Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1897-11-18
GERMAN SERVANTS.
SLAVERY THAT AN AMERICAN CALLS
lDYLLIc CONDITIONS.

They have solved the servant girl
problem in Germany" said New
Yorker 3. Sun man. II need not go
into the details of all saw in German
family economy during my year abroad
to convince you Of this would not
even try to explain the way in which
the Germans have done it, but can
give an illustration or two Of the re-
suits as saw them.
1--WE first went to live in boarding
house in Brunswick. 1t was a very
fashionable boarding house, for Ameri-
cans only, and the prices would bring
| joy to the heart of even New York
city landlady. There were eight board
ers besides my wife and myself. There
were the father and mother Of the fam
lily and three grown daughters. We
lived in villa with q garden attach
ment and very imposing entrance
adorned with metal that needed polish
ing daily. For the work of this whole
big house and household there was just
one servant, who received just marks,
or $l.25, u week for her services. She
not only cooked all the meals, polished
all tho doorknobs, made up all the
rooms and washed all the clothes, but
she cut tho grass in the garden, trimmed
the grapevines, scrubbed the fence and
wceded the walks. She rose at 80
every morning, moreover, and BACKED
all the boots. Her hours of labor were
from A: 80 a. M. to 1890 p. III. daily,
and she had just one day off a month.
"When we first went to the boarding
house, l noticed that after each dinner
the herr papa went through queer
performance. He would mash down
two potatoes on plate, cut two slices
of meat and lay them on the potato, add
u spoonful of each vegetable to the heap
and crown tho collection with thick,
unbuttered chunk Of black bread. l
thought he must have high bred dog
about tho place. For the first week or
two that was my idea of the purpose for
which tho dish was prepared. Then l
learned that the hodgepodge was the
servant girls allowance. She was per-
mittcd to clear the plate, but not a
mouthful more was hers. From what
observed afterward / concluded that
any effort on her part to get more
would have had dire results. The herr
papa certainly would have had an apo
plcctiG fit. Tho frau mamma probably
would have torn her hair and burst on
the spot tho moment she heard such n
request The consciousness Of such pos
sibilitios evidently was what deferred
tho girl FROM asking for moro. All tho
time | was in tho boarding house she
worked her IS hours u day with three
portions OF coffee and black bread and
tho hodgepodge / have described as her
solo nourihsment.
lone day last May we made a trip in
to tho Harz mountains. We went as a
big German family. carrying all of our
threo meals, our beer and our wraps
with us--that is, tho servant girl car
ried them with us. She had strapped on
her back deep conical basket capable
of holding about two bushels. The bas.
ket had been packed with ham, sausage,
bread, beer and various other resources
of the dolicatesscn shop On top of the
provisions were packed the wraps
Loaded with the two bushels Of miscel-
lany, tho servant girl brought up the
rear Of our procession through Bruins
wick and was showed into n seatless
fourth class car, aud tho rest Of us got
into II second class car, and away we
spun to tho foot of the Harz mountains
Nov, not wanting tho reputation Of
q long distance liar, | shall not tell you
all tho wonders performed by that serv-
ant girl on that picnic tramp. Suffice it
to say that sho was with tho procession,
up hill and down dale, climbing rocks
and sliding down tho steep places. We
began tramping up the mountains at
$50, and at IL o'clock my wife and ]
were SO tired that we took to ponies.
but tho servant girl, with her wicker
cone of dolicatessen, didn't turn n hair
When dinuer came, she got only her
little plateful of sausage and black
bread. When supper came, she got only
bottle of beer and black bread. Yet
when it was all over she stood up IN
her fourth class car while the rest of us
do2od on our second class seats. She
walked homo uncomplairingly behind
us, and tho next day not boot was un.
BACKED or n peg unpublished i'll the
whole establishment. She did not be-
como suddenly lame or weak or get a
call to go Mt once to her sick sister or
receive notice of the funeral of an aunt
or uncle In short, none Of those things
that harrow the souls of American serv-
ant girls with regularity turned up to
disturb her industry, She simply work
cd on.
And that is what they alldo-work,
put their money III the bank and get
married. Outside of marriageI couldnt
SEQ that anything was likely to move
the German servant girl to give notice.
Every girl has her book in which are
recorded all the changes which the ordi-
nary course of human life may cause
her to make. Tho entries are made by
her successive mistresses, and she is
never engaged without her having shown
her book A girl who started out in a
city with book recording senrimonth-
ly changes throughout the whole of her
working career would have no chance
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