Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1922-01-04
SERVANT GIRL
PROBLEM HAS
NEW SOLUTION
Domestic Science Schools
Make Housekeepers, Not
Hired Girls

NEW YORK. Jan. 4-Hilda, the
waitress; Gretchen, the housekeeper, and
Sarah, the slumgullion, are about to dis
card the opprobrious appellation of
servant girls" for the more dignifed
and modern designation of household as
sstants" BY this simple process Of
changed titles a group Of ultramodern
women here hopes to eliminate the 'serv-
ant problem" the question which has
vexed man, and more particularly woman,
ever since the cave-dwelling troglodyte
began to realize that not even a mace or
stone hammer could keep a mental on the
job.
The bureau of household occupations
has just opened a training school in prac
teal domestic science for girls and WON
en-. Mrs. Richard Boardman, head of the
bureau, a leader of the movement to up
lift the servant girl, believes that at last
she has the solution of the domestic
problem. which, like the poor, we have
always with US.
The bureau plans to put Tillie and
Hilda and Sarah and Gretchen and all
the rest on an eight-hour day basis, with
an hour for lunch, and all that sort of
thing. The job Of a servant will be ele-
y2ted to the same plane as that Of all
other feminine occupations, such as
stenographer bookkeeper, etc.
"The timo has come" explained Mrs.
Boardman, when, If homework is TO be
done systematically and well, and house
hold assistants are to be always avail
able, we have got to elevate the profess
sion.
You can hardly blame girl for seek
ing some more congenial work, when
homework calls for living at the home of
your employer, giving her as much Of
your time as she may demand, whether
it be day or night. Under our plsn, il
the assistant comes TO work at in the
morning she is through at in the after
noon having had an hour for lunch. Our
plan calls for different shifts in the
homes which at present employ more
than one servant The plan works to per
lection, as / have tried it out in my own
home for a number Of years, using as
many as four shifts sometimes, and at
other times only having one shift. My
home has run smoothly. the girls have
been satisfied, and it has not cost me any
more money than when the girls lived at
my home and were on irregular hours.
"Our training school will make the
girls intelligent housewOrkers. They
win have a uniform which We hope to
dignity TO the extent Of the trained
nurses uniform of today. The girls VIII
be taught cooking, serving the care or
bed and Hvingrooms Of the silver, iron
ing, light laundry work and everything
necessary 10 keep a home in smooth run
ming order They viii be taught 70 do
their work systematically and neatly, and
they will not be graduated from the
school until they have completed thu
course
Meantime. it will be necessary 10 edu-
cate their employers. who are chnging
10 the old order Of things more through
prejudice than anything else. This new
system does not change the order or
running a house one bit. But II will pre-
vent such things as girl who was hired
for one definite thing refusing 70 do
something else in an emergency. We Will
teach our g.Is to do everything
Then We are having demonstrations
30 show employers how the scheme
works. We vii take the employer aud
give her list. schedule and chart show
ing the minimum amount Of utensils
which are necessary 10 run home. The
girls themselves will work by schedule.
their chart hanging on the wall all the
time, SO that they can order their work
properly.
.0ur school consists Of two private
homes run on the scientific plan, under
the supervision OF college graduate.
About seven girls viii be taken into each
home at n time. Their training Will be
intensive. The bureau feels that it owes
It 20 the housewives II they are going TO
take mp the system that the assistants
should be trained
The plan certainly looks feasible, and
the reporter decided to get the opinion
Of one OF the servants. A formidable
looking young lady, rosy checked and fair
haired, looked like a good prospect.
How do you think the plan win
work." she was asked.
She stared. wall eyed, for moment and
replied;
Zach. ich weiss night"
And she was moro than haif right. at |
that
BNNE CHARTER Is APPROVED.