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Show I Domestic I f Blunders $ I of Women I I By A MERE MAN 1 THE MANAGEMENT OF SERVANTS f.-jfltt Y ono Idea ln these SjjP strictly fair to gj womcq, and not, as so many other writers hnvo y dono, to attack them unfairly on subjoctB of vnnl-ty, vnnl-ty, dress, extravagance, extrava-gance, or any of tho other well-worn well-worn topics. To havo followed ln tho lines of my predecessors would, to my mind, havo been to prove my own weakness, for wo ennnot change a woman's naturo any moro than wo can man's, and, thorefore, to attack women because they aro flcklo or valn-glorlous seems to mo aB absurd as to attempt to provo that man Is not tho superior animal becauso ho Is, by Instinct, fond of cakes and ale. Really, I do not want to attack at all, becauso it is as natural to mo to bo fond of women as it Is for children chil-dren to bo fond of toys. My real Idea la to glvo women an opportunity for defense, and to provo their strengtn. It is for this reason that I attack thorn whore they elect to bo considered strongest, nnmely, In their homes. Tho cry of lato years is that women nro as good as men, that they havo been persecuted and kept under for years, and that, thorefore, they should not bo oxpected, in tho first years of tholr emancipation, to bo up to competing with men as bread-winners. That Is qulto reasonable, nnd, thorofore, I do not gird at their mismanagement of tho political and commercial sides of Wo. But tho managomont of tho houso thoy havo always had, and, as I havo said, thero thoy fall sadly either to provide comfort, or to spend monoy in tho proper way. Woman's mission is to always put the blamo on somo ono else. Evo began be-gan .It. Sho put tho blamo on tho serpent, and her daughters havo ovor slnco blamed tho serpent on tho hearth tho servant. Do not run away with any Idea that I am going, for moro lovo of paradox, to champion servants. A French writer haa said. "So many servants, so mnny spies," nnd, in my mind, servants aro many things worso than spies. But lot servants serv-ants bo, as thoy nro, woman's oxcuso for overythlng thnt goes wrong, Just as servants put ovorythlng on tho cat. I accopt tho gage. For tho purposes of argumont, wo will admit that servants serv-ants nro at tho bottom of all tho ovils of homo llfo. Now lot us inquiro Into that. Tho first question to ask tho woman In tho box, who Is giving ovi-denco ovi-denco for tho defonso, is: "Who engages tho sorvants?" Tho answer Is "I do." Tho witness, bo It understood, Is speaking on behalf be-half of womon generally. Tho next question Is: "Who directs tho servants?" Tho answer Is tho samo, "I do." Pursuing this line, 1 ask tho mistress: "From whom do your servants learn their business?" "From mo!" "Then, If tho entlro education, engaging, en-gaging, paying, managing and discharging dis-charging of servants Is carried on by women, and if tho proportion of women wom-en over men sorvants is very large. tho ontlro blamo for tho unsatisfactory unsatisfac-tory stato of tho servant question must bo duo to women?" Tho witness does not nnswer, and, on boing pressed, bursts Into tears, and finally says: "It Is all tho fault of tho men!" Men, ns a rulo, havo nothing to do with Borvants, tho lnrgor proportion of servants nro womon, nnd, thoro-foro thoro-foro tho faults of sorvants Is only nnothor proof that women aro Incapable Incapa-ble of managing another very largo nection of a necessity which should go to mako comfort and economy In tho homo. But perhaps It Is not fair to Judgo ontlroly by majorities. Lot uf look at tho oxcoptlon, which again proves tho rule. Bacholors Keep their BBJBBBLWti4UnBBBBJ litcneej her tantrutfts. Borrants, men or womon, for years, and, with a fow oxcoptions, always speak of them as treasures. Why Ib Ask any sorvant who applloB to you for n situation why ho or sho left his or hor last place. Tho almost Inva-riablo Inva-riablo answer is: "I could not got ou -""r''j:. ' - . -a. v,r - HIHHMBJ'BEBp a- jjjf -with tho mistress." Ask why any Bat gentleman's gentleman, or my lndy'n 'BBB maid, left his or her other place, and BrA tho answers aro always, "Tho misaus, lB tho missus, tho missus." As- n rulo. IflK when a servant gives notico, nnd Is JBBffi asked by his master why ho wishes B to leave, tho answer is: "I can't satis- BB fy my mistress, sir," or "I can't get BB on with thu cook." Servants very BBV seldom complain that thoy cannot get flBJ on with "tho master." It Is alwayn BBB "tho missus." Again I ask why l AVB Tho most unsatisfactory and sulky HB femnlo servant will nlways smllo and BBB do anything cheerfully for her mastor, -BBV or tho young gontlcmen of tho houso, BBB and when sho Is ln ono of her tan- BBV trums, It Is, In nine cases out of ten, flBl becauso sho cannot got on with tho BBB missus, or tho young Indies, or tho BBV other female servants for tho com- BBV plaint of sorvants Is nlways agalnBt BBV -vyhat thoy call "She." "Sho" is tho tH teror of tho servant of either box, and BvB whoro thoro Is dissension downstairs, -BVB tho femalo servant is nlways at tho BB bottom of it. Doos not nil this show BBV that mistresses cannot mnnago serv- VBh ants, and that femalo servants cannot rSBBl manago ono another? BvB Tho sorvants of a houso cost as jBBV much, as a rulo, as tho rent and taxes, IhBI and yet they novcr glvo satisfaction, UB nnd aro novcr satisfied. Why Is this? H I could easily find fifty reasons to nc- jflVJ count for It. Tho mistress who ovor- BBV works, tho mistress who underworks, BVf tho mistress who is unkind, tho mis- iH tross who Is too kind, tho mistress 'Sfl who is too strict, tho mistress who Is iB not strict enough, tho mistress who VVJ makes favorites, etc., etc., would nil K: provo fruitful subjects to enlarge upon vBr woro thoy not too obvious. Tho ro- fUn markablo thing nbout tho wholo quos- Lw tlon Is, that though monoy will so- hHH euro you ovorythlng on tho earth, no flP amount of wages will induce serv- flk ants, as a rule, to stop long ln a place ijBB It Is a mistake to lmaglno that serv- tlBfl ants aro Independent and lovo to- BJBJ roam. As n matter of fact, thoy aro SB terrified to leave, becauso thoy novor flH know what character a spiteful mis- ! tress may glvo them, and ono bad SVl character means tho street. It is tho 9h haunting foar of this which makos fEm thorn, if posslblo glvo notico, beforo (flu they recolvo It, for this is tholr only IBM protccton. Is It natural to suppose- IJBBJ that any friendless, nnd homeless, and HB moneyless creaturo willingly leaves a H good roof, good food, and good' wages, M to mn tho chance of meeting a worso- BB mistress? Tho thing Is nUsurd, for BV tho motto of servants Is tho not vory Br lofty ono of Gervnlso: B "To havo onough to eat and drink,. V to work all their lives, to dlo ln tholr flf bods, and bo burled decently." BJL. Whon I was a llttlo follow, I heard , --.,imk' . "MM SAL Tht mistrtit who it ovtrkind. Bj a Borvant say that tho fato of a serv- 9 ant was: M "To work whllo you aro young, U S bog whon you aro old, and to go to H tho devil whon you dlo." m I havo novor forgotton It f rnoro is vory mucn io uo huiu uo m tho subject of mistresses and sorv- ants vory much moro than I havo either spaco or patience for, and thoro B would bo vory llttlo uso ln Baying R It If I had, as It seoms all very ob- vlous when you como to think of It, which womon apparently novor do. But this fact remains. Wo aro as much Indebted to servants for tho B comforts of homo llfo as wo aro to H our wives and daughtors. Tho only difference botweon tho two classes is p that somo of us aro allowed to try fu and manago our wives and daughters, It and somo of us succeed, but nono of 9! us aro ovor allowod "to intorfero with tho sorvants"; all wIvob nnd daughtors daugh-tors mlsmanngo thom, to our soro discomfort and tholr own; another thing Is that wo can get rid of our sorvants, but not of our wlvos and daughtors, who, I candidly bollovo, aro really tho most to blamo, though, poor souls, I do bollovo moat of them try, Tho fact remains, howovor, that womon arrogato to themselves tho managomont of sorvants, and provo I tholr incapacity for tho task by tho t1 deplorablo 3tato of tho servant market. mar-ket. Mon manago shop glrlB, waitresses, wait-resses, factory girls, and all sorts of womon engaged ln tholr businesses; but mon cannot stop at homo to man-ngo man-ngo sorvants, and If thoy could, thoy 1 could not provont tholr wives and J dnughtora from Interfering. Tho quos- tlon Is: What is to bo dono so that wo may llvo ln peaco whon our day'B work la done? (copyright by Funk & Wngnalls Co,) i I i ' Bmilrlm |