The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-11-13
d OPEN HOUSES IN TOWN.
v,rrp o WOMEN VINO ARE LOOK
III TN9 FoR EMPLOYMENT.

u W., Tbere Are Many Women Anxious
rn.nge In II Even Mt small Fay,
a.. lang AGO there appeared In one Of the
w,aners an advertisement saying that q
'sN, wanted to be employed TO open city
".as. that ia. to Eet ready for occupancy
no... which had been closed while the own
nO-.,. out OF town. When q reporter went
Wonir. into this unusual line OF work, how
W. W. ,hs woman had given II no. She was ar
"v w., Ne nrotessIon and said that the work Of
uatrr closed houses took 30 much time that
~. IA M leisure left in which to paint mas
msoro ara plenty OF other women, though.
nav. no masterpieces waiting to be paint
- Thev will open your house for you and DO
n - ~ m. chance The woman's exchanges
-, Good long list Of women who are ready
s' kuoin.s OF this sort. The fart Is there are
ian ready for almost every conceivable
'.,insss. and tho only wonder Is that they will
ssro,s their transcendent talents-so regarded
=, ,bemselves-to work for which they are so
poorly paid,
,ndrod from Que point Of view. There lie q
..,.r.htion to the effect that II any one has
~nr.y Il is merely necessary to order q thing
IorA and. prestol the thing is ACCOMPLISHED.
ror instance. to the ordinary woman who
iTs,l. IN a Cat It Is perfectly plain, so abe
,hIots. that II she had $4,000 a year she could
sy unto scrubwomen. "Scrubl" and unto
.pr,Ip hangers. go hanEl" and unto plumb
,n Take the rest Of my thousands aud stop
IN, leak in the bathrooml" Nothing could be
-,.Ier. so she thinks. Consequently. when
.oue one stands ready to pay the scrubwomen
and the plumbers aud the rest. 1t does seem to
he unihinking or the uninitiated as II the
roman who simply orders these functionaries
n scrub and plumb and do their several du-
,hs IL deserving of only q modest reward
Ehich is what she gets.
Bnt opening a city house is not an Indian
unmer idyl Of pure delight. even when one is
Maid for doing It. 1t is at such a time as
mi. that a woman thinks the neSt generation
will surely be angelic. She believes that there
was only a certain amount Of original sin ex-
amt, and she Is ready to swear that the paint
,rs and plumbers and upholsterers and various
,her men connected with house.opening have
Appropriated the entire supply: made a clean
sweep Of deceitlulness and hypocrisy and gem
eral cusssdness.
When a woman is hired for this task through
one Of the woman's exchanges her first duty is
TO see the mistress Of the house which is to be
- Optutu' IL Aah h'N hNNoVAVVpCL q IlC
= house closed by such a woman in the spring
and opened by the Same woman in the fall.
The mistress walks out Of her house as IL she
we're a guest and returns to 1t in the same way.
. She has none of the dreariness Of wander
luz among Ghostly covered furniture. OF see
iHg ner lsIes and penetes done up In linen
,hronds ana a. OF o ! tare vel TO- her 6oud9ir
10 also spared a worse experience. She doesn't
come back 70 town to find that the electric but
tons are stil' on their summer vacations. that
the gas pipes and the water pipes are having
airee-for-all competition in leaking. that the
moths are holding hi Oh carnival III everything
everything else. 1t If the house opener wno
faces all these conditions and smooths them
out Of The way Of the returning mistress.
out what the mistress wants her TO do. The
ease with which this Is accomplished is a NOV
abe quantity dependent on the mistress. She
may have one small mind and not know that
or she may have many minds and know them
tL, II the house opener is clever she will
make out Two memoranda. give, ono to the mis-
over, guard her wi with exceeding great care.
for the reason that the mistress viii probably
6e the paper lntrusted to her. This memo
heIpected TO do. For instance:
HNstventy-tive pairs of lace curtains cleaned. re-
r.. ans to Be done with forty pairs of heavy
haeAsS
Alyet he Chimn cleaned.
Rave tn. plumbing and gas fixtures inspected and
have all the hardwood floors redressed.
And 80 90. Including general scrubbing and
,earing, as well IA upholstering certain pieces
o%Iiurnltlre, pnpacking, and airing bedding
desired BY the Individual mistress Concerned
Thus equipped with a statement of the work
sIpected IRON her, the house opener is ready
q her duties is to decide when this interesting
late shall be. She must begin her work early
enough TO have i finished before, the arrival
pot do 1t SO soon that all the freshness is lost
q repeated sweepings anu dustings. Try as
sse may. however. she will never hit It right.
lGlre t9r DAYS over the problem and turn the
caves 81 her experience till her brain reels.
estimate The %trailties Of cleaners and carpen-
' ers and their kin, SO the house openers cal
cu!ations are worthless.
III Having entered pron the fray. however. she
W. nave no time for casting her eyes heaven
ward and mourning her lot. She will be
. nto,ilectnR among the intelligence bureaus
y as search Tor gold-bearing vein OF scrub
Elmoer from house to office and back again,
~ everybody knows that the first sign OF
RsqmberhoOd is always 10 be somewhere else.
M ana are found TO be minus one or two
naIyes' she must be ready with her receipt to
ability 70 get it attended to inside Of a furtl
.gnt AZ this period. also. another little duty
~ eoNloat the inevitable fondness which the
stehh hanger Will have for putting up all
siSstigs 'irong side out. She must quench
IE.suohs between the different branches OF
W. Ser1Ge; she must. by some intuitive per-
H'on, ueleel q thief and prevent the theft;
,e qust Wheedle this tradesman. row that
N ndunt the next one and threaten the rest )
mn nsate prison. She must have ID stout
ms M" eGpput SHOES, a stout temper and time to J
sp ma, ene must also be prepared for several
II iast ~cltpters OF her autumn experience. ,
,nitsD 'eiufnen mistress, is likelv TO have for
MAJ lust what she ordered done. especially
Snen she sees the bills. She has probably hid,
~ away certain small! trinkets. and, having
SSIukoueh ali a Jout this measure OF precaution.
sSM Inhoutces that they must have been stolen
sm my AnoWs lust where she left them with SOL
h nu teproach she points out the spot to the
sSs st. who has ~sleepless nights, OF
bLI5sso' ulll me mistress stumbles upon the
"paeu treasures In other places.
.Iv al ol ms and many other trials, liter
nav, ~ numerous TO be Catalogued. the house,
IA ns{d rtgele IS a modest CONDENSATION n
c,Hseu chieny Tor her time. She does practi-
SSE III, rotnihR 10 the shap e OF actual work. She
d1va IUti neither does she spin nor scrub nor
sna"d IAN The only thing she does Is To-
Nomna,s1' ua{s 10 weary alterations with in
soercs ~ dishonesty. shiftlpssness, and in
doesn't dnats all. 1t isn't skilled labor. 1t
% Stnn y even the concrete price given
aebee pp,pUWs, II taxes merely time and pa
schednr.i "aelce Is not considered In labor
aJe5 gsSi ahd, as for time-well, when de-
IA raos ~dGtieWpinen are under discussion time
~SSIWtt as patience. WI"
IA my. II She wasn't doing tb., Che uo,:1..
.uolIg ANYTIME - ie H. - ~ " 7