The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-09-24

into the opening of his headpiece. He
presents at such times the picture of
leonine sage of the Sagas deep in the
maze of some vast problem of the cos
mos. 1t is all a mistake; it is Ibsen
critically viewing Ibsen. There is a
mirror fastened in the bottom of his
hat, and he is lolSing after the twist of
his cravat.
But, however practicable in some To-
calities, and however desirable this
system may be, it must be acknowl-
edged that few housekeepers are will
ing to adopt it. Those who continue
Will still incur a certain responsibility
not only for her conduct, but for her
happiness and comfort as we'll.
While, however, the sense of individ-
ual responsibility should be deepened,
the authority of the employer must ne
cessarily be lessened. The mistress of
a house should no longer be an auto
crat; she ought not to determine the
hours, conditions or privileges of the
maid from an exclusively personal
point of view. To paraphrase Professor
Salmon: She must no longer regulate
wages by her bank account, hours of
labor by her personal caprice, and
questions of rights and morals solely
by her own convenience. In no other
occupation in which so large a number
of women is engaged does the employer
have so much personal option In
manufacture, in shop labor, in teach
ing, there is, in a given community, at
least a common basis Of understanding
between employer and employee. In
certain grades of establishments wages
and hours of labor vary within very
narrow limits, and change only gradu-
ally with the fluctuations of trade and
the demands of the public.
The Inconsistencies, the injustice on
both sides, and the wide variations of
practice in household service, are the
result of the attempt to maintain a
feudal system quite outgrown, and of
the attempt of Individual employers
and of employees to demand all they
can get and to resist all they can. Do
nestle employers are at the mercy Of
perfectly unregulated competition. AS a
consequence, they get in their kitchens
the least competent the least inteill-
gent. and the least self-respecting of all
the women in the labor market. 1t Is a
fact of serious significance, that wages
in domestic service are higher than IN
any of the competing industries. II mas
been shown that the wages Of domestics
of Cambridge school teachers, and that
wages are steadily rising in this occu-
patton. Yet, when one listens to the
plant of the housekeeper, one would
almost suppose that the higher the
wages, the poorer the service. Ger
tainly the plain fact must be acknowl-
edged; domestic service, however hlgh-
ly paid, fails to compete with other
occupations in attractiveness. AS has
1ox Ny oh nr
ganiZations nor even competition VIII
solve the problem. 1t remains for the
intelligent employers of domestic labor
to ascertain why domestic service is so
persistently avoided and it also rests
with them to put that service upon
some basis on which it can successfully
compete with other occupations.
What. then, are the objections which
intelligent and competent women make
to household service? Let the mistress
ask herself, if she had a poor relative
or protegee, who knew how to Go moth
ing well except homework, why she
would object to her going out as house
maid or cook in a neighhpr's house?
Why would the woman herself prefer
to learn the dressmaker's or the tailor's
trade, or to make linen collars or to
stand behind the counter? Women are
continually saying to each other, over
afternoon tea, that they should think
a woman would prefer domestic serv-
ice to earning her living in these other
ways But would the mistresses them
selves prefer it, if they had to choose2
Do the better class of working women
prefer it? How many women are there
in domestic service who are capable of
getting out of it? These are the ques-
lions which earnest, conservative,
thoughtful housekeepers must answer
truthfully before any permanent re-
form can be brought about.
WHEN PA FRS EFT TABASCo SAUCE