The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-15

the servant problem is just being tried
 here. This problem, by the way. Is
 one of the most serious of all those
 which perpiex the city. since fifty
 seven per cent of the persons desiring
 them are unable to obtain competent servants. and the average time which
 the household helper remains Tn one
 place is less than two months It iS estimated by employment agencies that the. average servant takes at least
 seven different positions every year.
 and that twenty-five per cent of their time is spent in looking Tor new places
 with resultant changes of more than
 5000 daily. This of course does not
 mean that there are l,00O,OO0 servants
 seeking places in New York, Since a
 large number change oftener than
 once a week. The Housewives socie-
 ty which has been organized to cope
 with this servant problem will attempt to counteract the tendency among ser wants to change situations constantly by offering series of awards for con- tinuous service for terms ranging from
 two to twelve years. For the latter term of continuous service rings and cash prizes are given. Prizes for shorter periods Include bracelets. orders for clothes and the like. For two years continuous service solid gold bees in the form of pins are given. As an indication of the condition of this city the fact that only thirty-one bees. four bracelets and one ring were awarded at the first presentation of prizes is significant. Tn other. words the society which found positions for
 900 servants last year has been able to discover only thirty-one who have occupied the same position for two years and only one who has done so for twelve years.
 A good deal has been said of late ab out the enormous expense Of tne public service commission of this state. The fact that the cost of its nainten-' ance amounts to about tA,0OO a day was used repeatedly during the past campaign as an argument against ". But whether the commission itself be regarded as successful or unsuccessful figures just collected throw new light on the matter by proving that tnis body is not so expensive after all. AS a matter of fact, the annual increase of expense due to it's existence fs only S94,000. a sum very considerably less tan s1.2o0,ooo generaily cited as me proper figure. Before the creation or the two public service commissions, the various unrelated commissions working. which then existed to- deal with the same sub biects. were main- tained at an annual expense of el,loe,. s4s. Of this tho Rapid Transit Com mission got ss2f.4ss; the Railroad Com- mission. $I0l,57s; the Gas and Electric Commission, Sso.iTt, and the state ln- spector of Gas Meters, $2s.44o. As compared to the total Of expenses for these vari0us commissions that of the two new public service commissions performing not only all the duties of their predecessors, but additional ones as well, Is el,201s143. an increase of s94.4ss. Tn view of the billions Of dollars of investment in public ser. vice corporations which come under the direction of the Commission, this can hardly be called an extravagant outlay.
 The old saying that there Is no easy road to wealth has just received surprising contradiction in this city. All that ia necessary, apparently. is 10 secure job As street car conductor. Many conseetures have been made as knock down during days run. and the arrest this week of a street car conductor has thrown some positive and surprising light on. the matter Un- fortunately for himself, this man, for some time kept ledger showing his daily profits. The discovery of this account has, thersfore. at last indi- cated to 6 waiting world an easy man nerA of getting rich quickly. During eleven days this individual with an unfortunate fondhess for bookkeeping received s20.os as wages and knocked down s6s.s0 In fares entered on his books as "profts." Tn other words, his average daily wage was s2.2s cents and his average daily ''proft" from fares pocketed s5.77. This does not,