The Ypsilanti daily press., 1944-10-16
Observations
Domestic Service
Problem Continues
Unsolved Worry
BY helen Essary

BY HELEN Essary
However do you IN k OF some
thing TO write every day." ] once
asked brilliant editorial writer
on one OF the big American news
papers.
Il don't think OF something TO
write every day." said he. Some
days ! sit down at my desk with
my mind a dead blank. What do |
think? What do | think? | ask
myself. No answer came. The
gray matter doesn't respond with
a single idea. Then realizing that
/ have 10 start mewheTe, | have
10 appear wise, or witty about
something or other, | encourage
those flat brain cells by writing on
the typewrite tn word THE.
THE, | tell myself. The 60.
The The-what. Pretty soon
'the-what becomes, 'the-something.
And then off go into the state Of
agitation in which every editorial
writer must find himself swirling,
before he can beguile his publisher
10 keep on with that weekly pay
check
Wont writing the article a IN
spire you to mental exercise as
well as the asked.
NO, it will not" was told.
"The sight of typed A is no in
spiration. Too indefinite. probably.
But let me look at a THE long
enough and before | know II I'm
ready to take the government apart
and do over the world generally
I'm ready to take the govern
ment apart and do over the world
generally this morning by the siglt
OF the Article THE" II | add TO
in that devastating word cook. -.
"The cook" That inspires in
tense thoughts. or the cook I'm
speaking of didn't come this morn
ing. Just after | gave her a week
end of 10 visit her mother, too.
AS | whisked in and out OF the
kitchen from frying pan 10 dining
table answering door bells, burning
toast and overlooking bacon mean
while, | thought many bitter SEN
tence beginning with The.
THE postwar planners had bet
ter do something about the domes-
tic labor problem" | said TO myself
later as | agitatedly spilled the
Junk from last nights ash trays
onto the sitting room rug instead OF
into the trash basket.
"It's all very we'll for the repre-
sentatives OF the Big Three or the
Big Four or whoever they are 10
sit about opulent Dumbarton Oaks
and have their pretty prophetic
conversations on such subjects as
national boundaries and trade bar
riers and how to get more food
over 10 already fattened up can
nibals-but what | want to know is
what are they going to do about
cooks?
Are there TO be domestic serv.
ants or are there not? II there are
not, hadn't householders who have
been accustomed TO counting on
snch help really better learn 10
run their Observation-Disclosures so
TO speak?
"If home is the center of the uni
verse, isn't it about time 1t got
put on a business basis? Don't
those fancy postwar planners know
that ere is Job they'd better look
into?"
Maybe they are hampered as
much as am when view the do
mestic problem. Maybe they can
see both sides of the situation as
as | can. For as
much as rage when the cook does
not arrive in our messy early
home know that II were
the cook l couldn't arrive there
either.
Domestic work has got to be
made more attractive than II is.
To me-certainly. We've either
got TO eat food in capsule form or
we've got TO bring so much elec-
tricity into the homo the place will
be Just a mass Of labor-saving de-
vices without room enough for
people.
I just rang up the Bureau Of
Home Economics TO see IL IL had
any IDEAS on the future or the nome.
1t said, succinctly THE postwar
world will see great changes in the
home"
rang up the Department OF La
Dor to find out what 1t was think
in about postwar domestic prob
lens. Miss Frances Perkins was
out. But crisp voice said: ut is
inevitable that the standards Of
domestic service must be changed
after the war"
There you are--just compound
generaiities once again. The do.
mestic problem is a first cousin 10
the problem of the weather Mark
Twain said. remember? There's
been a lot of complaining about
the weather-but nobody seems
able to do anything about IT,"