The sun., 1918-07-25
Household Problems.


prefer to call it, is an occupation that
for n long time has been going out of
fashion. Up to the war 1t was hardly
obtainable except by the rich. At
best 1t was, one of those calllngs which
people resent either to be credited
with or to pursue. Hardly any one
really likes to be called servant
except the President or some other
great statesmap-but neither does
any one like it to be said that he or
she does not know what service to
the nation means. Domestic service.
In general. Is one Of those good things
the goodness Of which Is so precarlous
that directly we praise or encourage
1t overmuch 1t ceases to be good. 1t
Is sort Of sampler virtue which
everybody agrees young wives ought
to have, and certainly It is n virtue
that is greatly needed by all during
the war.
The problem of domestic service is
now IN interesting one and worth
studying. There Is no doubt, for In
stance, that knowledge of cooking, of
culinary art, Is now one of the means
Of food saving. Nobody denies this,
but one of the strangest things about
domestic cooking Is that cooks are
becoming harder and harder to OBJ
tain. There are many men, for ex-
ample, in New York. with good in
comes, who keep expensive establish
ments and give all kinds of enter
tainments, and who yet would rather
practise any sort of economy than
lose their cook As a contemporary
hum6rist puts it. the cook Is like the
English agltator WILKES, ugly but
irresistible"
As regards the whole question, the
war has diverted so much service into
public or industrial channels that do
nestle service has become a sea of
troubles. There seem to be two classes
Of help: the able but unwilling, and
the willing but unable. Yet wages
were never higher and hours shorter.
1t seems natural to expect n more
economical adjustment in times like
these. The results are that many
families now do their own work. and
there Is a general movement toward
living in apartments, lodgings and
hotels, Many people now depend
upon those temporary help" who call
themselves "tempery"-an adjective
too often warranted. They are TEN
porary workers, household servants
and nursemalds. The problem of
these undomestic servants is very
grave, and every employer wonders
what is to happen, For in general
they are less efficient and do less
work than charwoman, whose help
without pride earns our respect.
Another little point Is in the humor
created by the present situation. All
along servants know all about their
employers, while employers, especially
II they be ordinary folk, are abso-
lutely ignorant of their servants Sc
crets. Employers are now beginning
to recognize to the full that the EN-
ployees ought to engage them, instead
of employers engaging employees. AS
for domestic service. neighbor per
haps knows all about your mean,
stingy ways, for the cook who de-
parted under cloud has been hired
by your neighbor, who tells her ac-
Quaintances what n pity It Is, and
how easily we may be deceived in
our friends
How the war will affect the situa-
ton permanently remains to be seen.
So far there has been sensible rise
in wages and expenses which have
little to do with the spirit OF thrift
which finds favor in so many public
meetings. There are, indeed many
clear disadvantages in the present
state Of the domestic labor market
that will gravely alter the projects
OF national economy. Apart from
the waste Of food through amateur
cooking there are to be expected all
the evils of poor household man.
agement. There will be an in
crease of Illness in the civilian popu-
lation; many homes will have TO re-