L
I
March 2, 1001.
Queer Domestic Feature
In
(Copyright, 1901, by Frank G. Curpcntcr.)
WELLINGTON, Now Zealand, Jan. 19.
(Special Correspondence, of Tho lice.)
WANTED Lady 'help. Address, Private
Family, Herald ofllce.
WANTED-Sltuatltn ns Lady Help or
Nurse In small family. Apply to Miss
Mary , street, Wellington.
WANTED Dy Domesticated Young Lady;
position ns Companion or Help; town or
country. Apply X. O. I, Herald olllcc.
Theso three advertisements I clip from
the "situations wanted" column of tho
!, H ' 1 1 C 3 3 3
PERSPECTIVE OK THE NEW
Morning Herald. Thoy glvo you somo Idea
of ono of tho distinct professions open to
women In New Zealand. This Is known
as lady helping. The term "Indy help"
Is as common here ns "cook" or "cham-
k bermnld" is In tho United Slates. It Is used
as to a certain clnss of servants and It
menns that tho srivant Is to bo treated ns
a member of the family.
Thcro nro two classes of hired girls In
New Zealand. Ono Is tho lady help, tho
other Is tho general house servnnt. The
lady help does tho same work ns "tho gen
erals." She cooks, makes tho beds, sweeps
tho floors, washes nnd Irons nnd sometimes
helps her mistress dress. She is sup
posed to sit down at tho table with tho
family nt meals and to bo treated as nn
assistant of her mistress. She Is not
classed as n servant, although she Is
expected to do servant's work nnd often
moro than would be demanded of tho gen
oral house servant.
When I first henrd tho expression Indy
nhelp 1 thought it was ono merely cxprcss
Ivo of tho reign of tho Bervant girl, which
now prevails In Australasia. I soon found
thnt It had a distinct meaning. To get nt
tho exact difference between n lady help
nnd n "general" servnnt I inquired of the
lady clerk of ono of tho chief hotels in
Now Zealand. She replied:
"Tho chief difference Is In tho manner of
address. You call a 'general' by her first
name, such as Polly, Mary or Salllo, but tho
lady holp la nlways addressed ns miss.
Tho mistress Is supposed to nsslst tho
lady holp In doing tho housework, but In
somo families tho Indy help Is treated
worso than a scullion. She does all tho
work of tho general servant nnd receives
only half ns much wages. I bcllcvo some
women ndvortlso for Indy helps Just be
cause they can get thorn moro cheaply."
"nut will they work for less wages?" I
asked. "I should think they would want
moro?"
"Thoy usually got one-third less thnn tho
general house servants," wns tho reply. "I
know somo who work for 5 shillings ($1.2.")
per week, whtlo 'generals' get 10, 12 nnd
15 shillings nnd upwnrd. You sco, the
lady help pretends thnt she has a little
bolter blood and breeding thnn tho 'general.'
Sho wants to rank higher In tho soclnl scale,
nnd sho pays for It."
I. inly Ilcliin nt Dinner.
I havo boon much amused nt tho airs of
tho Now Zealand hired girls. Tho Indy
helps In somo families are greater sticklers
ror their dignity thnn nny queen upon a
throne. They seem to think themselves
guests of thoir mistresses nnd express tholr
lndlgnntlon when naked to do what thoy
consldor menlnl things. "Ono of my helps,"
Bald a dear old New Zealand lady to mo,
"camo down to dinner tho first night after
her engagement In n decollete evening
dress. Sho wore low slippers nnd had ear
rings nnd brooch of pnsto diamonds. Sho
paid no attention to wnltlng on the tablo,
and when hor master asked hor to got up
and hand something from tho sideboard sho
grow very Indignant."
"How nbout tho ordinary servants," I
asked. "Do thoy like tho lady helps?"
"You mean tho genornls?" said tho old
Indy. "Tho ordinary hired girl Is
known ns tho general house servant and
ls called tho gcnornl for short. Tho gen
erals rainor acspiso tho Indy helps, They
rooi, ana rightly, that thoy nro mnsquorad
Ing under fnlso pretenses. Thev fcnl
thomsolvos fully tho equals of tho Indy helps,
nnd rather better, ns they aro not ashamr.l
of bolng known as doing thnt for which
they are paid. Tho ordinary genornl will
.not allow a lady holp to order hor nbout.
Sho will take her directions only from tho
mistress of tho houso. I hnppened to be
away from homo on ono day of last week
when some of my men friends called. Tho
New Zealand
lady help received them and played tho
Lady Hountlful. She entertained them,
serving enkes nnd tea. She rang the
boll for tho cook, who was a general, nnd
told her to bring In the tea. The cook did
so, but when I camo homo I found her rag
ing. She gave me notice nnd told me
slio did not propose to bo ordered nbout by
nny Indy help. I had to almost get down
on my knees to keep her. 1 hnvo her
still, but my lady help has been told that
she must transmit nil orders through mo."
I find Hint the servant girl rules here
3 J J
III
113 iWP, i Mm
SOUTH OMAHA HIGH SCHOOL.
oven more omnipotently than In the United
Stntcs. Tho mistresses are nt tho mercy
of their servants, who to somo extent dic
tate their own wnges and their own hours
olT. Every now and then you sco an
nrtlclo in the paper which advocates tho
establishment of an eight-hour law for
houso servants, nnd at present every hired
girl In New Zcnlnud lifts one half holiday n
week, in addition to Sunday afternoons,
nnd ns n usunl thing every other Sunday off.
In tho country It Is almost Impossible to
get servants, nnd In the towns tho servants
are leaving to work in the factories, nnd
this notwithstanding the wages In tho fnc-
ICE BOAT ON CUT
torlcs are often less than thoso of house
servants, especially when tho matter of
board Is taken Into consideration.
Hero nro tho wages. In tho towns gen
eral houso servnnts got on tho nvorago f 2.50
por week, many receiving ns much ns $3.75.
Nursemaids aro pnld from $1.25 to $2.G0
per week, whllo laundresses receive up to
$4. Cooks nre pnld from $3 to $6 n week
nnd sowing women In Wellington who llvj
nt tho houso got as high ns ?G. In other
places their wnges nro lower.
It scorns funny to think of a government
opening olllccs to glvo servant girls em
ployment, but this Is ono of tho wnys of
New Zealand. The premier stnrtod It somo
years ago when ho found tho employment
agencies woro Imposing upon tho servnnt
girls. Ho told mo how it hnpponcd. Said
ho:
"I was connected with tho department of
works nt tho tlmo. I found that tho serv
nnt girls were bolng charged exorbitantly
by tho employment ngcnclcs nnd that thoy
wero often sent by the agonts to Improper
plnccB. I started a bureau and fixed tho
rules for nil ouch offices. I charged tho
girls 1 shilling, or 25 conts, for registra
tion, and that gave thorn a place. That Is
tho rate that the employment agencies now
charge throughout the colony. Wo havo n
branch of the labor department which fur
nishes employment for the unemployed.
Wo find It works fairly well."
How to Trnln Your Servant GlrU.
Bluco my talk with the premier I have
looked over the reports of the department
m
.&u&stiMi!nt
1 BYM V T-a
THE ILLUSTRATED BEE.
of lnbor, as mndo by tho woman Inspector
of factories and tho woman who Is Iti
charge of tho woman's branch here nt Wel
lington. Tho latter states that 316 girls
havo bocu given plnccs during the past
year. It also gives tho following points
ns to how servants should bo treated In
ordor to mnko them clllclrnt. It suggests
that mothers should mnko domestic work
moro nttrnctlvo to their dnughtars, and
thnt thoy should work with them. it ad
vises mistresses to work with tholr serv
ants somewhat ns follows:
"A mistress who has but one servant
should work with her during tho morning
hours. Under such circumstances a girl
will become very proficient nnd by this
means domestic mnttcrs will move nlong
on oiled wheels. Tho mistress who docs
nothing to help her servnnt nnd Is nlwnys
hurrying her wears tho girl out. It Is sho
who brings domestic service Into bad re
puto, sho who Is driving the girls Into tho
factories.
"I find thnt servnnts nro becoming moro
senrco every year. Even tho old women
who used to bo a troublo to tho ouleo hnvo
found employment, nearly nil of them In
tho country. I find thnt somo girls cngngu
places nnd then do not go to them. They
perhaps find something better In tho mean
whllo nnd brenk tholr engagements. 1
would suggest that tho government provide
fines for such offenses, ns thoy causo great
Inconvcnlcnco to employers. As It Is now
If nn employer fnlls to tnke n girl after ho
has engaged her ho hns to glvo hor a week's
ray."
This Is tho statement of Helen Stnvcly,
officer In chnrgo of tho woman's branch of
tho lnbor department nt Wellington.
Hour Factory C!lrln Arc Trenteil.
Tho Now Zenlnnd government hns n
woman Inspector of factories connected with.
Its labor bureau. This Is Margaret Scott
Hnwthorno. It Is hor business to visit tho
shops, factories nnd work rooms where
women nro employed nnd to sco thnt tho
laws concerning them nro carried out The
head of tho department of labor has given
mo her Inst report, from which I condense
n fow statements. Sho says:
"Tho question of forty-eight hours per
week Is still n matter of bitter complaint.
In many foctorles half nn hour only Is
given for lunch, nnd If tho women tnke n
half hour off In the middle of tho dny thoy
havo to work a half hour In tho evening to
mnko up their forty-eight hours per week.
"I find that women nnd girls employed In
Iho shops (stores) work harder than many
people Imagine. A regular hour for closing
should be ndoptcd. Many of tho girls aro
qulto dono up nt 4 p. m. when tea tlmo
comes nnd nro not fit for nnothcr hour nnd
OFF LAKE, OMAHA
a halt's work. Somo clerks nro nffectcd
by tho draughts from the doors opening. I
would suggest that In winter swinging
doors bo fitted to all shops. I think eight
hours a day is qulto long enough for work
In such places."
Tho factory girls are better protected In
Now Zealand thnn In tho United Stntcs,
Tako tho southern cotton fnctorles, for In
stance. Many of tho employes thoro work
cloven hours n dny. In New Zcnlnud
women nnd children nro forbidden by law
to put In moro than fifty-two hours a
wcok, and every week must hnvo Its half
holiday exclusive of Sundny. Nearly all
tho fnctorles aro closed at 1 p. in. Saturday
A fixed tlmo for dinner Is provided by
law. Ono factory that cut short tho dinner
hour was recently fined. Such enses nro
common, nnd wherever discovered are pun
ished by tho government.
KiiliiMt tin Sivrnt Shop.
Tho Now Zealand government has laws
ngalnst tho swent shops. It defines a fac
tory as any placo where moro than two
hands nro employed, nnd this brings all
kinds of llttlo shops under tho factory laws.
It provides that girls shall not work In tho
factories without wnges, It was discov
ered that somo of the factories or stores
would tako on girls for tho first three
months for nothing, telling them thnt they
woro worth nothing nt tho start, but they
would bo paid as soon as they became ox
porloncod. At the end of tho throe months
thoy would likely say to tho girls thnt
they wore worth nothing and could give
them no further employment. They
would then take on n fresh lot on tho same
terms. Uy tho laws It Is now provided
that no employe must bo pnld less thnn n
certain sum nnd that girls under 18 can
not work In nny kind of nn establishment
for less than $1 per week. If girls are
taken Into tho factories nt nn earlier ago
than this they must show that thoy havo
some education. No girl under Hi will be
admitted to u factory without sho has
passed through the fourth grado of the
public schools.
Tho li.w provides that all factories shall
hnvo proper sanitary arrangements. The
buildings must bo well ventilated, bo pro
vided with flro escapes nnd so arranged
thnt tho women enn have tho necessary
privacy ns to ninny things.
Theso labor laws aro by no menus dead
letters. Employers are lined when they
transgress thcin. I hnvo Just been looking
over a list of eases which Illustrate this.
Ono man who cut short tho dinner hour
of his girls pnld $10 and costs nnd another,
n restaurant keeper, who kept his wait
resses nt work for cloven and ono-hnlf
hours ono dny, hnd to pay a line of $36,
nlthough olio of the girls had hnd threo
afternoons off thnt week. Another res-
(Continued on Eighth Pago )
The $eal of
$atisfaction
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for our charRcs, nnd also "satis
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tlf y you and rctnln your palronnRe.
Wc hnve only one way of dolnR
business, nnd that Is why every
customer nets "sntlsf nctlon.' 'a a
A. I. Root, Printer
414416 South 12th, Omaha
I
Hi
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