Omaha daily bee., 1911-06-04
MEETING SERVANT PROBLEM
Some Remarks on the DOemstic Adj
wiser and the Ideal House.
keeper.

A certain western woman believes her
self to be the first domestic adviser in the
country. Her adoption of what may be
called her profession was the result Of
necessity. for, being left a widow with
one small daughter and casting about her
for livelihood, she could think of nothing
but housekeeping on which she could rely
as a means Of earning a living. For
while she thought there was literally no
chance for her but when she applied for
the place OF housekeeper at every respect
able hotel in her native city and found no
place for her, 1t seemed discouraging.
Through an intelligence office she got
days work at cooking, housework, wash
ing and sewing, which was hard for one
who had had her own home. However,
she made the best of it, but she came to
the unavoidable conclusion that the chief
reason why servants stayed so short
time in one place was because so little
was done to make them comfortable, and
she began work on this problem by help
ing both mistress and maid. All this time
she was studying at school of household
economics and, securing her certificate.
she began her crusade in the interest of
employer and employed by advertising
that she would give advice and work to
straighten domestic relations between
them, 1t was a success, and now she has
office hours and makes appointments to
visit houses where there is trouble with
servants, find the cause ad instruct the
employer. She gives one case as an ex-
ample, a woman in New York. This is
what she found:
The kitchen was in disagreeable CON
in wa ttta ell
of all sorts. Indeed, l don't believe there
was clean article in it. There were the
usual cockroaches in evidence. AS We
looked things over the young lady told me
that she had had twenty eight maids dur
ing her short married life. Not one of
them had remained more than two weeks
and the majority had left at the end of
the first day, When l asked where the
maid slept, she explained that one serv-
ants room for that apartment was on the
top floor. Because of that fact she had
used the room on the same floor with her
apartment which was evidently intended
for a maid, for a smoking room She
said she and her husband preferred to
have the entire apartment to themselves
When we reached that maids room
under the roof l was surprised. 1t was
one-half feet There was no way Of heat
1ng it and besides the skylight the only
hight was from a single gas jet placed
SO high up that l had to stand on my
toes to reach it. The room contained one
chair, single bed and a table which
took the place Of both washstand and
dressing table. The mirror and mattress
were both good; had to admit that much
haVf fnIN ,Hlt
and inconsiderate housekeeper that 1 had
never seen poorer accommodations for
servant in a respectable house; and when
l further ascertained that there was
several course luncheon, that the dinner
hour was and there were guests three
or four times a week, told this incom-
petent housekeeper she must get a second
maid and divide the work"
A great deal of instruction and advice, |
by strenuous scrubbing and clean
ing, in order that the kitchen might be
decent for the entrance of new maid,
had an effect, and the domestic adviser
watched the ignorant and thoughtless
bride arrange a better room for the pro-
spective maid, with better furniture, q
promise that luncheons and dinners should
require less labor, and that the maid
should have her afternoon a week, her
partial freedom on Sunday, and q whole
day once a month. 1t would have been
quite interesting to know whether the
young housekeeper was converted to a
more sensible and Christian course.
Another side to the housekeeping ex-
perts duties lies in her being called "to
prescribe for the servants of my regular
clients usually finding 1t a case of the
blues rather than a real grievance" IT,
however, there lie real trouble this adviser
acts as go-between for mistress and maid
and usually is able to arrange matters.
Another side of her work is told by the
woman as follows:
Il have four clients who pay me to make
monthly visit to their help, 20 through
the home, inspect every department. and
when necessary make suggestions for i'm
provements. Though let everyone know
that am able and willing to work to take
the place Of the disappearing domestic,
have many more calls to set things straight,
break in new maids and keep old ones con-
tented than to do their work. Within a
few years 1 expect to see domestic help
getting the same hours and wages as are
given to factory workers and saleswomen
When this happens you will see a change
IN the uoe MAKE the hours and the re-
Enumeration the same, and the average girl
will take homework before she will go into
the factories"
The ideal housekeeper has no need for
this adviser. There is one, for example
who has had her cook for twelve years
The reason why is not far to seek. She re-
quires that service shall reach a certain
standard, and her two servants willingly
comply, for this mistress never makes any
unjust demands. The maids have their
Sundays out from breakfast time, and ev-
cry evening through the week. Because
they may have the evenings, they rarely
take them.
On Sundays they do not return to find
dining-room and kitchen a weller OF dirty
dishes, as is too often the case when the
Sunday out is given. The family get the
meals and clear away the dishes, leaving
dining-room and kitchen in neat condition
Washing and ironing days the breakfast
dishes are washed and put away for the
maids. Then the girls have their own sit
tng-room4 bathroom and separate sleep
ing rooms. not under the roof, either. The
result Is that there are no ructlons in the
kitchen-the maids stay on year after
year, and mistress and maids are friends
Springfield Republican.