WHERE SERVANTS RULE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10582, 11 October 1910, Page 6

WHERE SERVANTS RULE.

• (By-Editli H. Ma'son, m the Londbn • Dailj Express.) New Yoik, Aug. 15. J You liousewnes of England,, - who. think 'you have a sei\ ant,. face',' listen to "the tale of woe of an Englishwoman who lias'- lived ,for. the. past two yoais in New York—not,very, long, but long enough to discover that ■tho° difficulty of finding and keeping) I good '-help" is.not .onertwentieth- part; as-.-great.-with-'^HJi^ n a,s -:it>- L is---hero. In, the'first' place; there are no .'-American -I servants. No American-born girl wouldj •dream of going into service. She will work m factories, m shops, offices, thing - rather than accept the lowering of dignity that housework is considered ; to- biung. t'• So American 'lamiliesi-are absolutely dependent.' for help in their , households on the immigrants,, of eveivy nationality; who pour into the country each week. .*' As ,this . supply is- alwajts unequal to . the-demand; these girls can make their own terms, although most of them know .very httla-about service or cooking, and a great-'many 'of tliem possess not even the rudiineftts of liousewoik. ' >• ' ' • v The girls who are most, in Remand are Irish, Swedes, and' Norwegians, for they are generally strong, clean, intelligent; 'but, failing one of these, any one who can wash dishes and scrub floors'is weir - securingsome sort of house employment almost within - twelve • hoursv after* she lands, •>

The w&gbs ar©'to/English iminds -••in*. conceivablyi'liighf girl wlio has liyed in America for a,, year, or two, and lias been trained to do a certain amount of ; (housework, and who?has any knowledge of cooking, can quite < easily -obtain- a salary of from £5 to £6 a month; while a "green 1 "- girl,; : as they arercalled.when firsVlanding -in''New-York,*'-knowing nothing of cleaning, cooking, or apparently anything, can command from'£2 10s ,to £5 .aj month. ;^ r ;rThis #--notr«ini,t}ie families • of the wealthy wealthy,. where many, or vants are kept, cither, but in small,*; ordinary; middle-class families. l s*. a;-' 1 In addition to their high wages, the girls demand and- obtain. a•• freedom which is' absolutely'unknown in Eng--land:- The'■"fi-Kffc thing Va-.-'girl ;! expects ; when she accepts, a" isitilation* is to be handed a latch-key,, so "that she can: leave and enter the- holis6 'at will. Ina great many Louses, when, the evening meal-is:over and-the- dishes-washed,; a; i girl's time is entirely %'er, own, tpl jiist. -ds'she; pleases with; in: almost' every "house'she will. liave three; "evenings out"—Tuesday, 'Thursday,' 1 and Saturday—with every other .Thursday afternoon-and'evening; -and every,; or ■ every other, -Sunday afternoon. and: evening' out: " On t>lie evenings - which.' are supposed to'be. spent in .rthe house,' most girls reservfe- the "right ( to receive: visits from their friends, male or'fqmale,' except in afew iistarices, .notably some of the exclusive---apartmentsv.i where: visitors'to 1 the maids are not allowed —: a rule- of the _ house, rather than of the families-living.in it.:v- •■. .• Also - - the' maids" consider it quite within, their rights ; to regale, their friends-' with - ice-cream, : cake; and: lemonade, in summer,--and hot chocolate and cake in winter,-all- at -tlie*expense: of "their employer (mistress' is a' ~word absolutely tabooed). 'To mention ; a" personal experience, a member- of my own family went outgone evening to;make a few purchases-needed for the next'day, and, upon'returning ; to' the house and. knocking.atithe'door, was -asked' by the -maid to- please walto vright through to the kitchen, tas J ''l; havti / a- gentleman caller in -the--dinmgTTooini''- 'On their' nights very few girls will agree to a time limit, "coniiiig ill., at . eleven, i twelve, one, two, -on any hour they _please.,....lliey have -the .latcli-key, and "they cannot understand why it should matter to any.-one-rbut themselves-at-what-hour they arrive home," so long | as they are up to .do -their, work the next morning. " i The^mdtterof stiimbling.'block to'any. no't.'Used to i thevwkys 'of^th^'.'country. Except in families 1 where' Several' maids are kept— the ''waitress,''? or maid i: who* Iwaits 'on the family aty'tajjle, will Woiar-a -black dress and white apron, but | very, very'seldom a" cap-f-a girl objects | very strongly., to wear-black, preferring a whiter \blouse with-a colored, skirt; or, i in the icase^of. ithe lower; .class-of= girl, i:anythmg--:that:<''is not:: black: f £he i; brighter the colors the better she likes it

These'tribulations'-are put up with be-, rcause the mistress of the liouae knows, [if she dismisses--her- present maid, she [may be days, ■ weeks; or■: months, without any help, or, if she is fortunate fenough:ito secure a girl quickly, she jwilLpi-obably 'get one' with new', faults land failings. It is a known, fact that :the- less '-"reputable registry officfes will ifind a 1 situation, for a new arrival to the [country-,'■ only to take her away after' a 'few- 1 m'onths, when she has learned a, Jlittle "about housework and to speak some English, with the promise of more pay,, thereby assuring the agency a double fee. A great many Poles come to New -York knowing not a word of any language, but their own. This is, iof course, extremely inconvenient-; as ithey have to be taught everything by [ Signs,. 'they were deaf ' and .dumb, so that their value is very much .greater-;after they have learned to" ! speak at least some English. •To', .do justice to-the'average maid in America, it must be acknowledged that, as a rule, she works harder than the average girl in > England.' ' She will generally get up earlier in the morning; and- will_ quite often do the whole 'of the family Washing and ironing, ■ but, on the other hand, she will absolutely refuse to black any shoes or boots belonging to members of the family, or, in fact, _to perform any service which she considers beneath her. : It would not be so bad if she were content to think herself 'as good as her mistress—the trouble ! is' that she regards' herself as a personage, and her mistress as only a person who cannot do without her.