The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-02-01
THE SERVANT GIRLS.
Wives Of Cabinet Ministers and
Senators Give Opinions.
COOKING SCHOOLS NEEDED.
Experience of Mrs. Grant and Mrs. Hayes
views With Noted Housewives.

WASHINGTON CRY, Jan. 26.--TSpecial Cor
dependence. THE presidential question,
the Indian question and the Farmers Al
lance question are all being discussed by
the men of Washington, but the question
that IS nearest to every woman's heart is
the servant girl question. Not long ago
there appeared in the columns of New
York newspaper the following announce
ment:
'And now a servant girl society has been or
ganized in Gotham for the protection of mistress
ana maid. The society demands that each ser
want on leaving her mistress shall leave behind
her reference of character The reference
shall state whether the mistress has been mild
tempered or severe, liberal or prudent, subject
10 company or not, etc. The mistress also
gives reference. IN this way both parties are
suited, neither is imposed upon and the world
wags tremendously on.
The fact is that the relations of mistress
and servant are rapidly changing. The
servants gain in power every day and they
seem to also gain in ineificiency and igno-
rance. 0ne-half the talk of Washington
society, | blush to say it, relates to SER
wants, and the ladies here are discussing
whether it might not be possible to bring
about reform in the education of their
servants and i'll the rules respecting them.
The question of colored servants versus
white servants is an important one where
about one-third of the population is
made up of negroes and /
find general desire among
the leading ladies of the land that schools
for the training of servants should be
established here and throughout the
country. | have spent this week in in
terviewing some of our most noted ladies
on the servant girl question. have
taken the experienced housekeepers
among our statesmen's wives, and / find
that.every woman has her own ideas on
the subject, and that many of them are
good ones.
WHAT THE WIFE OF THE SECRETARY OF
WAR THINKS.
One of my first visits was to Mrs. Proc
tor, the wife of the secretary of war, who
will this winter assume her rightful posi-
ton among the ladies of the cabinet, as
well as at the head of her household,
which she was last season compelled to re-
sign TO her niece, Mrs. Carey, and her
daughter, on account OF her devotion to
her invalid son. Mrs, Proctor said. 81
have had very little, if any, experience in
housekeeping in Washington, Mrs. Carey
having last winter entirely relieved
me of all responsibility i'll that respect
as in others, SO that am hardly qualified
to give Judgment in regard to the class of
service in the District of Columbia. With
the exception of my cook and waiter both
of whom are colored, / have brought with
me from New England most of my help.
Last year had an Irish maid and laun-
dress, but this season l have secured a
young Swiss girl from among the work
mems families OH my husbands quarry es-
tates i'll Vermont. find the Swiss to be a
most thrifty, Woodworking class. This
girl will perform the duties of maid, and l
have so far found that servants among the
Swiss seem TO possess an innate
adaptability and quickness of perception
that is largely i'll their favor above others.
You would be surprised to know how am
bilious the lower classes among the race
are to make for themselves a home and
community in America. Their only draw
back to the successful accomplishment of
the desire is the fact that they have
as yet few churches established in our
midst Being a clannish community they
find it difficult to mingle with strangers at
their worship. They are growing in num-
Der, especially in the New England states,
and the country about shows the benefit of
their steady industry. Judging from the
complaints that hear on all sides of the
difficulty of obtaining good servants, am
of the opinion that it would be as well to
organize society for the training of
servants who might be induced (while at
tending schooD to devote an hour or so of
each day to learning to cook, make beds,
set table properly, or any of the other
accomplishments by which they expect to
earn their living"
MRS. SECRETARY MOBILES TROUBLES.
Mrs. Noble says she has good reason
since her arrival in Washington City to
pray for reformation among the colored
servants of the district. She is unfortu-
nately compelled to employ six, and finds
the truth of Mrs. Slows assertion that "a
multitude of servants IS like roast at
every fire, they must needs each be at
tended to-" and one invariably gets in the
way of another. "In fact, she said, with
sigh of resignation, Il find them great
responsibility, but very necessary evil. "
Can you propose some remedy l
asked.
.The only remedy | can suggest would
be the organization of some charitable So
ciety for the early training of the working
class where a complete initiation into the
various avocations by which they hope to
gain livelihood will be the end sought
after"
MRS. RUsK ADVOCATES COOKING SCHOOLS.
Mrs Rusk. wife of the genial secretary
of agriculture considers herself very for
tunate in having secured the weli-trained
white servants brought from Wisconsin by
Mrs. x-Postmaster-General Has thereby
escaping the usual discouragements expe-
rienced by many newly arrived
Washington housekeepers. In dis
cussing the subject Mrs. Rusk
spoke approyingly of the established
cooking schools in Wisconsin and Illinois.
to which many ladies are in the habit of
sending their servants for regular hours of
tuition. This branch of education is also
considered an important adjunct of the
industrial schools in which both hoys and
girls are carefully instructed in the various
trades including those of cooks, house
maids and Mattresses Such children so
Instructed yearly find ready employment
and seldom fail of giving satisfaction To
the employer. A good mistress Is more apt
to secure good service if she has practi-
cal understanding of housewifery, and is
careful to personally instruct her help in
each particular duty. | do not doubt but
what the organization of some such a
school in our midst would very soon re-
nav the efforts of those interested and
prove an undeniable blessing 10 the COM
munty at large.
MRS. sHERaAN's IDEA.
Mrs. Senator sherman thinks the most
efficient remedy for the present evil of
poor service and dishonesty among those
employed would be the organization of