The Washington times., 1914-07-16
BY 7. R. HILDEBRAND,

Ask a man what sort of 4 city
Washington is TO live in. and he
will tell you of tax rates, climate.
housing conditions. rents. The loss
of the vote. and numerous other
aspects of municipal conditions.
Ask a woman and she is exceed
ingly likely to pass over all these
and answered. but the servant
problem in Washington is most trou-
blesome."
Fight years ago group Of Wash
ington women conceived that the
servant problem, like other prob.
lens, might be solved with the aid
of q little applied intelligence and
effort. When men employers face
difficulties with their workmen they
set out to adjust the matter. But
their wives have expended much
time and conversation in telling
their troubles, but doing very little
to discover a remedy. Therefore,
this dozen or more college women.
trained to cope with difficulties in
sane thinking fashion, decided to do
something about the servant prob
lem. And the formation OF the
Housekeepers' Alliance was the re-
suit
The present position of this alli-
snce among Washington clubs, and
its record of accomplishment, justi-
fed the theory that the servant
problem was not wholly n riddle
with no solution. But the women
have not found their task easy. Ex-
perinents have been tried and drop
ned other methods have been work.
ed out with marked success. Now
the alliance Is on the verge OF put
ting into operation an experiment
long contemplated which is expected
TO work the biggest step yet taken
toward securing better domestic
service in Washington.
School of Housekeeping.
This new project Is a school of
housekeeping. Its aim Is to afford
practical training for domestic work.
ers. instruction may be had by
those already in domestic service in
cooking. cleaning or any form OF
Homework. The school Is to be a
boarding house, presided over by a
competent domestic science worker
and an assistant.
This idea was in the mind Of the
organizers of the alliance. In 1906
cooking classes were started for do
mestic employees and at various
times forty-two persons availed them
selves of this training. Practicular-
" active in that effort were Mrs.
IT cola whose h0ma fha
alliance was organized, Mrs. A. E.
Whitaker, Mrs. Joseph Glfllian,
Mrs. F. L. Ransome, Miss Ella Win
ton and Mrs. f. r. Taylor.
1t was finally found that such a
plant could not be self-supporting
cooking classes were abandoned for
a time. A hand laundry took the
place Of the cooking classes, and in
This effort to insure hygienic laundry
conditions, Emile Berliner. J. Philip
Hermann and the Associated Chart
ties co-operated. This laundry was
successful so long as members of the
committee on its control gave II their
personal attention, but when il was
left In charge OF manager the cost
of running it became too heavy for
competition with the big laundries
and the laundry also was abandoned.
But while II lasted good service
was rendered. II was used by the
Associated Charities as a test
laundry for applicants for laundry
work A knowledge of all homes
from which laundry was taken was
a preliminary to the receiving Of
work.
Model Reference Scheme.
The essential features of both this
laundry and the cooking classes will
be embodied in the new school Of
housekeeping. and the experience
gained by the previous experiments
will go far to insure the success
OF the new project.
The alliance also co-operated, for