Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-11-15


as an intolera5le exhibition of snobbery
In fact. rank personal affrons. Ther
enat self same girl would go and gel
another place, where she was required
70 90 all the work, and feel perfectly
sure that she was good deal better used
NO, concluded Mrs. Buukerbee with
emphasis. I'm not running any cookina
schools nowadays. I leave all that tc
others.
mrs. wasp said that she had found tina,
1here We're seasons OF the year when IL
was specially hard TO secure good help.
As soon as the hot weather came there
was an exodus to the summer resorts.
mhen these places We're closed in the fall
tnere Was rush TO the city aud everyone
WAS anxious TO secure place for the
winter. 1t wasn't very difficult task at
enat season to secure capable help A
illtie advertisement in the Journal was
sure Co bring her a swarm of applicants
ohe usually shut up her house and spent
the hot weather at the seashore herself.
ana In this way she rarely found herself
without capable kitchen help.
Tabbathy Tibbals said that in her opin
ION the people who persisted in making
1coilsh concessions to their help were re-
sponsible for most OF the uneasiness and
dissatisfaction that existed among domes-
elcs If there could be some recognized
uniformity of usage, as regards work and
lay, 1t would go far to solve the whole
problem
Mrs. Carfern said she thought that the
real reason for the reluctance of many
girls to do Homework would be found in
the social side of the problem For her
part she considered il as honorable an
employment as any girl could engage in.
But so long as a certain class of ultra
uobblsh people-most of them folks of
very common origin who sought. in this
way, to emphasize social status they
we're not born to-persisted in looking
down upon and treating their domestic
help with ill-disguised CONTEMPT, SO long
it would be difficult to get self respecting
girls to work for them at any price. The
spirit of liberty was a peryading one In
TINS country, and most people were in
clined to regard themselves quite as good
as any one else. II was certainly very
difficult thing to make the American
masses believe that the mere possession of
money was an evidence of finer clay.
Mrs. Worklate said that she did not see
why girl who did homework, should be
placed upon any different social plane
than the girl who engaged in any other
honorable employment. If society in
sisted upon making such distinctions
then it was itself responsible for all the
trouble they might cause. The idea that
anyone could lose caste by engaging in
any honest employment was contrary to
the spirit of American institutions. She
said she offered these suggestions with
some reluctance, for she was fully aware
how liable they were to be misinterpreted.
She did not mean to say that it was the
duty of any woman to admit her domes-
tics into her social life, or entertain them
in her parlor Everyone had the right to
form the social connections that were
most coDgcnial to him. 1t was the duty
of every woman, however to treat her
domestics with courtesy and respect
Certainly there was no reason why she
should conjure up Olympic heights from
which to look down upon them, or bear
herself towards Them with an air of
hautcur intended to impress them with
sense of their own infinite inferiorty or
with spirit of ill-concealed contempt.
Such people" she said, "have hard
work to get girls, and harder work to
keep Them
l remarked that it seemed to me that
the proper way to treat girls was with
human interest They should be dealt
With in "A spirit of sincerity and respect
At the same time there need be no diff
Guilty in maintaining dignity which will
prevent the kind Of familiarity that
breeds contempt. l always feel and show
personal interest in those who work for
me, and am glad to contribute to their
comfort and pleasure in every way pos
siblo. At the, same time l insist on o
proper performance of the work | employ
them to do. l have been very successful
in securing and retaining capable help
l know Of no other way.
There seemed to be nothing further
be said on the subject and, on motion of
Mrs Peppersqueezer, the meeting ad
iourned.
HANNAH HAZARD.