The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-03-08

, the example of their more fortunate sisters
and have gone downtown to work at
writer. and those who need help in the
honsework are unable TO get any.
! The Woman's Training SchooI-where
there Is a servant agency-will tell YOU that
. there are no servants to. be had-and- all
the other agencies will tell the same story.
In my experience in teaching cooking to
poor girls in mission classes, ] Inevitably
met the remark: We don't want te be
cooks or housesirls-we are going to get
work downtown Not. until every hope
fails. until even sometimes girls purity
is lost will she consent to Apply for po-
sition as domestic servant.
There is one other symptom. Notice the
great number of boarding houses and of
families who either board all the time or
take. occasional meals in restaurants.
Shades of our grandfathers. What would
our pious ancestors think of women who
either couldn't or didn't want to do their
cooking at home? And that. too. in homes
where everything Is made easy: where. in
stead of carrying water from a well out of
doors, as was done in olden times, the hot
and cold water faucets stand conveniently
in kitchen and laundry; where the labor OF
cooking is minimized by the town baker. the
caterer, the carpet cleaner the laundry
and the general city accommodations such
as removal Of garbage and sprinkling of
streets
This. l take it. is what Mrs C,axon re-
fers to-the alarming recoil from the work
OF the house. as seen in the dependent
classes-and in the better class of girls, who
prefer to earn their own living rather than
work at home.
The cure for it can only lie in the way in
winch Homework must be regarded AS
more and more girls see the true dignity
Of homework. as result of the domestic
science lessons in the public. schools, in
missions-as they realize the interesting
scientific processes behind every simple
household fact. they will feel no disgrace in
working with these conditions, but rather
see the honor In it all.
"A servant with this clause
Makes drudgery divine ,l
Who sweeps a room as by thy laws
Makes that and the action fine.
''LISBETH GLADFELTER FISH"
Dorothy Koch says: what does Mrs
Claxen know of business woman's ability to
become an ideal wife If she has not had
the pleasure of being working girl and
this she certainly has not had. else she
would not disrespect her. She has not the
right to blunt girls ambition of becoming
If she becomes such she can never obtain
the position Of an ideal Wife, or cannot
hold the respect of man. A man Will GER
tainly look for a wife who has good COM
mon sense, one who knows how to econU-
mZe, both in dress and in the house. one
whose delight is neatness as well as one
who knows how to cook, sew and dc house
work in general. rather than the woman's
whose ambition is only sleep, fine dresses.
jewelry, carriages. and dislikes even TO hear
housework discussed. let alone know how to
do same.
THE best housewife. which would he the
ideal wife. is the business woman. for she
has had the experience which no woman
can gain who has not been into the bust
world: she appreciates home, her in
terest is in neat kitchen, a clean table
and her one ambition is the comfort of her
husband. If Mrs. ClaXon would help her
husband in his work with the needy and
poor and get among the class of working
people more. and place her interest in her
home instead of some affairs which she
cannot Judge she would elevate herself
much more in the eyes Of the common
public.
Il wish more of the working girls would
take an independent stand of this matter
al people VINO have such ideas al Mrs.
Claxon should certainly have them ban
ished for their own welfare We are all
born. but we are not dead As yet. and
what we might have to come TO do before
that time Is not known to any one. hence
we should not become too public in our
views of other people" - H