Woman's chronicle. (Little Rock, Ark.) 1888-1???, 1890-10-25

Yet save in case here and there of somewhat
higher intelligence all Of them, without exception,
shrink at the mention OF domestic service and re-
fuse to see that it holds any outlook for them
To those of us who have suffered at the hands
of incompetent servants all the misery arising from
waste, dirt, ignorance and nsubordinaton, it
seems hard measures to admit that we are in great
degree responsible for much of the trouble Each
mistress may be kind, considerable, and seeking to
do her utmost to make her work as light as pos
sible, yet back of this lies the fact that the whole
aspect of service has changed. The desire for
"bettering oneself" born in every American,
would naturally make the kitchen only stepping
stone. Add to this the fact that it has passed to-
tally into the hands of foreigners, and these the
most ignorant and unframed Of any European ma
ton, and it is easy to see why the American re-
fuses to be considered on the same level
Long ago the days ended in which the servant
was part Of the family as in New England, sharing
its interests and life at all points. The complica-
tions Of modern life have altered the whole char
acter of service itself nor can we return to the
past. 1t has gone with the grandmothers them
selves, who knew every form of work that hand
could do, and even when the maids performed it
kept interested oversight of every operation.
Going deeper than this, one finds that, save for
the most enlightened, labor is more and more
counted as degradation. Prosperity for many has
as it's definition "not to have to work any longer"
Trades are despised. Money is the chief symbol
of success and its first Office is to secure release
from hand labor. From smallest cash-grl or
bobbin-tender in the factory up to the "sales-
LADY, behind the counter, all dream Of future in
which work is to have no part. Tell them that
domestic service is an honorable calling, demand
ing clear intelligence and business sense Of time
on both sides, and you win only contemptuous
smile. To fit oneself thoroughly for any duty in
life is not yet part Of the girls ideal.
These are the facts for many worker Yet
their truth does not alter the responsibility OF the
mistress, who often needs training no less strenu-
ously .han the maid. How many women try to
put themselves in the same place and consider
what it requires? Fixed hours,are OF course i'm
possible, for family life is often series of cats-
clysms, but conscience on both sides would make
even these more easily borne. Yet many women
who have "done their own work" forget what
days work really means, and demand far more
than day ought to hold.
81 was in service for fifteen years." said ca
pabe, intelligent Irish-Amercan about 40, who
had left it for shirt factory. ~ know all about
poor servants; shameful hussies, coming straight
out Of bog may be- and wanting SIS month to
begin with. But I've known plenty Of the other
kind, and I'll tell you what they say-decent,
Woodworking girls every one Of them. They say
the trouble is first with the mistresses that don't
know any more than babies what days work
really is. smart girl will keep on her feet the
whole time to prove she isn't lazy, for if her mis-
tress finds her sitting down, she thinks there can't
be much to do, and that she doesn't earn her
wages. Then if girl tries to save herself, or is
deliberate, they call her slow. They want girls on
tap from six in the morning to ten or eleven at
night. Women make hard mistresses, and l say
again I'd rather be under man that knows what
he wants. That's the way with most Of u.s."
This is one phase of the case. For others therC
is still word to be said