St. Johns review. (Saint Johns, Or.) 1904-current, 1917-09-14
Girls and HOuSeWOrk

ilO lOllON lllfS tilNSA >PNhihf3 Sa'e
instructive paper was read ] by
Miss Kathryn Scott at sthe
Mothers meeting of the VIC.
r. y. Subject Department
in Public, and Why Girls Dc
Not Like Housework:"
Continued from last week.
The whole world has consent
ed in totally wrong attitude
TO work. One should be to the
best of their strength usefully
employed during the greater
part of the day so at the end of
it they can say 81 have not
eaten the bread Of idleness." "
When mankind are rightly oc-
cupied their amusements grow
out of their work. When they
are faithful, helpful and COM
passionate, all their emotions
become steady, deep and per-
petual and as invigorating to
the soul as the pulse is to the
body. Many thousands of
women have firmly rooted in
their minds that housekeeping
is drudgery. Housekeeping has
been a drudgery, but it is not
so now. New ideas have come
along to show us how we can
eat less and be not only as
healthy but healthier. We are
learning the great lesson of
simple furnishings and fewer
things TO dust and keep clean.
We are learning sanitary les
sons that tend to lessen work.
We are learning to use the new
labor saving devices that mean
fewer steps. fewer motions and
less actual back breaking work.
We are beginning to under.
stand that as men revolutioniz.
ing business methods with
greater efficiency so can the
housewife. by introducing more
system into her work. No,
housekeeping is no longer
drudgeryl Women are begin
ing TO see in il a science. q
vital factor Of life, an art that
calls for the highest intelli.
gence, a business as big as the
affairs of men. Il is the women
who hangs TO the old method
Of housekeeping that find it a
drudgery. The girl who finds
she must work for n living is
sorely beset with questions of
gentility. She wants TO do some.
thing genteel above all some.
thing that will take her out of
IT,. kitchen. II has come, at
least in many parts of the
world. that the girl in the
kitchen is there from misfor.
tune. never from preference.
This certainly is a bad state
of affairs, for no body can do
satisfactory work who is always
admitting that he would not be
there If he could help himself.
One of the greatest woes that
an American housewife has TO
endure is the sullen attitude Of
the girl who "helps," her alert.
ness for Sights or impositions; !;
her quickness TO resent: her
smothered antipathy and the
knowledge that she would leave
ON the slightest prOvocation.
But we would not find this
state of affairs IL mothers
taught their daughters their
proper relations 10 work and
To consider all their accom-
plishments as means of as
sistance To others" "
One great ambition of young
women is 10 teach and one
reason for this is because il
thought TO be genteel. A
few weeks ago | visited in a
home whore the daughter is
n school teacher and had been
for years. With the family was
a young woman who did the
housekeeping. The mother was
telling me about some one ask.
ing her how she managed to
keep the same servant So long
and seemed TO have no domestic
lpheayal. Her reply was some.
Thing like this: "ln the first
place do not consider Helen.
'or that was the housekeeper's !
name. a servant i'm the sense |
'Ou speak. My daughter is i'm |
he schoOl-rOom five days of the |
week, with thirty children from |
IS many homes, and out OF the |
chool.room she is studying
Methods how best 10 serve
ours and your neighbor's chill
ren. Now who is the more SER
ant. my hOusekeeper or my
aughter" One matronly home-
eeper says II treat my maids
With the same politeness that
i've TO any other member of my
amily. If she is disposed TO
tep over the invisible boundary
me that separates us, tell her
delicately as possible that
lch things are not the Gus.
lm. " No woman who takes a
lsplcious or even a critical
ttitude toward her maids can
OF keep them. In fact she may 1
ave very rigorous standards if
ne enforces them sYmpathetic- !