The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-03-29

handing servants Of her own in the
future because such a sudden trans
formation is inconceivable to her. She
may expect to marry some time a
man of her own class who will at best
have charge only of a small farm or
be engaged in a small trade. In
either case she hopes that her present /
mistress will be her future patron SO
that her faithfulness is not quite free
from self-interest.
A number of young college women
belonging to economic organizations
recently have engaged themselves as
servants with the object Of determ-
ming by their own experience just
how the servant girls of this country
are being treated. The late Garcia
Woerishoffer, whose untimely death
has been so greatly regretted by phi
lanthropists, was interested especially
in such Investigations. Upon going to
a large seaside resort several years
age, she was disappointed in meeting
the friends she had expected, so in
stead of going to a hotel alone she
decided to solicit work. In plain skirt
and shirtwaist she had little difficult
ty in securing a place as waitress
with q woman who had some boarders
and the usual difficulty in securing
help. Miss Woerishoffer served din
ner that Saturday and assisted in
washing dishes afterward to the great
relief of her employer, who had feared
the work woul devolve upon her.
She then asked to be shown to her
room and was told that she was to
sleep in the basement with the cook.
She declined to do that, saying that
she must have a bed to herself or she
would leave. AS her services We're
especially needed on Sunday, her en-
ployer yielded to the extent Of giving
her a worn out cot in an attic room.
The next morning she served break
fast and afterwards worked hard put
ting the dining room and pantry in
order, even polishing a lot of unused
silver which the mistress unearthed,
having been neglected by the former
waitress. lit was nearly 4 o'clock when
the dishes were washed after dinner
and the cook, chambermaid and walt
ress were in her opinion entitled to
a little outing upon the beach. She
mentioned this as they ate their be-
lated meal and was told that there
would not be a minute to spare as
they had o get ready for the enter
tainment that the mistress always
gave on Sunday evenings. The young
investigator then ound that this en-
ployer never willingly allowed any
time off but expected her servants to
be in constant attendance during the
entire "a hours; the cook upon sew
eral occasions having been called out
of bed to prepare a meal for an eX-
pected guest. Yet they had no con-
v%eniences nor even comfortable sleep
ing places at night. Her righteous
Indignation becoming thus aroused
she promptly approached her en-
ployer and told her that she was cav
ing Immediately, at the same time eX-
pressing her opinion rather forcibly
regarding the unjust obligations i'm
posed upon the other two employees.
While hardships such as these are
found by many servants there are
thousands of considerable mistresses
who daily are being imposed upon
by i~ncompetents who demand eXor-
bitant wages for little work, who
leave upon the slightest excuse and
who are wasteful and e~Xtravagant
when they are not positively dishon-
est. The increase in the wages asked
by domestic workers now is to many
h~ousekeepers an important factor in
the increased cost of living. The wo-
men in professional classes whose
husbands incomes are little if any
higher than that of a past generation,
and who by their positions are COM
PEELED to maintain the same standard
of living, very often find it a diff
cult matter to make their household
allowances pay from $40 to $40 more
a month for less service han half
that sum used to buy. And yet the
maids who show any consideration
for their mistresses in his connection
are few indeed.
In cities where the apartment has
largely superseded the house, the
sleeping quarters of the maid present
a problem. Few mistrcsses actually
go to the extent of requiring the ser
want to sleep upon the ironing board
laid over the bathtub, as a foreign
born maid wrote home she was ex-
pected to, but sleeping quarters in
high priced apartments are usually
not for the maid. Consequently she
must sleep in hired lodgings outside.
These are difficult to obtain at prices
within the reach of a servants in
come. This condition is one of the
serious modern developments of the
| servant problem. Upon the other hand
l many girls prefer sleeping outside be-
| cause of the liberty it gives them to
be out late as they please, unrestrict-
ed by rules usually imposed by the
! mistress upon the maid who rooms in
the house in which she is employed.
This is especially true of negro SER
wants.