Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-02-23
NOT GRATEFUL FOR KINDNESS.
Domestic Servants DO Not Appre-
ciate Efforts in Their Behalf.

Servants. as a general thing. have no
regard for any kindness you may show
them. or anything but Whit they can get
| out of you. and leave as soon as they can
better themse yes" writes a housekeeper
Of national reputation to the New York
Times.
There IL one woman who keeps an en-
ployment bureau IN New York who is a
perfect martinez. and the servants hate
her. but they have to treat people fairly
10 a certain extent or they can't get a po-
sltion from her. was in her office one
day when an Irish cook came In. She was
typical cook. short and stout, and over
dressed
" Go right out OF this office said the
head OF the establishment. L sent you to
Mrs. Blank and you promised 10 stay a
week. You didn't stay but two days and
you left her with a house fun OF company.
You must leave this office you didn't keep
your agreement and YOU oan never get a
position from here again.
III they do not keep their agreements
she refuses To deal with them again.
wanted to get cook for 81. | thought
that was enough for the work I had TO be
done That IS very low price for a
cook who comes from an office Ike that.
AT some OF the cheap downtown fices the
scale Of wag-s Is lower.
The young woman who was In charg-
told me she had been trying to get a girl
to go to me
I told her. she said. that If she
would 20 to either you or Mrs. Terhune
for shor; time she would learn so much
that she could get great deal higher
wages By simply telling people she had
been with YOU
Now. ! am very glad 10 teach any one
all that ! can. We can't live only for
ourselves in this world. and l am very
giad If, when girl goes from me. she
VIII be Of more service TO some on else
But | do not like to have her come 10
me expecting to stay only six months or
until she has learned all she can with
the express purpose Of getting higher
wages somewhere else.
1T Is that idea OF getting all they can,
squeezing the lemon dry. and then throw
ing it aside. that ! don't like.
Il did finally get "a cook for 81. and she
was very good and willing 10 learn. she
stayed with me ten years. When she left.
the woman who engaged her came to see
me about her references. By the way.
that is only the third or fourth time
since | have been married that woman
They take their servants without making
any inquiry.
"'She has asked me for So" she said.
I suppose that is what you have been
giving her. NO. | answered. 4 have
been giving her only $l5.' oh, Well she
said, i suppose if she has been with you
as long as that she IS worth that much
more and so she took her
"a difficulty In starting a training school
for servants would be that girls might not
be willing TO go into a school with the
idea Of learning to become domestic ser
wants. Tine feeling of caste in that
class OF people Is stronger than in almost
any other IN the country. Servants say
that the girls i'm the stores snub them
whenever they come In contact with them
81 know when / was In Springfield. be
fore was married, |. with number OF
my friends started working girls club.
We treated the girls as our equals; in
fact. | think we did more than that. /
rather think We grOvelled 10 the girls to
get them 10 join In the first place Every
thing was going along very well when. in
the innocence of our hearts. W invited a
living-out girl to Join the club.
She was very nice glrl--a Scotch
girl. / remember her name very well
now. But we came near having a revo.u-
ton In the club. Because that girl lived
in nice, clean house with family the
other girls would not have her In the
club. She had to leave. The club would
have gone to pieces ii she hadn't. She
left herself. She was a sensible glrl-she
saw how 1t was. and she did not care
to stay on suffrance.
About the girls being treated badly I'm
the houses where they go: having poor
rooms? No, don't say don't believe IT;
that Is strong expression. But we have
10 remember that we don't any of us
have the rooms We like In New York. We
have 10 put up with accommodations that
are not just what We might prefer. We
can't be expected to give no the best
rooms 10 the servants. I know they al
ways have 10 be watched carefully to
see that they keep any room they have
In decent condition. They would rather
gossip over their coffee In the morning
than 70 take the few minutes It would
take 10 put the rooms in order
Il know my mother tried fixing up a
dining and sltting-ro0m for servants. II
was a room that had been a basement
dining-room for the family She thought
II would b. a pleasant room in which the
girls could receive their callers. She does
not object to her servants having callers.
Neither do /. Girls may have as much
company as they please outside Of work.
ing-hours.
But this sltting-room my mother pre-
pared for servants they would not use.
They would not take the trouble TO carry
their food from the kitchen into IT 10 eat,
and they wouldn't light the gas in II to
use 1t at night. There was one girl who
was engaged who my mother thought
might like 10 receive her company Ia the
new room. but she entertained her friends
such things"