The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1898-06-17
DEARTH OF SERVANTS.
PROBLEM OF GETTING A
JEWEL" A KNOTTY ONE.
Union Has Been Organized, and Some Of
Its Demands Have Brought Consterna-
tion to the Housewives of Great Falls
Paradise for Skilled Maids. q

volved in first getting Jewel OF a
hired girl and then keeping her Is even
more knotty than in other parts of the
country, 1t will be interesting to all
housewives to know that the servant
girls are threatening to organize
union. The prime object Of such
union would be wages, of course, but
there would be other incidental privi-
leges and rights for them to insist up
on, and if they are convinced that they
have the bulge on the employing class
es 1t Is safe to say that other items
will be included in the bill. The posi-
bilities of the movement are suggest
ed in the following from the Great Falls
Tribune: There Is CONSERVATION among
the housewives of Great Falls. The
servant girls have organized union,
following the example of the laundry
girls, and their demands in brief are:
Twenty-Five dollars per month for
family Of six or less, with an addition
Of S. per month for each person over
six; that they shall not be required
to care for children when mothers are
absent from home and that they shall
not be required to do any fine washing
or ironing. A member of the union
may keep the baby when the mother
goes to church If the servant is allowed
extra compensation at the rate OF fif-
teen cents per hour, but the rule pro-
hibiting the laundering of shirts, lace,
ETC., is absolute and the servants in
private houses shall not compete with
the laundry girls. Penalties are i'm
posed for all violations Of the rules
and no member of the union shall work
where there is employed a scab. The
organization of the union is perfect,
officers having been chosen, but the
names of the members are secret. A
large number of servants have not vet
Joined the organization and many en-
ployers have warned them that "gener-
al housework" will want another girl
If they do join, but those who have
become members have made their de-
mands for the union scale and priyi-
leges. When or where the union was
organized cannot be learned, but it
seems that about all the girls employed
in homes on Fourth avenue north. be-
tween Second and Sixth streets. are In
the union, and the other members come
from various parts of the city. Twen-
ty years ago, at Fort Benton, all the
servant girls quit and were married.
The men Of the town grew weary of
cold meal three times a day and they
sent to Sioux City and Bismarck and
imported a steamer load of girls. 1t
was only few months until they were
all married, too. Now, many old Fort
Bentonites suggest similar importa-
ton, reasoning that the matrimonial
market is not so active as 1t was then
at Fort Benton and that the girls would
have to work. The matter was treat
ed as joke in Fort Benton, but it is
no joke in Great Falls. The union is
an accomplished fact and the women
who have had great trouble in the past
year in securing servants realize that
the situation may prove ANNOYING.
Good house servants are not any too
plenty in Helena, the employers and
employment agents find. Indeed,
there has before been talk of import
ing carload or two from the middle
western states to supply the demand.
IF l knew a way to assure myself OF
the accomplishments of a girl before
hand 1 wouldn't be afraid to advance
the fares. of fifty first-class Ones" said
the agent. "a girl who is up in all
the branches, can cook, and is neat and
patient with children, can get work
here in day, and keep at work twelve
months in the year at twice the wages
paid on the Pacific coast or east of
here. No, you needn't smile; there are
some of that kind, and lots of them
don't know that real Jewels are in ac-
tive demand. The girls here are as in
dependent as any of our people. They
make the terms, nine times out of
ten, not you. Servant girls who are
willing to work and know what to do
will be in demand for long time in
Montana and the immigration socie- |
ties would confer a favor on a long
suffering community if they would |
send us out few good ones"