The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-04-22
MRS. BLAINHAq BER WORK
Only Woman in Chicago Who Has
an Office Downtown.
The Daughter-in-Law of the Late
senator and Secretary of state
Conducting Her Business Affairs in
the Prairie City-Her Interest in
school Affairs.
(From the Chicago Inter ocean.)

dressed all in black, gets out of the car
rage and disappears in the elevator. rms
is Mrs. Emmons Blaine. the widowed
daughter-in- law of the late James u.
Blaine. Mrs Blaine is the only wealthy
woman in Chicago who has a regular bust
ness Office downtown. There she ransacts
the affairs OF her large estate, attends 10
charities and especially looks after the
great undertaking which has come to be
her Hfe work-the building of the Chicago
Institute. or the Blaine School of Pedagogy,
as nearly everybody calls it.
When it was published a few days ago
that Mrs. Blaine had inaugurated the
eight-hour system of work among her
household servants the announcement
brought an extra deluge of letters in the
weeks mail It took three days of the
week to open and glance at the letters oil
the people who wanted to know how the
scheme worked, to suggest that mrs
Blaine has five times as many servants,
probably, as the average woman, and that
if she had money to give away she might
send 1t yours truly" cash or check. but
the fact is that the eighthour system of
serving is not a new thing in Mrs. Emmons
DIaine's household For nearly ten years
Mrs Blaine has been interested in socio-
logical questions.
She is always thinking of some way to
help people" said close friend in dis
cussing the matter. Several months ago,
yes, over a year ago. Mrs. Blaine decided
to adopt regular system of houseWork by
which each servant should have so many
hours on duty and the rest Of the time he
absolutely free for rest, recreation, what
ever they chose. The system has sue
ceeded admirably. although there was less
need for it in her house than in the major
ity of families Her servants are devoted
to her. and always have been. In adopt
ing the rule Mrs. Blaine made no preten-
sions to Solving the servant girl ques-
tion, or starting any kind of revolu-
ton. Indeed, she does not consider the
plan practicable except with notifications
are employed.
And has Mrs. Blaine's plan taken hold
of other society leaders in Chicago?"
Hardly" laughed the friend. Mrs.
Blaine endeayored. I believe, to persuade
Mrs Potter Palmer her relative, Mrs. Nc
Cormick. and others to try it, bat they all
declared that il would require twice the
ordinary number of housemaids. lead TO no
end of complications. and probably end IN
a labor war and a strike. But MIS- Blame
is taking her own course, as she usually
does. and there has been no strike yet
She was annoyed that it all got in the
newspapers
Mrs. Blaine is a woman who is always
annoyed when things get ia the papers.
Ordinarily reporters who call at her OIL
get as far as the railing in front of the
door Then a little private secretary wear
ing a blue shirt waist and talking in
very soft voice takes the newspaper man
in hand and conViEces him OF the error OF
his ways The secretary used 20 be a re-
porter herself. but practice has taught her
to keep things TO herself as well as If she
had never taken assignments and turned IN
copy, and it is impossible to get past her
guard.
Mrs. Emmons Blaines downtown Office
consists of suite of two plainly furnished
rooms in the general Offices of her brothers
of the Mccormick Company. She has a
roll-top mahogany desk, smaller writing
table and a big Office chair When she
dictates to her stenographer she talks
rapidly, rarely alters word, and de-
spatches business quickly and without any
fussing over details. Like a good business
man, she has the faculty of grasping es-
sentials and transacting affairs correctly
in the rough Mrs. Blaine practically
looks after her estate of several millions
for herself But il is to the normal school
she is building that she gives the most OF
her time She knows every detail of the
architects plans and she can put her fin
ger on the place where every dollar OF her
three-quarter million, or about that sum,
viii go. She is even as well posted in
pedagogy as the ordinary school principal,
and has done a little teaching quietly
In order Ito get the practice" 1t is hint
ed that when the school is started she
may even do some work in instruction,
for she is devoted to the work, and those
who know say she is a born teacher"
After Mrs. Blaine became interested in
school questions she looked about for some
raw material on which TO try the theories
she had been learning in Froebel and Pes
talozzi and Harris and Parker. She col
lected twenty-five little waits from the
streets in the swarmng districts west Of
her handsome house Every Sunday after
noon they came IL 20 have lessons, and Mrs
Emmons Blaine taught the motley class.
There were Italians and Poles, Scandi-
navians and Greeks, nearly as many ma
tionalities as children, in fact. They be-
came devoted to their teacher, although
ii is said that Mrs. Blaine steadily de-
clined TO resort TO "sugared hypocrisy"
Nobody was toled in with a stick of candy,
and things were on quite democratic
basis.
Chicago Institute is the result Of happy
accident Mrs. Blaine began to look about
for suitable school for Emmons Blaine
her only child, little boy, now about nine
visited first one school and then another
None of them quite suited her. She had a
pretty clear idea of what she thought a
school for children ought to be, and she
wanted her boy TO grow up to make lis
way among other youngsters, for she has
faith In the people and in the peoples
children One morning she drove out to
visit Col Francis Parker's school. the
Chicago Normal. on the way she stopped
at a little book store at the corner Of the
campus in Englewood and bought a copy
of one Of Colonel Parkers books. Mrs.
Blaine did not introduce herself. The
colonel was not al the school that morning
and she walked about from room to room
and observed the work. Next morning
Colonel Parker received letter from Mrs
Emmons Blaine, explaining that she had
visited the school, wished to get teacher
for her boy, etc. She had read the colo
nel's books, she said, and would like TO talk
over school problems with him. Colonel
Parker looked at the signature, Anita
Mccormick Blaine
Il don't think ! ever heard of her;
guess / never saw her" he said to him
self. Then he asked some of the teachers
about the visitor. AT frs; nobody had any
recollection of her. Finally teachers in
the first grade remembered a quiet and
rather distinguished looking woman who
had been in the day before and seemed
very much interested in the work She
asked many questions, and spent consid-
cradle time in the library. She was sien-
der, had bright face and dark eyes and
hair and dressed in black. And this was
the little woman who is now building a
normal school which is intended to be the
greatest training school in the world for
teachers, and which will cost about