The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-03-28
A SERVANT SEMINARY.

A SERVANT SEMINARY.
The newest thing Of the new is an
organization for the amelioration of the
American household. 1t proposes to
train servants.
1t is called the National Industrial
Union, and its foundation is veritable
inspiration.
An interview by representative Of a
New York newspaper with the president
of the union discovers the broad and
beneficent purposes of this institution
and discloses that it will fill a cry
ing want that has existed since
royalty ceased making tarts and began
to employ domestics in the kitchen, The
only women of real independence today
are the household servants. They not
only do pretty much as they please,
not infrequently have more money and
worldly possessions than their mistresses
but their independence and wealth is
secured at little expense of talent or
physical labor. On the other hand thous-
ands of ourintelligent girls, needing work
are unable TO secure it outside of the
kitchen, which they are not disposed to
enter. and Thousands more are
working for bare subsistence in
factories and stores. Household
servants invariably live well, just
as well as the family with which they
happen to live, their position of COM
fort being duly proportionate to the
position of wealth and refinement of the
family for which they do service.
Aud yet with all the seeming
attractiveness Of the career of domes-
tic it is not attractive 10 thousands of
young women and its advantages are
limited to servant girl aristocracy, the
supremacy of which is maintained, not
by reason of ability or work but because
the demand is always in excess of the
supply for that kind of labor.
The National Industrial Union will
seek to open training schools in cities all
over the country where servants may be
instructed in household duties, and
where young women may be induced to
come for a teaching of the duties OF the
domestic profession and brought to
believe that domestic service is not de-
grading as it is evidently not disad-
vantageous from a financial standpoint.
The union is cooperative in its
broadest sense and its work will
perhaps also be directed to
bring to the housewife the lesson that
her treatment of the servant may have
something to do with making domestic
service degrading or the contrary.
The work of the union is not restricted
to the education of servants. IL aims to
help all women who are obliged TO sup
port themselves by offering to them OPP
portunities of instruction in whatever
line of work they naturally may be best
fitted for. First, it seeks those who de-
sire to be good servants.
The union does not wish to be under
stood as excluding any one with good
recommendations.
Besides this work, the union proposes
to aid women of good character, both
young and old, to equip themselves
for self-suppoyting careers. The va
rious church missions have been invited
TO send 10 the union deserving women
whom the missions can recommend.
The movement is not reformatory one,
and work in the slums or among the
erring is not contemplated. One of the
chief forces actuating tie union Is the
desire 10 lessen the number of those
called upon in the first place to
face the alternative of depriva-
ton or a dishonorable life. The union
designs TO include in its work those
women Of cultured life whom the re-
verses Of material conditions have
thrown upon their own resources.
The inception Of solution of the
servant girl problem may be found in
the National Iudgetrial Union.