Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-09-09
A GREAT CRY FOR HELP.
Servants Everywhere in Big Demand = An
Ever PuZzling Problem Many Famllie
Driven to ariing House Life.
Philadelphia Record.

There is q theme which Just now en-
lists the consideration aud best thought
of several scores of thousands of house
keepers in, or soon to be in, Philadelphia.
Statesmen may discuss reciprocity and
grow hot over the Behring Sea trouble;
politicians may play with the force bill
and discuss the merits of gubernatorial
candidates; the "KreutZer Sonata may
call out comments and pocketbooks from
thousands of people, but the real burn
ing question of the hour i'll this city Is
the servant question. Anxious house
wives are now deep in thought over the
problem, trusting to the future to dis
solve their doubts.
KITCHEN BELLIES IN DEMAND.
There i an especial demand for serv-
ants at this season of the year, when
families begin TO return from summer
resorts. Many of them dismissed their
hired hel p when they closed their houses
and now it is a pretty difficult job to get
q good servant to set the ball rolling
again. The rush is just beginning, aud
it will be at its height in about two
weeks. So far wages have been nearly
stationary, but the demand which is to
come will very probably run up the price
of first class girl.
\ GREAT UPHEAvAL.
1t is estimated that there are from
IS, 900 to 100, 900 servants employed in
Philadelphia, with average wages of
about 1925 a week. The employers of
perhaps one-fifth of these closed their
houses weeks ago. OF this 20, 900 it is
estimated about one half were discharged
at the beginning of the vacation season.
the other half being retained, And now
the cry Begins to swell for recruits to fill
the vacant places.
THE DEMAND NEVER GREATER.
The proprietO OF the largest employ
ment agency establishment in PhiIadel-
phia talked about the question of SER
wants yesterday. He said: ave handle
from $50 10 200 people here day. The
demand for good girls was never greater
than il is now, but so many people are
hard to suit. American girls are pre-
ferred every time, but there are few on
the market. We do not get more than
one in week. The average capability
of servants IS decreasing very rapidly,
and l regard this question as a most Sc
rious one. Fully two-thirds of all the
working girls in Philadelphia know moth
ing of their business, and at least three
fourth5 of the number of housekeepers
who employ them do not know how to
give them any instruction that is at all
valuable. The servants and housekeep-
ers are both growing more ignorant of
the art of true housekeeping, and the
evidence and result of this are plain to
be seen.
BIG JOB ON HAND.
''Lots of those who will return to the
city within the next three weeks will
have the biggest struggle of their lives
before they get all the hired help they
need. The girls leave the city and go to
the seashore and 10 the mountain re-
sorts, and naturally do not get back I'M
til the SO son is over. The interim be-
tween their coming and the families re-
turn is when the struggle comes IN for
the latter.
JOHN COMES HIGH.
eve are often asked to furnish Chi
nese servant, but when we do get one
who will go, and the employer learns the
figure that represents Johns capacity,
she invariably concludes to take a SER
want of some other nationality. We
can t get Chinamen for less than SO
week to DO any kind of homework.
Several other agencies were visited,
and practically the same information was
given at each of them. The scarcity of
servant girls, or rather the difficulty that
families will experience in getting hold
of good ones, is sure to put up the mar
ket value of O reliable housemaid or COM