Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1900-03-08

for domestic service. To put her theory
to the test, she is trying to establish a
college for servant-girls. with an en-
dowment of two hundred thousand dol
lars. Her plan contemplates courses in
the cooking of meats, vegetables, bread
and pastry; in laundry work, dish
washing, chamber work. table service,
the care Of the sick and other domes-
tic duties. for the mastery of which
diplomas will be granted upon gradua-
ton. That the institution may be
largely self-supporting, it will place its
products on sale. Persons whose ''heip"
has deserted them at an inopportune
time may order meals from the college,
and private families may have their
washing done there. The plan has al
ready been tried elsewhere with some
promise Of success. The dignity Of do
nestle service may, perhaps, be estab-
Hshed, as that Of nursing has been,
and a more intelligent, competent and
self-respecting class of young women
may thus be attracted to homework.
But there are also dangers to be con.
sidered. If the 'lady Of the house, has
not taken domestic "electives" in her
own college education, how will she
feel about offering suggestions to the
yaledictorian of the class in pie cul-
ture, or giving orders to one who has
taken honors for advanced work in
baked apples? Will she dare to main
tain her personal preferences against
the august authority Of the muffin pro-
fessor or the chair of comparative
dish-washing? And if she does, will
the suggestion be received in an amia-
BILE and chastened spirit, with no de-
faint glance at the framed diploma
hanging over the sink? The problem
Of domestic service is much more than
a mere matter Of education, important
though that is a foundation. Art in
omelettes and eminence in beans will
be useless without cordial goodwill and
co-opera ton between mistress and
maid. The new college, if it is to attain
real success, will need a well-equipped
chair of applied Christianity.
One fact impressively demonstrated
in the profess of the South African war
is that the entire character of warfare
as a spectacle has underone a radical
change within recent years. Battles
have lost much in pcturesqueness and
glamour. Even SO recently as in the
Franco-Prussian conflict Of 1870 and
in the Russo-Turkish war Of 1877 bat
ties were still heroic subjects for the
were quite as romantic and inspiring as
those Of the earliest recorded wars,
when armies advanced clad In steel
armor and men fought hand to hand.
A battle in the Franco-Prussian war
was a tremendous spectacle Of serried
masses Of close-ranked men, brilliant
uniforms, tossing plumes and banners
and officers leading with sabers in the
air and directing dashing charges. The
day for this kind Of warfare has passed,
and the whole aspect Of war, as dra-
matte exhibition, has changed. The en-
gagements in South Africa bear no re-
semblance to those of past history. The
scene is unrelieved by single dash Of
color. The soldiers and officers alike
wear a costume of a dun shade, which
blends easily into almost any back
ground. Not even a shoulder-strap is
worn, and flags have been discarded.
Troops are almost never played into
action, and no heroic drummer boys
lead the line Of advance. Officers and
men alike carry rifles, and there is no
saber-waving. The thrilling spectacle
Of q frontal assault, the advancing
force marching rhythmically shoulder
to shoulder, is entirely out Of the ques-
ton. In fact, war has been robbed of
most Of it's martial glory. 1t is matter
of business-of manual labor in making
trenches, Of keeping the laborers fed,
of having good hospital service and of
taking as few risks as possible. The
man who stands up to be shot at may
be heroic, but he doesn't help win bat
ties; he isn't fighting on modern lines.
The modern soldier has absolutely no
chance at the kind Of fighting which
consists in overcoming opposition by
exercising his own strength. A disin-
terested bullet from wholly impartial
and unprejudiced soldier a mile away
may drop him while he is wetting his
lips with his canteen. His business is
to take the fewest possible risks, to
work his rife with mechanical precis-
ion and put up with any hardships Incl
dental to the job. The modern Soldier,
in fact, is no longer a sculptor's model;
he is an earnest laboring man, and dur
ing working hours he looks the part.
A Sympathetic Princess.
The following story about the Arch
duchess Valerie Of Austria is told by
the Vienna correspondent of the Lon
don Morning Post. A short time ago