The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1902-02-15
SLAVES TO THEIR SERVANTS.

1t is the opinion of housekeepers
sASBu TBS 81 5a&de a&e#e #SerYE6pt pFebf HBaHg ia H
its most serious aspect. Those who
dwell in the rural parts of the borough
Of The Bronx believed that the prob
lem could not become worse than they
had always known it. Every house
keeper of ten years standing in that
region has seen in the decade from
100 to $50 cooks and nurses enter and
leave the household. One such house
keeper, whose cooks and maids have
footed up nearly to the larger of these
numbers, sums up her ten years trib-
ulations in this fashion
eve have had servants of both
sexes and of many races and nations
native Americans, both black and
white; English, Scotch, Irish, Ger
man, Danish, Swedish, Morse and
Armenian. A few have stayed as
long as six months, two or three
stayed more than year, but most of
them stayed less than three months,
many less than month, several score
less than week, and few less than
a day.
"They were obtained through the
ordinary channels, through the rec
ommendation of friends, and through
charitable organizations. Some were
imported directly from the South
others came from Canada several
were found on the threshold of the
New World at Castle Garden two
came from the West Indies. One
who was sent from sort of correc-
tional home with high recommenda-
tions from the authorities, took the
first opportunity to run off with her
lover. One came from a New York
club and told scandalous stories of
Bohemian doings. We tried sisters,
then mother and son, then moth
er, son and daughter. A jealous
evangelical Christian from the domin-
ions and the Sultan came with a host
of grievances and manuscript history
of her native land. An English gen
tlewoman in reduced circumstances
came and pleased the household, but
was called home to England by i'm
proved fortunes.
"The partings were seldom violent.
One woman was carried, wild with
drink, from the house; a boy was
sent off because he drank tine cooking
sherry. Three or four maids disap-
peared before breakfast, and one be-
fore dinner. At least a score never
reached the house after having been
regularly engaged.
$50 many objected to the washing
that that was put out Others went
because breakfast was too early, and
others again because dinner was too
late. The former club servant COM
planned that there was too little COM
pany in the house, but most of her
successors complained that there was
too much. Some wished to be sout
every night and demanded latch
key others could not be induced to
venture into the grounds after dark.
One left the place because she saw
no one from one end of the week to
the other but the butcher and the
grocer.
1.-The difficulties of the earlier
years, however, seem trihing to those
of the last four months. In that time
six nurses and three cooks have been
tried, and three or four others have
been engaged but never appeared.
We offer and pay higher wages than
ever before, but dozens of women re-
fuse even to consider a place in the
suburbs, and others resolve to go as
soon as they see fields and woods in
stead of asphalt streets and paved
sidewalks. Those whom we would
keep are unwilling to stay, and these
who are willing to stay nobody would
have -