The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1890-01-18

operative laundry.
Far froos presenting any difficulties, a
cooperative provision for these depart
ments OF household service involves less
difficulty than would attend the institu-
ton OF cooperative laundries, for here
is needful no considerable investment in
buildings or machinery. As 10 chamber
work aud connected branches il would
only be necessary that hundred or two
ladies should come together and agree
10 give their work OF this sort TO a CO.
operative employment agency estab-
lished by themselves, and as in the other
case, managed not for profit. but 10 do
everything for cost. All would tx APP
proximateiy their ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ms
TO this sort Of work, SO many hours at
so much an hour, such and such times,
compensation TO be made to the agencies,
not directly 20 the workers. Theagency
would employ the people necessary, as
Stunning responsibility fos their conduct.
What could be simpler than thatg AS
TO miscellaneous work about the house
or grounds, of whatever sort, the en-
ployment agency would furnish either
regularly or in emergencies, all service
required. The doing away IN cities with
fires for heating by systems OF heat dis
steam or electricity. is no doubt in time
destined to dispense with the tire and
furnace work, as gas and the electric
service have already disposed OF the
lamp nuisance. IL is obvious that tho
municpalizing OF the lighting and heat
ing service TO the end that they may be
rendered at cost is step strictly in the
line of household service reform.
Tho da.,a "a mani - cnntrtaar "a hla car-
vice aud scullion work, remains TO be
provided for. If n caterer is able to
furnish, cook, serve and take entire
charge OF great feast 20 which most
domestic establishments are confessediy
unequal. is he not presumably equal to
serving the Thursday leg OF mutton or
the Sunday turkey of the family The
important thing is that his success has
proved that meals can be served entire
ly from outside the household with
more complete satisfaction Co the most
fastidious taste than the best equipped
domestic service.could give. Let us
suppose that the same group OF ladies
which is supposed 10 have already
started the cooperative laundry, the
cooperative employment agency, now
also starts a cooperative kitchen. They
guarantee as in the other cases GER
tain minimum basis OF business aud en-
ploy the best caterer and cooks to be
had. In order TO give the caterer the
best advantage for buying at whole
sale, and TO avoid the waste which would
result from the necessity OF providing
for contingent demands, n point should
be made Of receiving all orders for
meals twelve hours in advance, with
extra charge for delayed orders. The
kitchen being run to pay expenses only,
everything OF course should be absolute
" at cost. Does any one doubt that
such kitchen could be- able TO buy
food at far better advantage, 10 cook IL
with far greater skill, and serve IL with
far greater precision aud elegance than
tho average housekeeper could pur-
chase il, the average domestic cook il,
and the average hired girl serve in and
do the whole with as great saving, to
all concerned. in nerve-wear as In moneyp
IL IS pretty certain that there IS one
respect in which the most conservative
families would be likely TO depend upon
the cooperative kitchen from the start,
and that is, for the bread supply Our
American habit CT domestic bread-mak-
ing except in sparsely populated dis
tricts, Is simply relic OF barbarism. 1t
is quite true that bakers bread is often
not TO the taste OF the fastidious, but In
France, Germany and Austria IL is pre-
ferred to all other sorts, and Americans
in Europe go into ecstacies over il. Just
as good bread will be baked for sale here
as in Vienna, the moment the attempt
is made TO do IL and the necessary skill
secured. Such bread moreover, being
furnished strictly at cost would be not
only better than homemade bread but
cheaper than any bakers bread now sold.
OF course, the cooperative kitchen
would not only furnish the table, but
IL desired, the service for the table.
Where families desired that the cooking
should be done in the family range, the
cook would only need 10 be provided;
no one would accept the new service
any further than most conveniently
supplemented such domestic service as
might bc retained.
IL was matter OF years 10 train a
maid TO the multifarious tasks OF a
household 1fty years ago and even then
the ways OF no two households were n
like. To-day an able-bodied girl takes
up the trade OF homework without anv
apprenticeship NJ all worth speaking OF,
and changes her place without incon-
venience as many times year as the
within takes her.
But how, IL may be asked, about the
girls themselves. Is cooperative house
hold service reform n scheme 10 turn
them out of employment On the con-
trary, IL is q plan which will provide
them employment under more satisfac-
tory, permanent and self-respecting con-
ditions than they at present enjoy. In
the first place, in the great number OF
cases in which girls live in families 10
which they are devoted and which are
ansctionately interested In them, they