Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1897-12-09

THE HoUsEKEEPER THE CHAMBERMAID.
employees of such hotel number sew
eral hundred and that the administra-
tive machinery of the house is as s.ab-
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 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 2 in the morning until 4 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 a 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 single
person to inspect everything Individual
ly every day, and the housekeeper of
such 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
pie order. The newly arrived guest
must not find a cracked water pitcher,
a nicked glass, torn curtain, dam
aged carpet or broken furniture in
his room. Not 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 it
be impossible for the housekeeper to Wis
it every part of her realm each day no
day must pass that she does not person
ally go over some part of it. The shrewd
housekeeper will of course keep her
snbordinates in constant expectation of
her inspection, as this helps in disci-
pline and makes for thorough work on
their part
Through the constantly recurring ne
cessity of renewals and repairs the
housekeeper is daily brought into per-
sonal contact with number of men
about the hotel who are not directly
under her control, yet who must obey
her orders under given circumstances
These are the upholsterer, the carpenter
and the painter attached to the house
and the man in charge of the supply
room. These men are supposed to be
able to make good almost any breaks in
woodwork or damage to furniture and
paint. Somewhere in the hotel, per-
haps away up under the roof, perhaps
away down in the basement, the paint
er, carpenter and upholsterer have a
shop which is fitted with all the tools
of their trades, and the supply room is
regular magazine of furniture, carpets
and rugs, curtains and material 1t is
the business Of these men promptly to
make any and all repairs aud renewals
the housekeeper may order. and good
part Of her time is taken up every day
in giving instructions to them.
II she has time after the guests
rooms have been inspected and thor
oughly set to rights, the housekeeper
should go through the quarters Of the
help every day, or nearly SO, since
she is as responsible for that part of the
house as any other. She is also re-
sponsible for the conduct Of the girls
while on duty, and unless she is able to