The Washington herald., 1907-10-10

The majority Of men viii tell you that
housekeeping IS business. like banking
or shopkeeping. and can be run on the
same rigid principles, but just let one
OF the number try Il for a little while
and you have convert TO the feminine
belief that no business in the world Of
fers the perplexities Of the domestic
problem.
To begin with. every business of i'm
portance is divided into departments, with
workers IN each. with clearly defined
duties and stipulated hours Of work.
No business IS transacted after hours.
despite the needs Of the public. and
there are hours when work can be for
gotten in a fresh atmosphere. a home
is business lasting through the whole
twenty-f0ur hours. and the tardiness Of
a member interferes with the smooth
running OF the machinery. There are de-
partmeuts enough 10 require force OF
workers. but one pair Of hands and one
brain is popularity supposed TO be equal
TO running them ALL
know Of d bridegroom who under
took the task Of teaching his new and
inexperienced wife how 10 conduct the
business Of home-making. lie as sue
cessful in the work which supplied his
income and was perfectly sure that all
that was needed to make an ideal home
was the application of strict business
methods to the work in his little home.
He did not openly blame his wife for
the frequent changes Of help but he
made her clearly understand that ig-
noranee on her part was the cause of
all the discomfort.
So they both welcomed a summons
from her mother to assist in taking
care Of a sick member OF the home cir
Gle, and the man began his self-im-
posed task OF securing a girl and break
ing her In 10 his ideas OF business meth
DDS He found a fine specimen of raw
material and spent valuable hours in
building her education on a firm foun-
datiOn of knowledge Of the small de-
tails of her work a month passed away
and he was able to assure his wife that
she would find treasure when she re-
turned.
Sure enough, she found her with her
belongings packed and ready for removal
to neighboring family which had learned
of her proficiency and tempted her with
higher wages. The average housekeeper
would see nothing startling in such an
incident, for it is not novel. but the man
who had given many dollars worth Of
time TO the girls education was angry
and disgusted. More than that he frankly
admitted his failure in dealing with the
home problem and wisely left matters to
his wife, who happened to be gifted with
good sense.
She sent for a friend Of her mother. an
experienced matron of calm nerves and
willing hands. and the education of the
mistress of the establishment began in
earnest. There was n maid in the house
till both women were satisfied that the
unexpected bitches in the domestic ma
chinery would create no panic. Then a
/ nOusewOrk girl was hired and the guest
left the bride to work out her own saliva
tion. At last report there had been moth
ing to mar the happiness of the family for
three years.
No better way Of meeting the vexation
Of being left without domestic assistance
has ever been found, and more than one
woman has felt the comfort Of being able
to keep the home machinery going after
she has been deserted by her assistant. If
one can calmly face a situation. ways and
means Will suggest themselves and the
circle of discomfort is correspondingly
narrower. Few women really like house
work. but a little of il should be accepted
like a dose of nasty medlcine-to remedy
an evil. In homes where annoyance can
be avoided there is no real necessity for a
domestic education, but the great ma
jority must recognize limitations in mon
ey and live according to them. After all,
is Il any harder than some Of the business
tasks men set themselves to provide the
comforts Of home?
BETTY BRADEEN.