The Washington herald., 1915-05-30
The Man Of All Work.

The Man OF All work.
Ever hear of him? He has not arriv-
ed here yet, but he has made his appear
ance in many American cities. and there
10 a possibility that eventually he will
! come to Washington
I The Man of All Work. That is his dig
nified title. If he were a woman instead
OF a man. IL he wore skirts and an apron
instead Of overalls, he would be termed
] a housemaid.
Horrors, A male housemaid, a mascu-
! line femme de chambre, a trousered car
pet sweeper. bed maker. window clean
er, backyard sweeper. and dishwasher.
1t smacks of foolishness. it savors
strongly Of the order of things in the
achieved the ballot. Horrors. Absurd
| ity,
1t may be horrible and it may be alb
surd, and it certainly is freakish, but
withal-it Is q fact. Mere man has in
! vaded the realm of employment Of the
skirted domestic. Why? 1t IL not diff
ficult to understand. A little story Of
life. little snatch Of daily conversa-
| ton. will give the philosophy of the sit
! uation.
why. don't you know" said the young
wife to her woman neighbor, "she de-
manded s. week. in spite of the fact
that have a laundress come in. And
besides there are only two Of US to cook
for"
Eight dollars? whew"
Eight dollars, indeed. I told her II
she was willing to stay we would take
her out to the cottage again this sum-
mer. where she could enjoy herself Just
as though she was on a vacation. and
get her wage besides. What do you
think she said to that"
ssT rive hard IN tell what
housemaids will say and do. What was
IT. More money!
Exactly. Ten dollars a week. She
said all her friends that went to resorts
for the summer got so a week, and that
she was just as good as they were and
that II I didn't give her so she would
find some one who would. I told her she
had better start looking around
Ibid she quit?"
Sure she did"
''And nowr'
'well. what do you think I'm doing?"
Doing without?''
Not on your life. I've got Man of
All Work instead Of a maid. Sounds
kind of funny, doesn't IT,
1T does"
TT is. Very. very funny. I've got a
white man working for me. You see.
the Man Of All Work has come to take
inc PiSCc OI tHe HOuStfu6lu
It IL all because Of the unemployment
situation. Thousands OF men are out of
positions. They are eager to work. but
they cannot find employment They are
keen on the lookout for opportunities
And the opportunities have presented
themselves. There IL always q great de-
mand for dpmestics. for housemaids. II
II because time has proven that house,
maids and mistresses have an inborn
aversion for each other. The men have
seen the opportunity and they have
stepped IN And reports are to the ef-
feet that the Men Of All Work and the
mistresses get along very well-no dis
putes. no discussions over wages, no
trouble over hours.
The Men Of All Work have installed
themselves in Detroit, according to re-
ports-have made themselves Q perma-
nent fixture. They wash windows. sweep
the house. beat rugs, mend f,irniture. |
wash windows upholster chairs. wash |
dishes. and occasionally some VIII be |
found who cook, and cook well. too.
A Detroit woman recently described |
the advent Of the Man Of All Work a.
fcllows:
my servant girl left me. and while I |
was looking around for. another maid . \
man stopped one morpfngl
and asked II there was any housswork /
Of any kind that he could set to do-hs
Was . mechanic, but his health hadn't /
been any too good. % he was looking for
oomsthing that would keep him In the /
air more. said he could do anything.
II put him at work beating the rugs
and washing windows. and he did %
veil af thiD let him wash the walls to l
The kitchen and clean out the cellarway.
He UDwe1 the lawn. trimmed the hodge, L
aee1s4 OF uh6 0ow6r 1s19 Ind susss 1