New-York tribune., 1907-10-05
ENCAPLNG nREDGERY

Authorities agree that the ever tempestuous
! problem of instilling into the hearts of Amer
| lean women a deep ana abiding love for house
hold work will never be solved until the bane
of drudgery is banshed from kitchen, nursery
and sewing room. With low priced matinees,
whist clubs and bargain sales Haunting their
allurements daily, how stern must be the moral
| fibre of the matron who sticks herOically 10 the
broom and the sewing machine, And with the
| easy hours and social advantages Of shop and
! factory employees confronting her, how brave
must the servant girl be who resolutely main
tains her stand at the sink whence all but she
have fed What householder. crushed by the
! imperiousness OF the help" and impoverished by
the undomestic tastes Of his better half, will not
reel with ecstasy over the announcement that
method of eliminating drudgery from the home
and restoring more than its ancient zest TO do
nestle activities has at last been found? We
would not arouse vain hopes, but the confession
made by two young women before the Long
Island City court last Wednesday should sug-
gest to any intelligent man the means of restor-
ing the old-fashioned home, with the lady Of the
house eXuting in her duties and the servants
singing cheerily above the rattle of china.
The two young women whose Idea may amend
the family constitution of the United States
were hailed TO court because they had been
camping OUT at the expense of the surround
ing countryside. When asked why they had
become bold bandits they affirmed ii was merely
through desire to escape household drudgery.
Hard work had no terrors for them, as may be
seen from their two months career of living In
shack near Flushing Bay, borrowing" fine
pullets, garden truck and laundry from the inno
cent Arcadians thereabOuts and painfully bak-
ing potatoes and scOrching steaks a bonfire
on rainy nights. No, it was the monOtony and
absurd proprlety of household work that drove
the young women to revolt With maddening
regularity the family alarm clock aroused them
To the dull task of receiving bottles from the
milkman, chops from the butcher and soled
dishes from a placid satiated family. The
spirit of a million nomadic, thrilling years clam
ored for release An old story, certainly, but
why hasn't the Man-WhO- -Pays-the- Bills thought
of it while cudgelling his wits for an answer to
the rvant-housewife puzzle? Doesn't he see
that these young ladies have told him what to
d5r No longer should he write his liner thus:
Quiet. respectable girl wanted for small, In
offensive family. No work. High pay. Old
age pension" The thing to do is to dash off
a soul stirring want ad" after the following
pattern: "Wanted-A clever servant who can
keep the family in provisions and clothing.
mo salary, but we pay the lawyer in case of
trouble May have shack in back yard and
liberal percentage OF goods garnered by mem
'bers of the family"
AS for your wife, tell her that the world owes
her living and she must collect her own bills.
Buy or borrow" q brace of fierce dogs to argue
with the police when human debate fails. Turn
your house into a souvenir gallery, where Jones's
overcoat the Smiths rugs and Murphy's silver
are displayed 10 your admiring but cautious
friends If this doesn't abolish drudgery and
make the home the most interesting and at
tractive spot in the eyes of all women it will
be because our nation has already gone far
on the road TO the sausage makers that red
blood no longer courses in our veins.