The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-11-17

THE HoUsEKEEPER. THE CHAMBERMAID.
employees of such hotel number sew
eral hundred and that the administra-
tive machinery of the house is as elab-
crate as the most extensive mercantile
establishment.
The housekeeper of one of the largest
and best known hotels in America has
direct charge over her chambermaids,
the hall girls, the scrub women and the
laundresses, several score in number all
told. Besides the women q good sized
group of men are directly responsible
to her. They are employed to clean win
dows, take up and beat carpets, take
down beds and move furniture and do
the heavy work around the bedrooms.
They are known as the house men. They
are selected by the manager and then
handed over to the housekeeper for her
approval. If she likes them, they are
engaged, but not otherwise, and if they
fail to do their work properly word
from her will insure their dismissal.
The housekeeper has no jurisdiction
over the girls employed in the kitchen
and dining rooms. They are hired and
discharged by the manager and are un-
der the supervision of the proper depart
ment heads.
All the women in her department are
hired and discharged by the housekeep-
er. No one else has any control over
them whatever. She looks into the ref
erences of every one before taking her
ON. When she discharges a girl, she
simply makes formal report to the
manager so that the pay roll can be
changed when the new girl comes in.
A certain number of girls is allowed for
each line of duty, and when one is dis
charged another is taken on. The cause
of the discharge is never known by any
one but the housekeeper and there is no
appeal from her decision. In fact she
is absolute in her dominion.
Nominally the housekeeper is on duty
from z in the morning until in the
afternoon, but she is likely to be called
upon at any and all hours of the day or
night in case of emergency Her first
duty every morning is to make tour OF
inspection. She must have personal
knowledge of the condition of every
guests room in the house, since, al
though the chambermaids are response
: BILE to her, she is responsible to the man.
agement. OF course it is not possible in
one of the greater hotels for a single
person to inspect everything individual
| ly every day, and the housekeeper of
such q caravansary must rely upon the
report of the girls to some extent, but
their reliance can only be partial at the
best.
The details of this inspection duty are
almost infinite. Every room must be
kept supplied with every requisite. The
bed linen, the towels, the carpets and
the crockery must always be in apple
4 pie order The newly arrived guest
must not find cracked water pitcher,
a nicked glass, torn curtain, dam
aged carpet or broken furniture in
! his room. Not a day passes in any
of the greater new hostelries that
some articles rendered useless by the
! carelessness of guest or servant does
| not have to be replaced, and even If II
be impossible for the housekeeper to Wis
II every part of her realm each day nc
day must pass that she does not person
ally 90 over some part of it. The shrewd
housekeeper will of course keep hel
subordinates in constant expectation OF
her inspection, as this helps in disci
pline and makes for thorough work OF
their part.
Through the constantly recurring ne
cessity of renewals and repairs th'
housekeeper is daily brought into per
sonal contact with number OF mel
about the hotel who are not directl,
under her control, yet who must ODE!
her orders under given circumstances
These are the upholsterer, the carpente