Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-07-03
A MANS VIEWS ON HIRED GIRLS
He Maintains That Do Not Know How to Treat Their
Servants and Cites Case, Proving
That He Is Wrong.
By PERRY BALsAM

| TONCERNING the ideal hired girl, how to
~ get her, how to hold her. how to increase
her efficiency and dependability how to HUI
manize or dehumanize her, and how to fire
her In periods of stress Tinkerng with the
fourth dimension is like making a dent in
soft soap by comparison with the above how
to-do-its.
multitude of housewives will say here
comes another fool with a bunch of silly
theories. 1--WE have the practical achievement
to accomplish and men simply don't know"
This is just feminine habit of mind, or as
one Of George Ade's slick heroes might say,
Some Of Sister Sues because stuff" Granted
that men do not stick around the house all
day and keep tabs on every last tagging min
ute of the hired imperfection, it cannot be de-
MED that they are occasionally in the house
and have ample opportunity for psychologist
| ing the situation
The reason so many men butt in with fool
notions is that they do not study the subject
| or subjects AS a relief from business cares
| they seek to concentrate upon golf, tennis,
| Jitneys, bridge maps, politics and all
| sorts of distractions irrelevant to domestic
happiness. When the domestic gears are slip
ping or jamming they get peeved over 1t, ex-
press their annoyance in sarcasm and offer
| suggestions that are undoubtedly the rankest
| piffie.
Both interest and humor may be obtained
| from close study of the hired girl, both as
| a single general housework institution or in
| paIrs-that is, an upstairs and downstairs
bracket When you get beyond pairs you
approach retinues and wade into intricaces
that demand the skill of the postgraduate
sociologist to unravel,
Certes, He Picks Lemon
How to get one is the first STEP and here
the head of the house rarely butts in If he
has been commanded to wash dishes for
few weeks he may rashly offer to go to town
| and get one He will get few agency ad-
dresses. go TO the first one on the list and
| take the first one thrust in his way by the
employment agent Certes, he picks lemon.
When an employment agent sees a man
| coming in he rubs his hands together. licks
his chops and rumbles to himself, Here's
where I get rid of Big Ellen, or Cross-eyed
| Fanny, or All-thumbs Dora" A multitude OF
housewives have looked these hopeless pros
poets over and turned them down. The agent
puts the hopeless prospects" down at the foot
Of the line and waits for bride or a man.
Men OF violent tendencies have been known
to go back and wreck employment agencies,
but very rarely-all too rarely.
|
the worst possible sort viewed from the angle
OF perfection. Not the hopeless prospect the
man has brought home, for that is doomed
from the jump-off, No cagy housewife would
ever let husband put 1t over on the household
by bringing homo paragon and getting
away with 1t. or course, there is only one
chance In a thousand that he might hook
paragon. but II he did he would never
know 1t.
1t is only a question of time anyway before,
| Glass A paragons show that they are Just
mere human beings They are great starters
but almost invariably poor hnishers. We are
discussing general houseworzers who carry
the heaviest burdens II they are superane
Iaundresses they win not shine as cooks. Vice
versa II the family has large wash some
slack viii be allowed for the cooking end OF
it. Faulty culinary craft win be overlooked.
A Triumph in Diplomacy
AS a case in point recall a relative who
somehow obtained G. H. that was a wizard
at laundry work. She was a shine cook
Worse than that she imagined she was an
artist and could specialize In puddings She
bore In her hrst pudding proudly and beamed
while II was helped all round She went back
to her den just as the family began 10 dip
in. The head of the house took one mouthful
and bit on the prong OF his fork. The chill
dren began to make loud adverse comments
The pudding was complete herror. But the
bad tidings must be kept from Sadie Il
would hurt her feelings. Shed up ana quit
and there was that terrinc wash that she Just
ate up with unbelievable art The housewife
thought swiftly and sileneed the family In
a whisper she commanded the burial Of the
pudding. The plates were serapad back into
TIE main dish and nitls Johnny uas eniolnea