Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-30

! longing to economic organizations recent
| ly have engaged themselves as servants
with the object of determining by their
own experience just how the servant girls
OF this country are being treated. The
late Garcia WoershOffer, whose untimely
death has been so greatly regretted by
tphlianthroplsts. was interested especially
| In such investigations. Upon going to a
was disappointed in meeting the friends
she had expected. so instead of going to a
motel alone she decided to solicit work
In plain skirt and and shirt waist she
mad little difficulty in securing a place
as waitress with a woman who had some
boarders and the usual difficulty in Sc
curing help. Miss Woerishoffer served
dinner that Saturday and assisted in
great relief of her employer. who had
| feared that the work would 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 de-
clned to do that, saying she must have
bed to herself or she would leave.
AS her services were especially needed
SUNDAY. her employer yielded to the eX-
tent OF giving her WORKOUT cot in an
| attic room. The next morning she served
| breakfast. and afterward worked hard
putting the dining room and pantry in
order, even polishing lot of unused sill
yer Whlcn the mistress unearthed, hav-
| ing been neglected by the former wait
ress. 1t was nearly o'clock when the
dishes We're washed after dinner and the
cook, chambermaid and waitress were In
her opinion entitled to little outing
upon the beach. She mention this as
| they ate their belated meals and
was told that there would not be minute
| to spare. as they had to get ready for the
entertainment that the mistress always
| gave Sunday evenings. The young in.
Vestgator then found that this employer
never willingly allowed any time off. but
expected her servants to be in constant
| attendance during the entire twenty-four
hours: the cook upon several occasions
having been called out of bed to prepare
/ meal for an unexpected guest. Yet
| they had no conveniences or even COM
Portable sleeping places at night Her right
| Gus Indignation booming thus aroused
| she promptly approached her employer
,, and told her that she was leaving i'm
medately, at the same time expressing
| her opinion rather forcibly regarding the
unjust obligations imposed upon the other
two employees.
While hardships such as these are
| found by many servants, there are
| thousands of
Increase in Wages considerate
Serious Problem. aa ,n sse ,e VINO
imposed upon by incompetents who de-
I mand exorbitant wages for little work
1 VINO ledVe upon the SllgnteSt excuse
and who are wasteful and extravagant
when they are not positively dishonest
/ The increase in the wages asked by
| domestic workers now is to many house
keepers an important factor in the in
creased cost of living. The women in
professional classes whose husbands in
| comes are little if any higher than
| that of a past generation. and who by
| their positions are compelled to main
| tain the same standards of living. very
| often find it difficult matter to make
| their household allowances pay from
| $40 to $50 more Il month for less serv-
| ice than half that sum used to buy
And yet the maids who show any con-
sideration for their mstresses in this
! connection are few indeed.
| In cities. where the apartment has
largely superseded the house. the sleep
ing quarters of the maid present prob
lem. Few mistresses actually go to the
| extent OF requiring the servant to sleep
upon the ironing board laid over the
| bathtub. as a foreign-born maid wrote
| home she was expected to. but sleeping
! quarters in high-priced apartments are
usually not for the maid. Consequent
| ly. she must sleep In hired lodgings
outside. These are difficult to obtain
a prices within the reach of a servants
| income. This condition is one of the
serious modern developments of the
many girls prefer sleeping outside be-
| cause of the liberty ii gives them to
| be out as late as they please. unre-
| stricted 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 serve
! ants.