The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-12-09
SERVANT GIRL QUESTION.
Some Reasons why Young American Wa
men will Not Accept Domestic PoAIlionA.
A Rational Explanation.

Some Reasons why Young american Wo-
men will Not Accept Domestic Positions.
A Rational Explanations,
Fay Leo" in Pittsburgh Times; Why
do our intelligent girls seek employ
ment in stores, Offices and factories
when there are so many pleasant homes
where they would be received as do
mesttcs?" IS a question which Is very
familiar to the public. and often accom-
uanled by recital OF the numerous adj
yantages Of domestlcs' position, which
IRE unhappily generally occupied by
foreigners. The principal reason that
domestic service Is tabooed by our girls
4, that the work required OF servant
On the majority OF families Is far be-
v6nd the strength OF the average Amer
;ran alrl. The majority OF families
COMPRISE those of moderate means in
our cities. which keep only one servant.
In the homes of the rich In smaller
towns the domestics duties are com
uarltlvely light This reason may be
unsatisfactory TO some because there Is
many a housewife who does all her own
dulles, but often when the same wo-
man employs a servant, she Is prone
10 make the work harder. The wash
ings are larger-the work must all be
done more thoroughly, because she rea-
sons she is now paying for It, And she
imposes tasks on che servant which she
never performed herself. A common
cause OF this condition lies In the at
tempt OF so many families with n small
income to regulate their homes like
flaA lnH NhAI
servant must perform the duties OF
cook, iaundTess, chambermaid, waitress,
nurse, Grand girl and sometimes even
lady's maid, as well as they are per-
formed IN the homes of the wealthy by
an entire retlnue of servants, Even the
stout German and Irish girls often fall
in this requirement and consequently
we hear so many complaints Of incom-
petent help, and the servant girl ques-
lion becomes such a problem,
The working hours OF the girl behind
the counter are from n. m. until p.
M, while those of the housemaid are
often from a. m. until p. M, with no
interval of rest, On washdays she must
rise still earlier, so say all good-manag-
ing housewives. Even IL she should be
through with her work early enough In
the evening to so out, many mistresses
deny her the right to do so very often,
and never without permission. She is,
therefore, deprived OF the freedom which
Is her birthrlght Although they receive
good wages, there Is no class Of girls so
poorly dressed as the servant girls. One
reason for this is that so few servants
IN the average family have time to do
thelr plain sewing or to make the re-
pairs and alterations necessary TO every
woman's wardrobe. And they are not
allowed to go out often enough to be
able "a spend their money tudiciously.
The objection some American girls have
10 domestic service is that of being
treated as an inferior. However, some
Intelligent girls might consider their re-
!ations with the mistress OF a purely
business nature, and that they gave
them no right to social recognition. Such
girl would sit down alone at the kit
chen table and partake OF the cold rem
nants left from the family meal with
out grumbllng, or so to her lonely room
ut night POSSIBLY merely dark, un-
comfortable closet In the garnet or
dasement), as cheerfully as her tired
limbs would permit her unmindful of
llIt ldNl llldl lllt lAlllllN bANAlNA'A w
ifs cheerful sitting room, from where.
perhaps sounds of music and laughter
and scraps of animated conversation
reach her ears. But there are some
things which no philosophy will enable
an Intelligent girl to bear. A tactful and
kindly mistress can prevent a girl from
becoming obtrusive or familiar without
woundIng the latters self-respect. But
some ladies' are not satisfied with
girl merely knowing her place" but
seem to take pleasure in making her
feel the humility of her position. The
servant must bear with her mistress
fits OF anger In silence. Many women
seem TO think 1t would compromise
their dignity to treat servant girl
with the same politeness and respect
which they require OF her. This may be
right, but 1t Is very trying to an indie
pendent, self-respecting girl
1t has been said that there Is no STU
alton In which young girl's morals
are as safe as that of domestic In a
private family. This may be true. but
according to my observation there Is no
place where her reputation Is as unsafe
She Is always an object OF suspicion. II
an article is missing in the house where
she is employed, she Is nearly always
adiudged the thief and perhaps dis
charged. while some times evidence of
her innocence Is afterward discovered.
And we often hear of girl whose hon
cstV ia afterward proved being taken to
jail on charge OF theft preferred by
her mistress. The domestic must not
indulge that love of pleasure which Is so
natural TO the young, even II she should
have sufficient leisure time. The mis-
tress and her daughters may receive
men friends and keep late hours, but II
the servant does SO her reputation is
likely to suffer
These conditions, OF course. do not
exist in every home of the class mem
toned. But they are common enough
10 make domestic service odious to the
bright American girls 1t Is true that
housewives are often imposed upon by
ins9lent impertinent and dishonest SER
wants But the employers grievances
are constantly dlnned into the public
ear, while the employees wrongs are
scarcely ever voiced, A great deal Of the
energy which some philanthropic peo-
pie are using for the purpose OF rescu-
ine fallen girls and suppresslng vice
might he used In striking ut the root of
the evil with better results-by making
the path OF virtue more attractive. For
rs long as domestics are treated In this
way our homeless girls will geek en-
poymcnt in stores and Offices ut star
walton wages, which will be In many
Tgrog atnpInrnnntpl with tho WaEP9 of