Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1894-02-02
- DEvoLvE ON MOST
HEADS or HOUSEHOLDS.

Affect Poorer Girls.
There are tourists and tourists. Some |
will come home and be able to tell only
that they have seen the Alps and been to
Paris, while others will have done" Rome
n day, and as an English lady wonder
lngly narrated of one such American who
had performed the feat ''got q wonderfully
clever idea Of it at that" Nevertheless
the most persistent and observant tourist
would find 1t herculean task to penetrate
into the English home unless furnished
with exceptional letters of introduction or
possessed of exceptionally fascinating man.
ners and exceptionally rare advantages of
meeting people who are exceptionally I'M
prejudieed.
"An Englishman's house is his CASTLE is
phrase familiar to us all, but to those I'M
familiar with the survival Of feudal ideas
the full force of the saying Is lost. From
the noble lady who graciously accepts
American hospitality on this side of the
water and then forgets to extend an invita-
ton for return visit to the slovenly wife
of the green grocer who slams the door of
her back parlor when she enters the shop
to serve customer, the privacy OF the
home is jealousy guarded.
| Novelists have introduced us to the draw
ing rooms of the great and the sitting rooms
Of the humble, but discreet silence has
been maintained concerning the house
holds Of the shopkeepers, and it may be re-
membered that England Is a nation of
shopkeepers. So, after all, the stranger
forms an idyllic conception of the English
home, which, while it may fiatter the Eng
fish and satisfy those who never learn to
the contrary, by no means represents the
true state of affairs.
1t may be well before entering further
upon the subject to explain exactly what is
meant by shopkeeper. The entire bust
ness of the country is divided into three
classes and is conducted in warehouses,
which IS the name given to buildings de
voted to wholesale trade; offices, where
goods are sold from samples, and shops,
which last is synonymous with our retail
store. A man keeping either a warehouse
Or an Office is a tradesman, but he is not
shopkeeper, though shopkeeper is a
brakeman, petty or otherwise. A shop
girl is not a factory hand; neither is she a
''saleslady." Her highest title is that con-
ferred upon her by act of parliament in re-
cent enactments, "shop assistant"
These young persons" lead very differ
ent lives from those in similar positions in
this country. In the first place, for the
most part they leave home and live in the
house of their employer. This is of course
p survival of the old apprentice system.
: Even in warehouses it is quite common for
: those learning the business to live 'in-
doors" and many prosperous tradesmen
, have their homes over their shops and Of
!, fees in rooms fitted not for family COM
! fort, but the idea of accommodating a small
! army of assistants.
. The kitchens and larders of such estab-
: lishments resemble those of our hotels
!. When it is remembered that the trades
!, mans wife has to superintend such house
= hold the life of an American boarding
4 house keeper looms up as elegant leisure in
!. comparison with her lot, not to mention
chat the American woman has the handling
!, Of money, whereas the bridesmaids wife
: receives no reward save the consciousness
y Of having done her duty. Men who have
= Incomes ranging as high as $1,000 year
a do not employ housekeepers, but impose
N households of 20 or more strangers upon
y their wives. These young people" have
!. TO be lodged, fed and in many cases uni
= formed, and the mistress must see that nc
:, waste takes place in any direction; that
i The health and morals of her charges are
4 carefully guarded, and If consideration,
n woman she frequently performs the dutie.
a Of nurse In serious illness for those who art
. far from home or who have no home saw,
- that of their employer.
q 1t would seem impossible with the stric
Il surveillance to which all those In respect
a able house are subjected for serious evil tx
n creep in, but there are sad tragedies con
Is tiDually taking place In those vast house
holds which only show that the gentle, reC
checked English girl is no stronger moral
ly than her American sister, who has NOR
freedom, but possibly no greater tempta
ton.
Is Much has been said and written abou
titled ladies going into trade, and recon
u ., articles in the English press declare tina
the daughters of professional men are nov
. entering west end establishments an
~ Z, taking their places behind tho counters an,
y In the workrooms. All this tells sal
W story to those who read between the lines
/" While we admire the pluck and energy @
a. Awoman who puts pride behind her an
~ works bravely to earn her living, one car
% ]. not but remember that the entrance c
~ titled milliners and dressmakers has RUNE
y many respectable shopkeeper whose MOD
~; AZ est bank account would not pay for the al
~ tistic signs and expensive fittings of he
:. noble competitor. And as to the daugl
fNrb Vi PROFESSIONAL Hlen gong DenlnQ I'll
- counter, what is to become of them whe
W the upward pressure" bursts all bounds
:. That pressure is increasing with ever
~ class that leaves the board schools. Go
nc help those who seem doomed to be caugl
TO- beween the upper and neither millstones.
We, as Americans, must rejoice tn,
:" England is fast becoming democrac
. Nevertheless, those of us who know ii
:. feudal system only through poem and r
~ nance, who have never suffered from IL
NC tyranny arising from the survival of ii
III idea that the sovereign owns the lord, ii
on lord owns the knight, the knight Il
-, squire, and SO on down to the beggar, ms
be permitted one little sigh over the loss
~ chivalry, but sober second thought max
~ Nsrejoice that England is becoming same
=, icanized," that the rights of the individu
a. are more and more recognized. But viii
80 we look at the rapidly dissolving views
=. olden times would it not be well to bear
:; mind that well developed systems as W,
~, as human beings have in them some ger
~ Of good worth rescuing?
~ We ars rubbing up the old andirons al
aS polishing the worm eaten furniture of o
=" ancestors because they have beauty
~ modern work can attain Surely. the
it would be no degradation to us TO ado
the gentle courtesy toward those who ser
us-such as the English shopgirl receiy
in TO this day from even chance custome
ms Surely it would be no confession of infe