The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-10-30
TIEENA'S SERVANT GIRLS.
EACH ONE HAS A CERTIFICATE THAT
SHE r. a TRElsURR


Their Help and Are Ioud IN Their Wall
tt system of strict Police Supervision
of Servants in Austria and Sta Results.
vIHxEA. Sept. Observation-Disclosures the fact
that Austria Possesses q pOlice-controlled SER
want system. POSSIBLY in no other country In
tho world 10 the so-oalled servant problem 80
troublesome. In point Of organization the
Austrian system stands at the head OF those
employed in European countries. As 1t Is
under the control and supervision OF q police
system that has no superior for organization
and accurate operation. one would think that
Austria would be In n position 70 obtain the
best possible results. yet the problem Ia the
Austro- Hun GariRn monarchy il one Of the
most harassing that people have to deal with.
Most servant girls In Austria come from Boz
hernia, which fact in itself Is SUFFICIENT TO indi-
cate to those acquainted with the unedu-
Gated Bohemians why the Austrian system is
poor. The girls belong TO the lower Czech
classes and speak German imperfectly. II at all.
The average Czech servant is noted for her
facility for lying aud pilferinK, yet these are
the girls whom Austrian housewives have to
employ. A consequence Ii that three months
is q fair average time for the general run OF
servants to remain in q home. Que can read
lily picture the woes Of viennese housekeep-
ers, but were It not for the extent to which
the police department interests itself In the.
welfare OF the girls. the evils would doubtless
be much worse.
The system by which the municipal author
tiles OF Vienna control servants is one OF the
most complicated branches Of municipal gov
eminent. IT requires the employment Of q
small army OF officials. and rs no fees are
charged for transactions the city must support
It by extra taxes. Thousands Of volumes OF
record books must be kept and tons OF sta
tionery are used annually in this one branch Of
the Government. The city being divided
into districts. few bitches OCCUR in the man
agemenk and the police keep an accurate
register OF every servant in the city.
A servants connection with the police sta
ton begins as soon as she wishes to 40 into
service. Before she can enter any service
whatever she must report to the Magis-
trate's oflce. make known her wish 70 be In
scribed as a diefstmddchen. and il she can fur
nish proof of her identity TO the satisfaction of
the authorities q servants hook is made out IN
her name and a record OF the transaction Is
entered in the archives. The servant then either
registers at an employment agency or inserts
an advertisement in a newspaper. When she
succeeds in securing q place she is Obliged to
hand her book over to her employer. who In
turn must appear before the police authorl-
ties in the district in which her apartment is
situated. and there have the servants name.
together with the date OF the beginning of her
| service. duly registered in the book. This
| must be done within twenty-four hours after
the girl enters upon her duties. and should it
not be attended to within that time a fine Of
So is imposed. Or shopld the registration.
| dnmeidunO. not be done within the required
space OF time. and aiterward. In order to avoid
the fine. q later date is given, the proceeding is
treated as one involving the giving OF false
testimony. and the misdoer must suffer the
b penalty OF the law for that offence.
A simple way in which the police ascertain
whether a false date has been given is to ok
anime the servants book for the date upon
which she left her last employment. II q
month or more has elapsed since the last date
In the book. notice is at once served on the
girl to appear at the police station. She Is then
l Questioned as to her whereabouts during the
period unaccounted for. Servant girls have
a wholesome dread Of the city guardians.
hence a few fierce looks and short. sharp ques-
strict truth. are sufficient to extract truthful
answers from these usually untruthtnl speci-
%e tSe q IAN Rp% ma ehis,p sS 5h Is rs sgeeess'nl evasion
Again. should the mistress discharge her
girl. she must appear before the police ana
police at the same time a certificate OF charac-
ter. 1t is not necessary to explain TO the au,-
The law does require. however. that unless
the girl has been reported and arrested for
No matter what her good or bad qualities may
be. the certificate, must state mat the girl has
proved herself to be truthful. industrious and
honest. or the employer must report the girl
for theft. In the latter case the girl is called
before the police. the mistress Of the house
prove a case OF theft. and long proceedings are
instituted. It is needless t. add that the girl
blower happens to be very determined.
A servant was discharged !or offering
small articles Of wearing apparel and for dis so
house DISMISSED the girl. and wrote a certif;
cate to the effect that the servant had proved
ossselrI h Si eePtaiiicss SSG was nGt ac es p tna0''ri-
According to law. u certificate must state
t ass he { ss Seraftt is 81 .f re 6 es1snaRl Snq s e Foiiioe'
the Woman replied, III she were, I shouldn't
what has she dE9ns;" snPepp e, the Ren 0faeiaI.
The woman did not wish to make trouble for
ing I Rss1i al, fSrs ,jSSsis'iO u"d eArl'cH to your
The law then requires that you either have
,p girl dt 9EFSstsS or Of t : mGSs that se sSs R9Sssse sss M all
The 'offcial looked up sharply. casting a
c~riticise the workings q the Government. and
continued writing. With 2 few scratches Of
The e ee9,i ne asiaf nsiigy r wSdds sh Ssr sA aSHsd st sae
novo was In my employment from June / un-
I'll Aug. %. during which period she proved
natured and honest And as the woman
turned way she sighed TO think what a boon
would be. How much deception and disap-
pointment lay In store for Anna Stolinovo's
future employer
10 this clause OF the law is doubtless due to a
great measure the chief difficulties Of the SER
want girl problem In Austria. A servant Is
,ure OF a good recommendation. no matter how
Inefficient and dishonest. she may be. And.
moreover. she is, sure OF procuring another
place, owing to the frequent changes house
keepers are Obliged to make. The custom OF
inquirtnR about servants at their preceding
home is not practiced here. hence every house,
ties OF a new. servant. and by the time she is
thus Informed q change is necessary,
tor a tale which he got from a Frenchman
bearing. on the French law regarding, recon-
mendations given to servants. A similar law.
1t seems. Ia In vogue in France. The French
law. however. Is lenient In oomparison with