New-York tribune. [volume], August 24, 1919, Page 3, Image 65

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Sow to Get Them Back Into the Kitchen
English Housewife Must Solve
Her Problem by Recruiting
From the Land Army
??ELEANOR KINSELIA M'DONNELL
-?rfta? tvrT*?po*d*iU, I^ondon, England
ifWlE women of, England have
i determined to solve the ser
vant problem. If they can do
lit a country whore a rigid caste
?stem, in vogue from time imme
isrial, shows sudden signs of break
L down, and where the majority
i houses are built so as to n?cessi?
te not one but a corps of domes
L helpers, the American woman's
ccblem, in spite of the restricted
migration of the next few years,
?ould prove as simple as two and
?VTO.
Hope for English
Slavey Now
In America, Bridget and Olga,
5ev,,-]y arrived from Erin and
Bohemia, quickly caught the con
2f:on of democracy and free op
jcrtnnity for all that is so rampant
a our atmosphere. But, until the
n: came, the drab English slavey
hd no such hope. The war shook
Ver, even as it had shaken her
?stress, and Pruett and Perkins
look off their caps and aprons and
?orsook the scullery. Four hundred
iousand women left domestic
?ervice alone in England?without
ipang, it's a safe wager?and went
ko industry. They worked hard
ud onder tremendous pressure?
it story of the English munitions
rorker, particularly, is epic ; but for
|e first time they learned the
leaning of independence; for the
irst time it was vouchsafed them to
I know the joy of calling their souls
their own.
j To tempt back into the kitchen as
many of this newly liberated four
j hundred thousand as they can is the
task English housewives have set
themselves, and tho British govern?
ment has put its shoulder to the
wheel to help them.
They won't get them all back, that
they realize, despite the enormous
excess of women; for thousands of
thorn have lard their plans to emi
I grate just as soon as there are ships
I free to carry them to the colonies
and the dominions, where there are
jobs and, more important, prospec?
tive husbands. They will, however,
get some of them back, in view oi
the increasing unemployment oi
women, that becomes automatic a?
more and more men are demobil?
ized, but only if tho promise t<
? revise the entire status of the do
mestic worker, her social as well a?
her economic status, is kept.
: Reasons for *
John Bull's Interest
Apart from any ideal motive
1 John Bull is interested for two verj
: practical reasons. In the first place
? the unemployment dole awarde?
j war workers thrown out * thei
| jobs at the signing of the armistic
soon will be stopped, and no gov
ernment that isn't Bolshevist ca
look on apathetically while hundred
of thousands of its citizens starv<
The erstwhile slaveys have mad
it only too clear that they wi
starve before they go back under th
old conditions.
In the second place, John Bu
wants an Al nation. He knows th?
the mothers of the great middle
class are chiefly to be depended upon
to provide it, and he knows, also,
that the modern middle class mother
will not, can not, give him the first
rate future citizens that he wants
to repair war's ravages if she knows
in advance that she will have no one
to help her with her housework, her
cooking, her laundry, her nursing.
Therefore, John Bull, in the guise
of Sir Auckland Geddes, the Minis?
ter of Reconstruction, appointed a
committee of women representative
of all classes, and, as a result of the
findings of that committee, all the
old injustices on the slate of domes?
tic service are to be wiped out and
the writing of a new order placed
thereon.
The biggest item on the slate is
this: The domestic worker must have
the same status as any other woman
; worker.
Killing the Monotony
Of Housework
How is this to be brought about?
| That is the question the skeptic,
who knows the amount of snobbery
; which is part and parcel of human
j nature, is asking.
' "By scientific training and by
| propaganda," John Bull replies. "I
? will educate the servant to be abso
' lutely proficient in her work. Her
j very skill will give her status, will
impress upon tho.se mistresses too
blind and prejudiced now to see it
that if they want this superior kind
of domestic helper they will have tc
accord her superior treatment
Moreover, I will provide mainte
nance grants to the girls in training
so as to enable a parent to allow hi?
daughter to undertake it.'.'
Therefore, all over England to-daj
government-run schools where pros
pective sei'vants are trained in thei:
work have been ?'^tablished. An all
around education as well as tech
nical instruction is included in th<
course. On the theory that the mpr*
knowledge and intelligence that i
brought to housework the less mo
notonous and more interesting it be- j
j comes the girls are to be taught the
j whys and wherefores of their domes
tic problems. They are to know why
cold water removes the smell of
onions, while hot water fixes it; why
certain foods should be "put on" in
cold water and others in boiling; why
the contents of some saucepans
should be kept covered and others
not. And the increase in wages
which these skilled workers will be
able to claim, instead of impoverish?
ing the employer, should John Bull
think logically, will be largely
overcome by .the abt?ence of waste
that their newly acquired knowl?
edge should enable them to bring
about and by the decrease in the
number employed.
The establishment o? these train?
ing schools was but one of the rec?
ommendations handed in to the Min?
ister of Reconstruction by the, wom?
en's committee. A minimum wage,
specified hours of leisure and the
right to organize into a trade upion
empowered to hold conferences
with the employers are suggestions
that emphasize the Englishwomen's
determination not to do the thing
by half measures.
The Rip 'Van Winkle
Of Domestic Science
The reason th,e American woman's
servant problem should be of simph
solution as compared with her Brit
> ish sister's is because the latter has
been in a veritable Rip Van Winkh
? slumber as regards the progress o
j domestic science. Even in many o
| the big hotels one does not find sue!
' labor .saving devices as the vacuun
cleaner.
At the only hotel at which I eoul?
find accommodations upon my arriva
in London there was one bathrooi:
to every eighteen rooms or so.
The English servant is expecte
! to drag as many pails of hot wale
'as the habits of the family requin
?She must black boots; she mus
I battle with the dirt that some eigh
or nine open fireplaces in one horr
can be responsible for, and the onl
weapon she has is the old-fashione
broom !
When I told an Englishman tin
the average family in America whi<
British Government Establishes
Schools for the Training of
Domestic Helpers
kept only one maid allowed her every (
night off after the dinner dishes had
been washed and gave her two after-1
noons oil* in the week as well, he
[ was incredulous.
"Who opens the door if there is
a ring," he asked, "and who serves
refreshments if there are guests?"
I know one woman, in compara?
tively moderate circumstances?the
war has left her untouched, of
course?who rings for her maid if
she wants coal put on the fire,
though the scuttle is directly at hand
and the fire in front of her, and
"?"sT?^viioes not think she is degrading
j either herself or the woman she em?
ploys if she rings for the latter to
[ come and get her a book from the
next room.
A woman war worker, thrown out
of her job by the coming of pflftce,
thought to have a try at domestic
work, and in advertising tacked on
to her "ad" the simple request to be
; allowed to take a bath in the family
tub (many of the middle class homes
J have had antediluvian affairs
| installed that tro by the name of
; tubs!). This simple request brought
forth storms of protest in the shape
of letters to "The Times." One relic
of a bygone day wanted to know
what would become of the hygiene
of the family if servants were per?
mitted to use the bathroom! Does
it occur to no one to consider what
; the effect is on the family health
I when the maid does not bathe.'
Effect of Plumbing on
Servant Problem
On the other hand, the women who
have seen the light ai-e in the ratio
\ of about a hundred to one. Some
of them have announced their in?
tention of showing their apprecia?
tion of really good domestic helpers
by having them sit at table with tho
family at meals. A move like thin
has enormous possibilities, but
whether for good or for disaster
only time will tell.
What makes the English servant
problem a really aggravated one is
the antiquity of the architecture of
the homes and the absence of labor
saving devices. The English servant;
problem is of recent origin, hecausa
the emancipation of the women of
the lower classes is so recent, where?
as the American woman has always
had the independent maid to deal
with. She has seen the direction in
which the servant questhm was tend?
ing, and each year her house has
become more scientifically arranged,
so that, although she has n?it yet
arrived at the stage where she can
sit Edisondike at a switchboard and
run her home by the pressure of
huttods, she nevertheless has had
t'ne good sense to make her house?
keeping compact and modern, so that
the departure ?>f Brideet does not
i leave sheer tragedy in its wake.
Many American women of moderate
circumstances have arrived at tho
point where they no longer hate do?
mesticity of the modern variety, but
"cany on" quite well without a
1 maid.
The English housewife cannot do
this in the present state of the de?
velopment of her home. She will
solve her servant problem instead,
she declares firmly. Her determina?
tion is superb; we shall watch her
-, performance, a;s they say at the
j races.
Hie Navy Club?Permanent, Democratic, Self-Governing
The Gob and the
,Officer-To-Be Sit
Down Together
By HANNAH MITCHELL
rnHE gentleman with the mega
I phone announced in none too
gentle tones:
"Will the ladies in the canteen
?lease keep quiet! The speakers
an't be heard against the noise."
And really they weren't making
Each noise.
However, the announcement, or
request, as it might more tactfully
ke termed, was typical of "woman's
"lice" at the Navy Club, where it
ws made. The women and girls
?ho volunteer their services to
?ok and serve and help in various
wyi in the kitchen and dining
fwm of the club have taken upon
tiiemseves the modest rule of ser
J?? without recognition. They are
0 be "seen and not heard," and
I ?W like it.
Don't get the idea that the ''gobs"
?a't appreciate these women and
?*l?. who have made the club pos?
t?le. The girls who have served
? the canteen for six month? or
?we have received from the club
?8 gold pins indicating their
?ft of service. And Mrs. Will
?* H. Hamilton, the "mother" of
? club, wears a splendid gold
Ptal that rivals in make-up the
fttrations of heroes, which was
r? to her as a token of the
W&" appreciation.
m Gobi
r* Ho?U Here
something that makes this
different from other places
WN enlisted men are gathered
'? is that the Navy Club be
'"? to the men themselves,
"makes all the difference in the
,. a who the hosts are," said Mrs.
won last week. "Here the men
E?e hosts. They run things.
ts what makes the club distinct
^hostess houses and welfare
*heNavy Club, at 509 Fifth Ave
?Viin8 the first club t0 be opene?1
?tor, Hnd marines- Mrs- Ham
Z *?* th* Per8on who first went
t ?ctually proposing the club.
WPe?80n8 thouSht the club was
tf 2 . she started the wheels
(?.J1011 ln organizing it early in
'Wmmerof 1917,
^N?* ?Kind of
* for Peace
?, a successful career, the
?JUto 1S WorkinS to become a
oliiau Organization. The day of
? "?? ?ervice from the girls in
?**.'??' ***** in the way of
^a ?arniture for the club, is
?S?' althouch the faithful
."??tresses still come to serve.
f* of the club are Herbert
fc^L"?' President; Mrs. Will
I * -Hsmilton and Georga M.
I Bodman, vice-presidents; John F.
I Archbold, treasurer, and Frazier
! Moffatt, secretary. A campaign for
I funds to buy a clubhouse and to
? equip it has been started. Almost
' as soon as the scheme was launched
Mrs. Hamilton in speaking of the
reasons for the club.* "They are
sent to sea or to our receiving ship
? at Bay Ridge. When on leave, with
twenty-four or forty-eight hours to
dispose of, where are they to go?
In peace or war the sailor man
must write to girls in many ports
nineteen hundred gobs themselves
marched up to the clubrooms on
Fifth Avenue and paid their $?
dues to go toward the permanent
project.
j "Our enlisted men como from all
parts of the United States," said
Before the war no one knew or
cared. Those of us who have met
the seamen as a result of the war
have learned that the only pre-war
amusement was walking the streets.
They never found a welcome in
places that were clean or respect
able. Being in a big, lonesome
city, they sank down to the places
that wanted them."
The Navy Club is the gobs' own.
Perhaps one of the fascinations to
the women who go quietly in and
out is the distinctly masculine at?
mosphere of the place. It is com
j fortable and restful, but not dressy,
I is this Navy Club. The walls are
lined with war posters and souve?
nirs of ship days and holidays.
Several gobs are always shooting
pool. Others are always writing
| letters and lounging about, reading
| magazines. There is music all the
I time. Now one sturdy blond young?
ster is softly playing the aria from
"I Pagliacci." He plays it beauti?
fully, too. Then as he drifts over to
the pool table a dark eyed little fel?
low sits down to "How You Goin'
to Keep 'Em Down on the Farm."
j No Disorderly
I Element
One or two extremely tired look
I ing sailors are lounging in easy
chairs, and one of them has actually
gone to sleep. He isn't a bum. And
he won't be turned out of the club.
He is probably just a very tired
youngster. There is never any dis?
order in the Navy Club. And if
there were it would be made short
work of.
"Once I was asked," said Mrs.
Hamilton, "by a person whose ac?
quaintance with sailors is more or
less limited: "But what do you do
with your disorderly element?'
" T don't know,' I replied, 'be
cause we have never had any.' The
boys themselves take ca?e of the
law and order of the club. Once
we had a chap stay around for sev?
eral days and beat his meal ticket.
I looking persons. All their uniforms
i lack is the star and stripe on the
? sleeve, the distinction of an ensign.
I "Shades of Annapolis and John
i Paul," what ai'e these? Unbeliev
for ten cents and ice cream for
ten cents in the gobs' club. And ;
the navy officer-to-be ami the en- :
listed seaman sit down together.
While making the world safe for '
The table that competes with the dinner table for the title of the busiest corner
The men of the club watched him
closely and decided that he was un?
desirable. Then they put him out."
Seated at the tables with en?
listed seamen this summer have
been numerous slim young officer
able as it may seem, they are mid- |
shipmen on leave after their sum- !
mer cruise. While in New York, |
while there is yet time?they do not
rank as officers yet?they take ad?
vantage of pie for five cents, meat
democracy, our own .special centre
of naval aristocracy (Annapolis)
seems to have made an attempt to
remove the beam from its own eye.
The permanent Navy Club, as it
has been planned, is a pea?e meas
In or Out of the
Service the Boys
Back the Club
ure. Many clubs are closing now
that the war is over. The sailor is
losing some of his picturesqueness.
The hospitality and welcome that
were his during the war are pass?
ing in pan.
"The navy is enlisting boys of
fifteen and sixteen years," contin?
ued Mrs. Hamilton. "The Navy De?
partment is responsible for their
military discipline and their beha?
vior on board ship. But on shore
here the people of the City of New
York are responsible for them. We
as American citizens ought to care
about the character of the person?
nel of our navy. The ships are not
the navy; Secretary Daniels and the
men in the department in Washing?
ton are not the navy; the officers
are not the navy; but the over two
hundred thousand boys are the
navy for which all the others exist.
"One of the men of the club re?
cently told me that he believed the
reason so few new enlistments were
being made was that the men held
back because of the way in which
the uniform was regarded in peace
time.
"The Navy Club lias won the con?
fidence and approval of the men
I with two, three and four hash
j marks on their sleeves, and the ap
i proval of these old service men is
j no easy thing to get. These men
! are behind the club. They know its
j value because they remember the
' old conditions before it existed.
An Endless Chain
Membership Campaign
"in the club the enlisted man when
on leave can get his mail from
home. It furnishes a place where
he can have his money orders and
checks cashed. The club has a safe?
ty deposit vault for the use of its
members. The club means a head?
quarters to meet friends. Ai : .' is
also a place to carry 'g< b' griev?
ances.
"Great Britain has a sailors' club
; in every one of her ports. Even here
in New York City she take> care of
i her bailors. We Americans never
thought of such a scheme until the
! v. ar. And now we can't close dowr
?ill our makeshift homes for thi
i boys. The men themselves are or
ganizing an endless chain of mem
i bership among the active servie?
1 men.
I
"The ex-service men are to h
members of the club for a littl
larger sum than the active mem
; bers. I feel sure that the gobs wi!
j be able to make their organizan?
a worth-while institution in th
city, and they are worthy the al
I tention of us all, as citizens, in th
J launching of their permanent club.
A Perfect Vacation for Twelve Dollars Per
;
FROM the Grand Central t
Crot?n and then by 'bus t
the Valerie House. The vie\
over your shoulder rivals tha
in any of the fascinating vacatioi
trip books put out by hotels an<
steamship lines. Keg Mountaii
bathes in a storybook sunset of to?
beautiful-to-be-natural gold. Fresl
air, healthful exercise and merrj
play with other girls make such i
fairyland seem real.
This is a r?sum? of its vacatior
home for self-supporting girls (anc
all for twelve dollars a week)} ac?
cording to the Vacation Association
Several years ago a number oi
New York women organized the Va?
cation Association. Its purpose at
the time was only to help the self
supporting woman to enjoy a sum?
mer vacation. To accomplish this,
arrangements were made with all
the large employers of women in
the metropolitan district to estab?
lish in iheir stores, offices or shops
a "station" for the Vacation Asso?
ciation. The employe might de?
posit at this station such a sum of
her weekly ?salary as she felt she
could afford to save. A receipt l
was given to her.
The money thus deposited was in,
due time transmitted to the "Vaca?
tion Association and held in trust
| for the depositor. This money was
protected by the safeguards sur?
rounding a state bank.
When summer came?or when
misfortune anticipated the object
for which the money was to be saved
?the Vacation Association returned
to the depositor the money and ren?
dered assistance in looking for loca
I tions for summer holidays. The
! work grew, and finally a clubhouse
I was opened at 38 West Thirty-ninth
' Street. Later the association opened
! several houses where rooms were
I rented by the day or week. A cafe
; teria was opened at the clubhouse,
| and then a music hall. Sponsors of
; the organization agreed that what
j was needed was an out-of-town
' place.
?
In the will of Jacob Langeloth,
I who died several years ago, was
? provided, among other things, that
his administrators should purchase a
suitable location and establish a free
hospital. The trustees accepted
Valerie House, a beautiful old coun?
try house on the road between
Peekskill and Harmon. With the
Hudson River in view, the moun?
tains in the rear and lakes on the
grounds, the 1,000 acres and house
were purchased. After the armistice
: was signed Mrs. Langeloth turned it
j over, fully equipped, to the Vaca?
tion Association.
| Here was a summer home worthy
-e
of any one's hopes. Hot and cold
water baths, single and double
rooms and dormitories?the iatter
more like a clubhouse with innu?
merable windows on every side. In
the grounds surrounding were flow?
ers and fruits, games and grass,
mountain hikes, lake boating and
swimming, a mess hall where "chow"
that was "something like" was
served ? indeed, everything that
could be desired.
The home accommodates tifty, and
in an adjoining building, with a
"spotless town" kitchen and mess
hall with windows wherever there is
a place to stick one, there is room
for others. There are wide veran?
das and there is a music room and
game rooms and a porch that ac?
commodates frequent masquerade
balls.
This is the summer home for the
I Vacation Association girls, and tc
I enjoy it one need but apply to the
clubhouse at 38 West Thirty-nintl
< Street and pay a reservation fee oj
, $1. There are no questionnaires tc
i be signed, no restrictions on liberty
! The house will close September 15
If you have a grouch and want ti
j lose ir* ,'e.iie it% <?, ?cation House.