Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-12


, ~ reduced the necessary work IN hei
Il house or APARTMENT by the elimina-
,,or of everything which is superfluous 1T
Tho daily routine of work she still has the
servant problem to solve, unless she is
ab1e tn act the double role of mistress
and maid successfully Every housekeepel
knows that when she employs a COOK OF
girl for general Homework she increases
the cost of food out of all proportion to
the per capita consumption and adds at
least 10 per cent to the wear and tear
item of expense But what can de done
IL make lhe domestic machinery move
smoothly when most of the kitchen en-
pineers are unframed or careless and
NaSteful?
The thinker knows that domestic serV-
See should be amenable to general eco
pomic laws and conditions But she real
" izes that il is very hard to standardize
.cc,.pations and hours of work and she
recognizes the difficulties attending the
Living in system which attaches the
servant TO the family group and yet
makes her an outsider. removed from all
its social diversions and deprived of all
identity OF interest.
:. *
She has discussed all phases of the
problem at the womens clubs. and be-
cause stress was laid on the fact that
many household tasks are performed ac-
cording to eighteenth century methods in
stead of those that belong to twentieth
century conditions she has done all thai
she could TO reform her own domestic Gus
toms. Still, she must employ maid. and
in order to do so she must be willing tC
undertake an adventure in economy; she
must retrench in some way that Will JUS
tify her for daring to add an extra person
To her household.
According to statisticians the average
weekly wage of the domestic employe IL
the United States varies from $50 &c
S4.J1 according to location. and it has
been estimated that this rate OF compen
sation is really equal to that received by
the teacher since the hOuSemaid has ne
' living expenses and no social demands OIL
public responsibilities. The difficulty II
cbt1ining servants is not due to the scale
- wages. 1t is probable that there is MOI
really such a scarcity of cooks and house
maids as most persons suppose exists
, even though girls seek factories and shop:
because of the peculiar social status o.
the housemaid and because of her lack Of
Independence The trouble that mos
houSekeepers have Is due to the restless
ness OF the servant class, to the fact tina
more ;han one-half of its members belong
TO alien races. and 10 the low standard o.
service offered.
knowing these facts. the housekeepel
must plan her adventure in economy will
stout heart. She must not think tina
by applying the golden rule to the meas
, urement of her kitchen work she will b'
certain to succeed. She must not rely
npon Offering the sort of sympathy an'
oversight that is preached in clubs ant
wOmeu's magazines. If she limits her re
FORM efforts to attempts to be always kin'
She is likely tn have experiences which
Pause her To lament ineratitude. Sh
should keep her golden rule in sight blu
She should remember that domestic serv
ants want To live their lives in their Owl
way What they want is freedom and in
Sep. udeuce. They crave the conscious
ness 90 a liberty which they are not likel.
to abuse.
Household affairs must follow social ant
Industrial tendencies. Since the feuda
castle Eas shrunk To city fiat we canno
man tam medieval customs and treat tn
maidserVant as il she We're Saxon thrall
Since the question is how TO diminish tn
amount OF work required in every house
mold. the quality of service should be cor
respondingly improved. The highest con
maid Is not that which enables the house
keeper To do most for her employe, blu
how To enable the employe to do most 70
herself. That means less surveillance an
more individualism far as the employ
concerned
Z. <
With this conception of the status O
| he servant, for whom by the way. A ney
name To which no opprobrium attache
should be found, there is "A chance for sue
-essful experiment. and the housekeepe
who has studied economics will be willin,
TO start on a-profit-sharing venture Tn
Ser the usual system of paying wages b
The wee employers pay for time no
service. There is no incentive to improv
method or in speed in the performance
,f household tasks. Likewise il Is natura
,or the maid 10 feel an Indifference con
serning waste This Indifference include
he misuse of utensils. breakage OF chin
md glass and carelessness in handling TIA
Die linen which is often spotted and tori
In a college town the profit-sharing ex
pertinent has been worked out satisfaC
.orly and il should be quite possible I
make IL successful in any city. The dc
1eStic employe should be hired at a eel