Omaha daily bee., 1893-08-06
MAIDOR MISTRESS TO BLAME2
Discussion Of Both Sides Of the Domestic
Service Question.
HOUSEKEEPING THE BEST JOB IN OMAHA
what SPECIAL Colors Indioate--An Old Bach
cIor's opinion-Beware OF Fads-Fash-
lon, Fancy aud Fine Arts for
the Ladies'.

obtain and retain good servant is one
in which all women are Interested, oil
women who keep house at least. IL Is
such nuisance that it has come to be a
matter of debate with many ladies II IL
is not better to quit trying TO have
homo and fall back on the boarding
house hades. ~
In the interesting and Instructive sta
tstics presented by Helen Campbell in
her notable articles on "Women Wage
Earners," now being published in one OF
our leading magazines, it Is shown by
replies OF girls from nearly every state
in tho union that it is not because OF the
social ostracism or anything OF the sort
that girls prefer to work harder for less
pay in any other kind OF employment
than houscwork, but because OF the
longer hours and lessened liberty OF do
mestic service. After all this is Amer
lea. The hours are in most cases about
fourteen and the liberties non est. OF
course il people keep late hours the
servant must also be on hand to the end
of the late hours to attend to the duties
which must be done and which only she
can do. This Is to some extent unavoid-
able and Is all right If contract is made
to that effect when the servant is en-
ployed The trouble is women seem to
think that il they succeed in getting an
extra hours work out of servant they are
just 80 much ahead. There Isl constant
strife between mistress and maid and the
mistress forgets her position oftener than
the servant. For instance, woman
will engage another to come one day in
the week to wash. Perhaps the woman
is a strong German and in the summer
time especially she prefers to get at her
work early in the morning, about
o'clock thus putting in about half day
before the regular legal day begins.
Does the woman who hires her remem-
Der this in the evening? Not she. 1t is
easy to find cleaning and scrubbing
enough to keep her busy until 5 o'clock,
and if not she can get in little ironing
to get in a full day. Or If the lady OF
the house does consider the washer
woman's days work done when the
washing is on the line and the cleaning
of floors finished she expects the woman
to consider it great favor and she
poses as saint in human form il it is
not quite b o'clock. 1t is just such gross
injustices Us these which are at the bot
tom of all the trouble in the employment
of servants and have made it practically
impossible for a woman to obtain efficient
help and has made American housekeep-
ing the worst kind of slavery.
II you are working woman and en-
ployed by man, how does he treat you?
II he wants any extra work done he asks
it as a favor, in most instances expect
ing, Of course, to pay extra for it. And
then when your work is done his claim
on you is at an end. A woman, on the
contrary, thinks she has a mortgage on
the body and soul of every servant con-
nected with her establishment. Now, it
is really no ones business what girl
does when her work is done and full
day has been put in, even if she goes to
any extreme of evil, 30 long as she keeps
in bounds of the law. At the same time
any thinking woman will look after q
less experience than herself, and will
always advise her for good, and it would
no doubt be her duty to discharge her if
the girl refused to heed. But it all
depends on the spirit in which it is done.
1t seems to the writer as il the cant
and slush of treating servant as an
equal and all that is merest rot. What
the girl wants and should have is recog-
milton as good servant, If she is one,
ard an appreciation of her efforts as
such. The servant girl has her own
friends and associates and it is to them
she looks for pleasure and happiness in
a social way. In fact it would bore her
tremendously to be obliged to undergo
one-half of the conventionalities and re-
straints to which her mistress is con-
stantly subjected. She does not under
stand them and don't want ANYTHING of
the kind in hers, in which she shows
herself to be the more sensible of the
two.
II all women everywhere were to
establish a certain number of hours as q
day and have it understood when the
contract was made just how many hours
eaoh day the girl was to work and wha,
work she must do, and then keep the
self, the girl would gladly keep it ON he,
part. Insist on frst-class work and the
servant will be first-class, especially i
she receives tirst-class pay. A few
years ago any girl who coult
write q little shorthand and hammer
q typewriter could get job, even if she
had to wrestle hard with words of ont
syllable when it came to spelling. Mer
would not put up with anything bu
good work, and now any girl who ap
plies for position of this kind must bt
thoroughly equipped or she knows sh,
cannot hold the job, for there are plent,
who are competent who will gladly take
her place. What have women don,
under the same circumstances? They
have wept and walled and told theil
husbands or their neighbors what hare
times they had with the last new serv
ant, gave her good recommendation
discharged her and hired another jus
like her.
II housekeepers would all insist OF
having only the best, and pay for it, tn,
servant question will solve itself |.
time. and short time too. 1t is none,
working people want and if they cal
get 1t by giving poor service they viii
not trouble themselves to make the serv
ice better. If they cannot obtain EN-
ployment unless they give good servic
they will do that. All servants wage
should be paid on the ratio OF tn
quality Of the work done in their par
ticular stations. Lot an incompetent
impudent servant understand plainl
that you will employ her II you can d
no better, but that you will only pay he
one-half as much as you woald il sh
would attend to her work and do he
full duty in all respects. Then you d
yours. Housework and especially cool
ing is the best job In Omaha today an
d competent woman can obtain pos
tion in five minutes at her own pric,
In what other line OF business is tn
trueY What is to prevent hopsekeeDel
and servants, mistresses and maids frol
forming some sort of league for mutu,