New-York tribune., 1908-01-29
MISTRESSES TO BLAME.
Ignorant House7ciues Mean Ignorant
Maids. Says Mrs. Judge.

W0ids, SGyS MrS. JudSf.
The servant problem is the most complicated
problem of this complicated life That much was
decided by the Society for Political Study at It's
meeting at the Hotel Astor yesterday afternoon.
As to how the problem should he met opinions
various.
Mrs John H. Judge started the discussion with
a paper on Immigration and the Domestic Prob
iem.''
Good n,istresses make good servants. she said
"Injudicous mothers make great deal OF ms
chief by teaching their daughters that they are
too good to work. For my part I think it does
girl no more harm TO scrub floor than 1t does
to go a party and dance twelve numbers Girls
must learn how TO work. The mistress must know
how things should he done, or she can expect
good work from her servants
Mrs Judge said she believed in immigration L
used to say Stop immigration hut since I've
read UP and found out how much immigrants nave
done for this country say it no longer
Nevertheless. with all the immigration, Mrs
Judge was pessimistic about the servant supply.
The Irish girls took interest in our homes
than any cthers.'' she said. but Ireland is get
ting depopuiated Few OF them are coming over
Swedish servants cold and calculating. and
besides. they always go off and join the Salvation
Army the first chance they get The German EN-
peror is putting stop to the emigration Of young
from Germany, don't get many of
those.
NO doubt if 2ooo or seHo Chinese were al
lowed TO come into country we'd be well sup
piled with servants. but do not want the Chi
nese. with their their ideas of morality, in our
homes with our little c; iIdren? I think not.
1T is often suggested that have men-white
mentor domestic servants. But men don't make
practical clever servants. and besides. added
Mrs. Judge. men cannot be expected TO do the
downright drudgery that women have always
done
Sardonic laughter from the audience
Mrs Judge declared schools good for
training girls to do housework. The conditions
in school and home are SO different It's ike
learning bridge from the book. The hand de
scribed in the book is never the one you get
Servants must be trained in the home. and
let mfstresses remember that servants human
if they do do hard work. Servants have shown
more loyalty to the families they serve than fam
flv friends have shown. Remember that We
are absolutely dependent the servant class for
our comfort. Let not treat them as If they
were prisoners. And don't blame them because
they want to dress better than servants did in
former times. Mistresses want to dress better too
why shouldn't servants? I hope the clubs Will
take up the servant problem" Mrs Judge ended
Women have got to settle il, for the men are so
busy with themselves that can't ask them to
do it,
A woman in brown arose TO ask if housework
could be made conducive to the higher thought
81 don't see how washing greasy dishes can ever
no ANYTHING bot drudgery,' she maintained
I've known women who belonged to many clubs
and were very refined. and who did every DIT OF
their own work. said Mrs. Judge, and who made
It beautiful by the way they did it.
Yes that's all right" retorted tie woman in
brown you can do your own work beautifully.
but how about doing work in another woman
kitchen?"
Apparently every one had forgotten the answer,
for none was forthcoming.
Mrs Lille Devereux Blake dldn pehe'e III shu'-
ting the Chinese out
some Of those Orientals have splendid brains.
she asserted.
LET them keep en- in their own country inter
rolsted A woman in the of the room
81 predict."- said Mrs. Blake. with ferVor' tnat
in two hundred year. humans will all be one
fine grand race. and nobody will know what ma
tionslitv he descended from.
Mrs Joseph Augustin Cozzino brought the discus
sion back to the servant problem. she dld not
believe in too relations between mistress
.nd servant Il could make myself an aSso-
c;ation with such persons" she said. we wouldn't
match IN in vibrations. / believe the servant
question would be settled If the North and South
u-ould co.operate to establish schools in the South
for teaching negroes TO do house~ork 1hen ne
.roes are fitted by nature to serve Let them
he taught the common things. Have thelr hiath
n1atics restricted to counting up TO one hunoreo'
but teach them how TO work
Mrs Judge offered a resolution providing that
the CITY Federation Of Womsns tiubs-or tle oo'
ciety for Political Study If the federation dd not
cara to take the matter up-should form d 40
r,estc service committee, empowered TO give cert
Gates duly signed and countersigned. to every ser
want whom her mistress had found honest Ia''h-
f,,l and willing" IT decided to ask the 1ed-
Grafton to do this. Then every one went down 70
the tea room to have tea with the speaker OF Inc
day.