Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-01-28


has been very little noticed is the de-
crease OF tn" American servant to the
point where that rare and vaiua ble
creature seems to he seriously threat
cned with extinction. This Is not fam
Ci:u! Careful students Of the ,itua-
ton are predicting that tho ali-round
household menial viii have 10 be re.
placed by skilled workers In various
lines. Instead OF having on" maid 10
muss through all Of your work, from
cooking to window washing YOU will
be visited regularly by expert cooks,
hedmakcrs, laundrymcn. dish washers
doorknob polishers. There is TO-DAY
In Washington. -. G.. man who makes
quite reinunerativc profession OF
washing pet dogs for society women.
II" shows the possibilities OF speciaIlza-
ton in domestic service.
Reduced Immigration is the principal
cause Of this shortage in help. ], is
estimated that 70 per cen, fewer ser
wants came into the United states last
year than the year before. Employ
| mcnt agencies cannot iill their orders
| Clumsy Scandinavian peasant girls. an
! able To SPEAK word Of English. arc
| literally received al Ellis Island with
J open arms and offered salaries that
make their Jaws drop and their eyes
! widen. Very few or them ever get as
| far West as Chicago
Female help is scarce. but male ger.
wants arc almost unatta!nablc. Never
| before has there been such n shortage
| of Wallets and buffers. Gouty old gen
tlcmen are forced TO dress themselves
and persons who have always consid-
cred a butler much a necessity az
tooth brush are now opening their
own doors. II is estimated that there
| are less than half az many hUtlcrs
Wallets in In
| there were year ago One employ
| ment agency. which EpccialZes in real
| English buffers, had orders for 500
this season. and only secured nvc.
! though il usually has a thousand names
on its registers With conscription
! threatened the prospect OF a new sup
! ply is anything but bright;
Nearly all Of these aliens who have
been American servants have gone
back 10 the service OF their father
lands. No, only are buffers and Wallets
! fighting in the ranks. but thousands OF
! French maids are wearing the uni
! form OF the Red Cross.
Many Of these American servants
| have gone 10 the battle line with the
| help and sympathy OF their American
! employers At least one New York
! society woman is still paying the
wages Of her 1--WE servants who are now
/ on the battlefield and in the hospitals.
/ III lUe SDStl'c vi the pulltE, ii'
ter OF the house opens the door for
! her guests.
Persons who keep large town houses
and insist upon the full quota OF SCR
wants are having hard time They
! arc paying fabulous prices FOR cX-
tremcly poor servants. who have al
WHY'S the choice of any number OF
| other positions.
| Maids az All Work Scarce.
Far more serious though less pic
! turesuuc thar tho shortage Of servants
! among the wealthy is the difficulty the
! average housewife experiences IN get
| ting a maid Of all work. This is cs-
| pecially true in the North and West,
| where there are few negro servants
! and Immigrant peasant girls have had
! almost a monopoly Of domestic service
/ The German girls who formerly came
! over in considerable numbers. are now
! almost understandable and fewer OF
! other nationaliticS come every month
| The advance in wages has forced many
| an American woman To do her own
| housework. Unframed girls. who can
| not speak English, are paid as much
| as s25 or $50 a month
/ The most striking feature OF this
| scarcity OF domestic help is that there
| are thousands of American men and
| women who need the money and could
| d0 the work Unemployment is Il
4 plpDicIl III mean ~ dll W pui 'i'i'S
which the return Of prosperity has
| not completely solved. The touch" is
| becoming n more and more common in
| cident upon American streets. The
! manner of the American down md out
| is always the same. He apologies for
| his condition, explains that he is poor
| but worthy. seeks TO approach you as
| an equal forced ask help by tenn
! porary embarrassment. The man Is not
| good beggar. for the same reason
| that he does not relieve his own in
| digencc by becoming a servant He
| is too proud.
The spirit Of American equality has
| engendered the idea that AL personal
! and household service Is mental and de-
! grading. Every other nation i'm the
| world has n servant class that is salts
| field with its status as such. In the
| United States, no such class has grown
up among the native white population.
| All the comfortable household Jobs
| have been nnOnopolizeh by immigrants.
| And now that there are no immigrants
to All the jobs. Americans who need
| them will not take thcin. The anomaly
| goes farther yet. American wives and
mothers are compelled to perform these
so-called mental tasks themselves be-
cause American servants cannot be
| found to do the work for wages.
American Pride One Cause.
OF course, the idea that household
work Ia Of oliver order than any other
| skilled labor is simply one of the less
desirable products of American pride.
| The dignity of any work depends upon
! the spirit In which II is done. and
this fact is gradually gaining rtcoGni-
ton. In Boston. many college students
are paying their way by doing the work
| OF militant buffers ana Wallets. One
| Harvard man Is serving as valet for a
wealthy old banker. The student comea
| at 8 o'clock in the morning to serve