The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1907-09-15
Ion 10 ReceyYe - LaIl
r. EW and far between are the maids
E who come ready trained.
D.. Ex--o..F

r. Ew and far between are the maids
- who come ready trained
Sometimes it seem beyond
credence that mistresses should
have been training domesucs Nor so
many years with so few results 10 show
for it.
What has become of the servants that
were trained is almost as large a prob
lem as what becomes Of the pins.
OF course, some OF the maids get mar
ried. They always do when they are
ours.
Even the devaztauons OF matrimony
cannot altogether account for the pre-
vaicncc OF unframed help and the
pauCity of the wcll-drilled servants foI
whom We long.
Il am too old to train servants" I
heard a woman say the other day. TOO
cd and too busy When 1 was young
woman I used 10 take the greenhorns
when they hardly knew one end OF a
fork from the other. and drill them
into passable cooks and chambermaids
aad mattresses.
But now I refuse TO do It. The
younger women can take their turn
at work of that sort, now, but / have
earned my promotion, and I take them
already trained!'
This is a position many women would
be pleased 70 assume if they could
afford it,
Bat apart from the scarcity Of tho
trained service TO which ] have already
referred, that which IS satisfactory
comes high.
The servant vino has been drilled Ia
the right sort OF an establishment. and
who understands her duties, rightfally
asks and gets higher wages than INC
majority Of housekeepers can pay IN
the circumstances the only thing 10 be
done is for the housekecper 10 60 to
work and do her own training
In one way this is not an easy task,
except for those who genuinely love
housekeeping work in all its branches
and are either possessed OF long pa
tfence or are so fortunate as 70 secure
unusually good material to work upon.
suppose I might admit TO the cat
egorv the woman who does not care
how her house Is kept, or her work Is
done so long as in some way il is &C
compnshed: but I refuse to believe that
We have any Of tnis type on our roll
I'VE" are all conscientious and eager
sion of housekeeping. And big part
of this is connected with the training OF
servants
Expect ImperfectiOns.
The woman who has but one maid-of-
all-work has alike her trials and her
privileges. Sac can hardly hope 10 have
a Pooh Bah OF a domestic who is able
10 iii all branches OF household work.
s4a- u
been found, once IN a blue moon
The mistress must resign herself 20
imperfectIOns in the conduct Of her
household II tne maid is a good cook
she can hardly be perfection as a wait
Tess. and II she achieves success in
this line she will doubtless leave some
thing to be desired in her washing and
ironing. These are the drawbacks Of
the One-maid-ed house.
On the other hand, there are no quar-
rels in the kitchen where there is but
one maid. There are no jealousies. no
special privileges to be accorded one to
Offset something granted the other.
II is an cid saying that where more
than one is working one gets in the
others way. and there Is something in
it. More than this. the one general
a4tla1tFtD VI n manu. Al EAAE NC GCdAlF EcAA1-
factory. takes an interest in her en-
ployer that is seldom found when more
than one is employed.
These reflections are a comfort TO the
woman with one servant. and yet she
would put Up with the Inconvenience of
two for the comfort she would get from
them.
Whether there be one or two. how
ever, she must work at the training
and accustom her domestic staff to do
the work IN the way that viii suit the
mistress. not in the way that will please
them. unless they be exceptional in their
abilities.
I do not mean by this that the mis-
tress must have a fixed method to
which her servants must adhere. Often
have learned from my servants new
ways OF performing old tasks; and al
ways. when engaging a new maid.
give her a chance to try her way first
in the hope that it may prove IS good
as mine.
It is mistake to think that there Is
I /