The evening times., 1899-07-05
to be sweet that had been through that ex-
perience.
Domestic service Examinations.


Domestic Service Examinations.
Somebody has suggested that there he
civil service examination for servants, to
settle the ever-yexed and over prominent
servant question. The applicant would be
required to answer questions on sub. .ects
concerning cookery, housemaid's work,
laundering, ETC., and the person attaining
the highest percentage would be engaged
This looks feasible enough to the unini-
tiated, but the adoption of the plan would
cause more episodes than generation CT
farce-writers could embody in domestic
dramas. -. ,s
In the first place. if the mistress were to
prepare list of questions which would
cover all her requirements, it would take
longer to answer them than to hunt the
town over for perfectly qualified maid.
The average mistress has a particular way
Of pairing fruit, Of sweeping floor. Ct
ironing table CLOTH of boiling potato.
and the servant must learn that way be-
fore she can be adjudged perfect. 1t wi
are a hundred different small things en-
trusted to the care of the servant each
day, and every day brings different SET
of duties. it would really be more practi-
cable to follow the time -honored plan of
letting the applicant come for a trial"
and deciding at the end of few days
whether the trial is likely to be CT the
mistress or OF the servant.
Secondly, the servant Hpull pTo5ab' in
sist on civil service examination in Ter
turn She would want an agreement IS
to her hours, privileges, etc, and ii seems
TO be generally understood that she ought
to take what is given her without asking
questions. What concern is it of hers
whether she is expected to answer the door
bell or mind the children when the mis-
tress is away, or do the laundry work.
Is she not paid for her times Why SHOULD
she demand her Thursday afternoon and
her fortnightly Sundayir'outs" Does not
the house mistress cheerfuliy devote her
whole time to- the needs OF the family !?
Assuredly. when the servant begins TO ask
questions. the service, Civil Or otherwise.
reaches the vanishing, point. - '-'"
The whole problem which Is agitating
the household columns In this country is
simply one of business economy. and it is
because il is not treated as business, but
people persist in mixing their emotions
with the economics of the thing, that the
whole trouble arises. When a merchant
engages a cashier. he does not ask him to
sweep out the office in the morning, nor
does he expect his porter to go behind the
counter and serve customers g. acefuliy
and politely. Yet there is many woman
who requires her one servant to under
stand the fine art of cookery and also 10
scrub floors; to wait upon guests with
deftness and tact, and also to do laundry
work. To be equal to such varied de-
mands requires a woman of intelligence,
skill and nice perceptions, and such women
are generally able to support themselves
without going into the kitchen. There are
only two possible solutions TO this
problem. One is. the creation of per-
manent servant class, who will give their
minds to domestic work and bring up their
daughters to do the same, without fur ther
aspirations-that is what has happened in
Europe by the natural sequence OF events
The other is the placing of this matter on
the same economic basis as any ether mat
ter Of demand and supply. The city house
wife no longer makes all her own and her
children's clothes; she does not knit their
hose, she does not always have bread
baked or laundry work done in the house.
The ultimate result of the Capitalization
Of industries may be that there will be
establishments where girls may be trained
to certain sorts of general housewoIk, and
engaged for certain number of hours per
day, while the rest of the work VIII he
done out of the house. The size of the
house will be reduced, and also, in the
end, the cost of living.