The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1910-08-09
BY ANN adams
ARTICLE NO 2

There was peculiar interest at
tached to being literally cast into
the streets foa strange city, sick
friendless, and with only $2.36 In
my pocket, by woman who posed
| before her clubs as a humanitarian
and philanthropist with special con
Germ in the welfare of working
girls.
This experience cdme to me
when | was a housemaid or second
girl in one of the homes located
in fashionable and exclusive resi-.
dence district. This woman, who
keeps up club appearances by writ
ing papers on the problems Of the
day. after she has had her 9
o'clock breakfast served in her
room, did not carry out in the
management of her household the
same ideas that she expressed to
her lorgnetted club sisters.
She refused to permit me to wear
a wrap to protect myself from the
raw wind while scrubbing a porch
floor. TO keep up the esthetic rep
utation of her house was more to
my mistress than to subject her
maid to pneumonia and perhaps
death. She could get new maids,
but the overstepping of what she
considered conventional line
might have caused her to drop a
couple of notches in the standard
of propriety which she and her
friends maintained.
So | caught cold.
AS was washing dishes in the
china closet Wednesday after
lunch, the missus," as the cook
called her, came in
You feel rather ill, don't you?"
she questioned.
1t was the first personal word
she had given me during my serv-
ice to her.
81 do feel sick" l confessed
Are you going out this after
noon?" asked my mistress.
NO" said l. Il have no friends
to visit"
well, I'm afraid you are going
to be sick" said she, 80 you had
better take your afternoon out and
not come back. You might see a
Doctor"
l thought Of the 81 cents and the
postage. stamp my pocketbook then
contained.
Il think I owe you $2.15,' said
my employer. laying the money
among the dishes l had washed.
But, madam" exclaimed
where shall l go? What shall
do? l know practically no one in
the town, as you are aware"
There are the charity wards at
the hospitals" she said vaguely,
moving toward the door.
But no charity ward would &C
cept me. l am not i'll enough"
We'll. I'm sure | don't know"
she said; there are working girls
homes and things. | suppose you
could try the Y. w. c. A."
Where is the Y. w. G. Az" l
asked.
"You really should not expect
me to answer your questions.
Why don't you ask your young man
who was sitting out here with you
the other night?" asked the mis-
tress of the kitchen.
81 do not know that young man
well enough to care to tell my
troubles to him. | answered.
II dare say he would be perfectly
willing to look after you for a few
days" She threw the insult at me
as her silken skirts swished
through the pantry door.
How longed to forget that l
was only a servant, and say to her
as woman to woman what I
thought of her writing club papers
on universal Sisterhood," and be-
fore the ink was dry, treating one
of her own household so uncharit-
ably!
The only caller l had during my
service to Mrs. was a man
who spent an hour with me in the
kitchen one evening after my work
was done. He was the friend of
a girl knew In another city and
she had asked him to call. Most
of his visit was taken up with my
butter balls.
Oh. those butter balls!
They were the bane of my exist