WAR.
Another idea is to hold national con-
clave of housekeepers. to consider the sub
ject of domestic help, and have the best
thought upon the subject presented. On
the ground that in multitude of counsel
ors there is safety, men meet and sit upon
their subjects and debate their difficulties
and sometimes come to conclusion, so why
should not women? Women meet in ma
tional congress to devise ways and means
for the promotion of temperance; to wake
up sympathy and enthusiasm for the far
away heathen; to cooperate and advance
the interests of the G. A. r. and other So
cieties, so why should they not consult on
this intimate domestic problem which most
nearly concerns their own comfort and the
well-being of their families?
Mrs. Harrison's experience with servants,
especially her French cook, shows that the
trouble extends from the highest in position
to the lowest, and that something urgently
needs to be done. He who would be free
himself must strike. The blow applies
with as great force to women as to men. If
anything is to be achieved in this matter
women themselves must act. By their own
brains, judgment, common sense, combina-
tion and cooperation can this great problem
be fairly faced and solved.
Mrs. Cochran-if her dishwashing ma
chine creates the revolution in domestic
affairs presaged for twill have written
her name high in the list of benefactors who
have blessed the world by their inventions.
BESSIE BRAMBLE.