Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-03-06


for overtime.
81 feel that my own domestic prob
lens are over forever exclaimed MIS-
Boardman. "tnd my servants are az
enthusiastic over the experiment as !
am
NEW SYSTEM NEEDED
THE scarcity Of domestic labor during
the last few years" Mrs. Boardman
continued. "and the difficulty OF obtain
ing domestic hclp Of any Kind set me
thinking. | began TO wonder why A.
was that working women should be s"
much more willing TO engage IN any
sort Of Industrial work than 70 enter
domestic service. In the end | decided
that the fault was largely with the
housewife. In order to make domestic
service popular again We housewives
would have to put it upon the same
basis as that OF other fields OF LABOR
1t is natural to suppose that girl VINO
must support herself would prefer work
ing eight or nine hours n day in n FAC
tory and having her independence the
remainder of the timc 10 becoming n 40
nestic with day of indefinite length
and very little time OF her own, and yet
it seemed to me that under favorable
circumstances work in private homes
should prove desirable particularly to
women with small children. since the
hours could, without much difficulty, be
50 arranged that they could he at home
with their children a part OF the day
"In my own home have head as
'sietant whom | call my major domo ana
. r-"e other assistants whom never can
servants Ny major domo is ncgreS3.
, She has covered herself with glory ever
since | adopted her along with the
eight-hour system. The other three as
.istants are all young married women
/ white, and two Of them have children.
Two begin their work early IN the
morning, one at 1880 and the other at
/ Q, while the other two come at IL and :.
/ In this way the first two have an OPP
[ portunity to go home and be with their
. children for n few hours at luncheon
| time. Their hours are so arranged that
! they dovetail each other and the schcd-
! ulc is worked out in such Il manner
/ that there are always two maids on
/ hand.
/ zach of these young women gives
| eight hours day six days In the week.
, They eat and sleep in their own homes.
go they get regular exercise in coming
| and going. This. / believe. is good for
| body, mind and spirit. And the prln-
ciples embodied in the industrial stand
| ards all over the land are strictly OBJ
served IN every )iEllNhl'Nl III Jul llphfV-
| hold arrangements. 7 place my en-
ployes strictly upon their own response
bilty regarding the work to he done
during their hours at the house and |
find that an eight hour day serves AS
an incentive to intensive huusework.
Their attention Is more concentrated and
ambition is substituted for Indifference
MUST DO ALL WORK
II do not encourage specialization.
They are there 10 do any and all work
that needs to he done. Under the old
order their only safeguard lay in spe-
Cialization. Their oft-Tepcated and CN-
asperating refrain. L was not hired to
do that was really their one weapon
of defense, which they used against
great impOsitiOns upon their time and
strength in the homes where they were
employed. Generally speaking. ! think
they are justified in holding strictly TO
those duties for which they were en-
gagged. In many homes this may not
seem unreasonable, but In others it
would be imperative. 1t is suCh homes
as the latter that make spccialiZat ion
50 general among some domestics. The
considerate housewife is apt to forget
the unreasonable one who must be
reckoned with, for she looms large and
terrible on the domestic horizon.
so far as have been able to dis