The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-01-08

A Summit avenue housekeeper talk
ed to T h e G o b e the other day
about the servant question and spoke
from a long experience:
1T is becoming a serious question in
st. Paul to obtain a good cook unless
one almost mortgages the house to
ray what she asks. And the demands
that are made upon the housekeeper
IL the way of privileges, afternoons
out to meet country cousins, or en-
tcrtaining sisters or aunts for days at
q time, are preposterous. St Paul
houSekeeperS, instead of being in con-
troll OF their kitchens, are like the veri-
est slaves, and many a woman trem-
bles when she bends her steps toward
the back of the house.
That story of the lady who went
to her own door one Thursday after
noon and when a pedlar asked, Is the
lady of the house at home" replied,
No, this is her afternoon out told
the exact truth. Why, it has gotten
so that I'm afraid to tell my cook
when I'm going to have a dinner of
even two q dare not invite anyone
Often) and l have a caterer in to as
sist sometimes when there is no need
simply because I'm afraid to tell her,
and more afraid she'll leave the very
night of the affair. We ought not in
this city to take green girls into our
houses without recommendations; they
don't do it in Chicago or New York;
there the servant must show a recon-
mendation or she doesn't get the
place.
But here we never think of such
a. thing, and, more than that we
patronize intelligence offices-wonder
why they are called intelligence Of
fees, by the way-that send out serv-
ants Of whom they know nothing and
without recommendations. An office
like that wouldn't last long in Chica-
so or New York. In this respect ST..
Paul is the most gullible and easiest
place L ever saw. We love to be
worked.
Il found a tea party of ten in my
kitchen the other night, and found,
too, l was furnishing the refresh
ments, but 1 dared not say a word, for
cooks are scarce and 1 was entertain
ing myself the next night. If she had
wanted to give her party on the same
night L suppose l would have had to
recall my invitations! We are slaves.
and what is the remedy? The wom-
EN- of st. Paul must come together
into an association for self-protection
and refuse to take any servant not
showing a recommendation from her
last place. Such an organization
could open an intelligence office which
would not belly its name and there
would then be some hope, though some
women would doubtless be in the
kitchen during the experiment. The
trouble Is, that women hate to have
their husbands come home and find
everything upset and a cold dinner or
none at all. For you would be sur
p'1Sed If you knew the number of
women We0 either can't or won't cook.
Dut change has got to come; some
thing must be done and done soon,
for half the nervous prostration that
we hear so much about comes from
nothing in the world but the strain
OF domeSticIty under present condi-
lions. If the ladies auxiliary would
drop the tea loom and open an INTEL
HSence office they would be doing a
good work"
The midwinter meeting of the State
Federation of Wornen's Clubs will be
held in st. Paul this year, and it has
been decided TO hold it in Cambridge
hall, in the Ryan annex which is the
headquarters of the Standard club
The club has not only a large assem-
bly, room of excellent size for the
luncheon, but 1t has Kitchen dining
room, ladies' cloak rooms, and several
other rooms which can be used for
the meeting of the executive board
which always precedes the luncheon
the various committees, and a large
reception room, where the officers can
receive the guests. This year it is to
be called a luncheon instead of a
breakfast, and it will be served by the
Standard club caterer, who has full
charge of the arrangements. Last
year there were nearly 800 at the
breakfast held at the armory of the
state university in Minneapolis, and
this year it is expected that fully 900
will attend. The executive board,
which formerly consisted of the gen.
eral officers and presidents of all fed
Grated clubs in the state, has been cut
down and now includes only the gen.
eral officers, and this will be the first