Perth Amboy evening news., 1913-03-03
GOLDEN RULE
FOR SERVANTS
Rev. ]. H. horthrup Tells How
to Solve Problem.

| THE solution OF the domestic help-
er problem lies In the application OF
| the Golden Rule" said Rev. James II.
Northrup in his second sermon in the
series on THE Home" at the First
| Presbyterian church, last night. He
took as his subject THE Servant In
| the House" Mr.. Northrup stated
| that though of course he would be
expected to say this, that most OF
numerous replies to queries from
him on the subject suggested the ap-
| plication Of this rule. Extracts from
letters written by many prominent
Perth Amboy women were read by
| the pastor, among these being the
president and other members OF the
Woman's Club and the instructor OF
the Domestic Science Department of
the public schools.
| Mr.. Northrup first took up the orr
gin of the servant problem. He
stated after the Civil war the country
entered on an era of prosperity that
attracted foreigners to the United
States, many of whom sought domes-
tic employment families, who here
tofore had done their own household
work then employed these immi-
|
after which servants became an es-
sential factor in the household of
many families. One employment
agency for domestic help, he stated,
fills as many as thirty places week
In this city. Even those who know
little about the work of the house
hold and the culinary art receive
from s12 to SIS per month wages.
Coming to the gist of his subject
he said, but wages are not the real
problem; 1t Is matter of getting and
keeping them and establishing con-
genial relations with them" He
suggested tolerance, kindness and
forbearance; In other words, the ap-
plication of the Golden Rule, which
had been approved by number OF
heads of domestic households in the
city ''If you are worth while you
have to do things you do not want to
do" he said.
Many little things which do not
ip1ease the mistress of the household
should be put up with for the sake
of harmony, he thought. The pastor
said that the partition between the
servant and mistress Is less thick to-
day than in olden times, when 1t re-
quired two or three generations for
the former to reach the plane CT the
latter, when today it in many in
stances, requires only one or two de-
cades.
But one woman stated that the do
mestic helper given an inch would
take a mile and the better you treat
them the worse they treat you. An
other thought that too much graft
tude could not be logically expected
of the maid. She wrote: "Yhey Ger
tainly lack gratitude, but we must
understand that gratitude is very
high quality of mind absent in most
people," why should we expect
such gratitude in our maid,' said
Mr.. Northrup, "as most of them are
young" "Look at our children, do
we expect 1t of them?"
- System in the household duties was
another suggestion CLEAN from the
communications. The pastor elabor-
ated on this point, stating that when
the weekly afternoon for the maid to
be off comes around that such after
noon should be granted unless nec-
cessarilly unavoidable; that there
should be an understanding between
the mistress and the servant as to the
procedure in the work, whether 1t Is
to be done by the formers methods
: or by the latters. The mistress
should understand the store In her
/, pantry and not order a variety of
, bread for breakfast when the neces-
sary ingredients are within the house
only to have to later countermand
that order.
Most of the repliers did not deem
woman suffrage as an incentive to
the better performance OF the house
hold duties by the helpers. The
community kitchen and laundry, as
: tried successfully In Swede en-. was not
indorsed by those who wrote to the
pastor.
In promoting harmony between the
, , employer and the helper Mr.. North.
!, rup suggested that personal rela
! tion rather than a business connec.
/, , ton, should be maintained between
the two. He spoke of an article by
servant girl which described hel
, room In the attic with dingy wal
paper and holey carpet. The pastor
deprecated this and said, "That girl
for the time being, has your house
for her home and her room should
, be fitted up with the ordinary con
!. veniences that person needs" The
individual ideas of the maiC abou
her work should be recognized In the
,, maid and she should be allowed the
expression of them, thought the pas
, tor.
He highly praised the following ex,
tract from letter which he thought
was resume of the personal feeling
which should exist between the mis-.
tress and maid: when there is any,
one that resides in my house feel a
personal responsibility for that per
SON" THE relation between the
two, the pastor said, "should be that
brotherhood feeling of helper and
learner"