The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1907-06-29
Copyright by J. B. Bowles.)

Jerome The Jamesons' and 1.-The
Portion of LabOr.@)
The conditions of the problem are
very simple, the solution, of course, not
so simple: solutions never are, other
wise no problem. Still, the solution,
or a solution, may seem evident
enough, and all the trouble consist in
the extreme inconvenience, not to say
impossibility, of putting it to prac-
tical application. 1t is perfectly easy
to say that two and two make four,
fully to understand that two and two
make four, but there may be conditions
under which it is we'll nigh impossible
to make the four. Perhaps the factors
will not combine at all or not without
an explosion.
Often with the servant problem it
may be quite evident what the difficult
ty is, at least generally speaking. A
thoughtful and discriminating woman
who has tried housekeeping herself, or
made an intelligent study of it's re-
quirements, soon reached the conclu-
sion that the simplest and most print
tive household tasks require brains and
no small allowance of them. In real
ity she discovers that brains are more
necessary in the kitchen than physical
strength.
A stupid servant cannot even sweep
room skillfully. She will inevitably
scatter the dust and lint that comes as
mysteriously as the wind in the new
testament and as defantly, where il
listeth, all over the furniture and
walls, instead of into the vague out-of'
door limbo of dust, whence it prob
ably returns, but that cannot be
helped; it makes the task of servitude
perennial. 1t is essential at all events
that it be banished thither, but no I'm.
skilled, brainless servant can effec1
that
You can teach her to the best Of
your ability. You can say: "Now
Abigail, you must take this and cover
that; you must dust first; you must
| sweep so and So" It will all be fruit
less unless Abigail has a receptive ant
intelligent order of mind, and usually
she will not have it. If she does pos
sess that order of mind she will be al
a typewriter machine or sewing ma
| chine, or in a schoolroom or a mil
liners or photographer parlor, in.
stead of your kitchen. She may be
prinked and pert behind counter. I1
any case, wherever else they may be
the brains are not in your kitchen, I'm.
less you have fortunately struck the
exception to prove the rule. If Abigail
had possessed brains she would al
once have proceeded to attempt some.
thing which she could not do half as
we'll as she might have done you,
homework and, if she had only sc
viewed it, without half the glory.
A good domestic is such rara avis
that she ought to have prestige like
any other rare thing, but she has il
not, and one cannot blame her, but so.
ciety, for her wrong estimate of the
! desirability of domestic service. No.
body, that is, nobody in this country
and especially the American born, il
as rule going into your kitchen te
work if she has mental ability. The
mental ability presupposes ambition
and the ambition in this country
means to an Abigail a position in
which the doors of certain class shall
not be closed to her on account of hel
calling.
Everybody with wit has an emula.
tive eye and a ready foot for the nex1
step above him in social caste. AS E
rule all others have either been crushed
by circumstances into passiveness, OF
they are really too dull to comprehend
that they are not all which they might
reasonably desire and have not thu
most desirable position. They are toe
stupid to be ambitious and stay where
their conditions of life happen to toss
them, like leaves too inert to be stirred
by any gust of wind, with neither mo-
ton of their own nor capability of re.
ceiving motion from others.
These are they to whom you pay $12
s14 or more month for walking the
aimless, hopeless treadmill of your
kitchen, to do labor without compre.
hending either it's object or itself, like
the crudest, rudest machine conceiv.
able. We have advanced immeasur-
ably in our inventions, our printing
presses, our 'typewriters, all our labor.
saving and perfecting machines, but
the servant still dates back to the days
4 of the handioom and the spindle,
OF course I do not speak OF trained
English and French servants or Amer
lean servants with like training o.
i. of those employed in situations where
wealth can command goodly allow
ance Of ability in this as in other di
rections. Wealth can do almost any
i: thing. #:''%ss :ss#az5z3. = -
&. 1T speak Of the usual servant Al
usual wages il: the families o.
s moderate means who have the sever;