The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-08-07
WILL TRAIN SERVANTS

WILL IKAlN SERVANTS
MISS BARNES OPENS A SCHOOL FOR
THAT PURPOSE
She Hopes to Develop a Cooperative
Servants Bureau-Girls Must Be
Honest and of Good Moral Char.
acteR to Begin With-Can Earn
Part of Their Training-The
Need of Such an Institution.
While the women Of st. Paul are
casting about in search of q solution
for the servant problem, possible
perhaps 1t Is safe to say probable-re-
lief Is now in sight. Suggestions have
been made from time to time in these
columns relative to a formation Of an
organization among the ladies to reduce
the individual expense and trouble Of
and increase the facilities for, securing
trusty servants. While such an or
ganization might be step toward the
establishment of g regular housework
training school, yet none Of the propo-
sitions carried. with it the hope that
this would be an immediate result.
But now an element Is introduced
which may go far toward adjusting
matters. At SO Park place a young
woman's Industrial training school has
been opened under the SUPPLEMENTARY
Of Miss L. j. Barnes, who considers the
enterprise as an experiment, and, there
fore, hopes to do no. more than to
make the institution self-supporting,
receiving no remuneration herself. This
IN itself Is a guaranty that the train
~ {n 20 hA -, fx,%~
mistress and maid, and not q money
maker for the manipulation. As yet
the institution ID not backed by an or
ganization; It 10 not incorporated, and
it has no board Of directors. It ID SIM
ply opened in Park place, and now
1t remains to be seen whether tho pos
sibilities contained therein will be de-
veloped into q thoroughly business-like
institution of g. cooperative nature, or
whether it will be left to shift for it
self, while the women look elsewhere
for relief. That the public might know
what the present facilities Of the in
stitution are, the nature Of it's man
agement and the plans Of its manager,
communication was established be
G ! o b and Miss Barnes with refer
ence to the subject. In reply to a Ques-
ton as to the training a girl would
receive, she said:
WHAT MISS BARNES WILL DO.
IT have started three departments
and will develop them as the facilities,
applicants and patronage increase.
There is at present woman at the
head Of the cooking department, an
other in charge of the sewing and a
third superintends the laundry work."
Are you supplying servants to the
citizens now?''
mo, there hasn't been time to train
them yet, and those within my reach I
do not know enough about to recon-
mend to permanent POSITIONS
How do you support this fnstitu-
tion7"
by the work that Is done in the
house. The things that are done here
l can make sure are done right, with
out reference to what a girl might do
If left to do the work without strict
supervision. These orders Of cooking,
laundry work and plain sewing, to-
gether with a little help, just about
cover the expenses"
GIRLS MUST BE HONEST.
Upon what conditions can a girl en-
ter?"
IT can demand nothing" said Miss
Barnes, "but a guaranty of honesty
and good moral character. The train
ing they must get here"
But doesn't a girl pay anything for
her training?"
Most Of the girls have no money
when they come. They can pay for
part Of their training by helping to do
the work that comes into the house. I
hope to work the institution up.
through cooperation. to point where
arrangements can be made between
mistress and maid for the payment of
her training after she has secured her
position"
rs this in any sense charity work?''
mo; this is an educative industry;
one that cannot help having a good in
fuence In the city. I have Travelled
through Iowa and Minnesota and know
that in the small country towns there
are many girls that would gladly work
and would make good girls if they had
a little training and knew that when
they came into big city they would
have g. place to stay until a suitable
situation was found for them"
Have you many girls in the house
now?"
mo. very few. must first gain the
confidence and the patronage of the
people. before I can run matters on a
large scale. That is why T am simply
SCARCITY OF GIRLS.
It was suggested to Miss Barnes that
the difficulty would not be so much
lack Of patronage as a scarcity of
girls.
Then I can go out into the country
and gather up the available girls, look
ing up their families and their pos
sibilities and making arrangements to
bring them into the city"
And the training?"
IF the condition Of affairs is what
you suggest, immediate cooperation
would be easier to effect and would
remedy the difficulty much more rapid
ly. for while trained servants could not
be secured right away, honest and
clearly girls could be found, and their
training would have to come at inter-
walls. One thing it is my purpose to
do, and that Is to see that the girls that
go from here ask but honest prices for
their work. It Is absurd the way girls,
who do not know the first principles Of
housekeeping, will ask $40 and $12, and
often $15 for their services. If girl
can't do but So worth Of work she
mustn't try to get $18."
From the Snatches of conversation
given above, readers may gather what
manner of work Miss Barnes proposes
to do. When asked in regard to her
experience in such work, she said that
she had taught In Maine, had studied
girls training schools, and knowing
that the Northwest lacked such an in
stitution, had travelled through Iowa
and Minnesota to look over the ground.
The g b has sought and printed
this information, not as a guaranty
that this particular institution is an
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