The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-10-15


time next morning. which is about the
same thing. Most of them belong to
societies and take great pride in wear
ing badges and in marching" BY the
rules of their societies they divide up
their labor of a household, SO as to
make it necessary for the family to
have a cook, housemaid. nurse,
driving servant, etc.
I'm d nurse, but I can't cook a
sixteen year old girl will say. I'm
cook, but / can't clean up the house."
the slouchy looking, odoriferous
daughter of Africa will say. I'll cook
for so much Il month"; but l has a ba-
py and III have to go home between
breakfast and dinner and, then, agin,
after dinner, to nuss my baby"
Are you married ?" the inquiry IS
made by one of the parties of the
first part.
20. yes Use a married lady, but
my husbands gone to South Caro-
ma"
So the married lady with baby
to look after, and her husband gone
to South Carolina, is duly lnsta led
as cook. She is, if you believe he;
statement, HrSt-cIass; and julging By
her movements, for the nrSt ha4t day
you could not doubt it. In tnlt Tune
she will tel. how many white wu-
men she has cooked for, how mean
hey all are, ana why she quit this
and that one, finally reaching tae
climax, in her conversation by sayinm:
as good cook as anybody, If has
the Citing out o'things, myself, and
de white oman don't stand 'rodnd
when I'm cooking; but | won't cook
fer nobody shat measures out tho
flour and counts the biscuits, locks
the pantry door and takes the keys,
cause Use u lady. / is.
one of that ciass Won't stay but u
Few days. and Mnen she iedVes--or
rdtneT Mnen she IS gone you will be
more than apt To ma lndL Something
eise has gone, d spOon,a fork, a gob.et
or TWO, cup and saucer, jar OIL pre-
serves, or something which you We're
sure you had before that lady" came.
Why don't We go out and look for
the lady cook. with a baby, whose
husband lives in South Carolina?
In the nrsU pace we don't know
her name as the name she gave us
may have been, and, most likely was
an assumed one; and in the second
place, it is impossible 10 understand
from her description of the place,
where she lives. When one drops out,
it would take a mighty smart detec-
tive to find her.
Yes, the servant business is giving
trouble; but, like everything else, IL
can be reduced to system if proper
There ought to be an understanding
among them to offset the societies
Md lodges, of the colored people,
which pass de rule as they say, that
tolregulate the servant business.
As matters now are, one neighbor
will hire anothers cook not knowing
her to be such; and that too without
any notice having been given, by the
said cook to the mistress she is leav-
ing.
1t is a common occurrence to hire
servants of whom the employer has
no knowledge, other than the state
ments made by them, which state
ments in most cases, prove TO be
false
To remedy these and all other diff
ficulties. the employers of the SER
wants, Cooks especially should en-
ter into a league. to require of every
applicant for service a recommends
ton, as to the general character and
fitness for the position. To this end,
there ought to be in every town and
city labor bureaus which, by the con-
sent of those who employ servants,
should be required to acquaint them
selves with every person seeking en-
ployment and be able to give a recon-
mendation setting forth, in said rec
ommendation, the grade of services
the proposed cook or house servant
is able to render; and vouching for the
reliability of such servant, as may have
been obtained from former employer.
And it ought to be required, that, If
a servant leaves place without CIV
ing due notice of such intention, it be
reported to the bureau, and an entry
made of it, as a demerit. And then
the employers of servants should OBJ
ligate themselves to employ none but
those who bring recommendations.
/ don't suppose our people Will put
themselves to the trouble and expense
of setting up bureaus and or regulat-
ing the servant business, but will let
it go on as it is and the housekeep-
ers will continue to worry along as
best they can. Il am clearly OF
the opinion however, that the sugges-
ton made above would be beneficial
to both employers and those wishing
to be employed and sooner or later
something like this will be adopted.
Vanity Fair immortalized itself by
a mock trial and the putting of a good
man to death. Vanity Fair and the
old Scotch Fair, at Laurel Hill, were
the first fairs l ever heard of; and,
to tell the truth, / was not favorably
impressed with fairs. AT the one they
put good man to death because his
quiet demeanor and Cody conversa-
ton rebuked the Vanities and friv-
olities in which the people were en-
gagged at the other, as / got the idea,
when a boy, they didn't have many
exhibits, such as they may have had
at Vanity Fair, but they had a frolic
that lasted week or two, in the
midst of which they played havoc with
Kirk rules; for all good Scotchmen
and Scotch women, as well. of those
days. were bound to have good
time, if they did have to repent lit
tie after the fair was over. Yes,
heard of those fairs when l was a
small boy; but 1 never saw real
fair until the first exhibit made by
the North Carolina Agricultural So
ciety, away back in the fifties. l was
a young man before l saw that fair,
and, of course, it was to me most
wonderful sight. But unless he lives
away back in the country, remote
from the railroads almost every boy
ten years old and upwars has been
a fair, of some sort.
But all the people, everywhere, in
North Carolina, have not seen the
capital of their State nor the State