An interesting illustration of the social stratification in England is suggested by the sermons delivered to servants by the late Master of Balliol. Sermons, pp. vii., 348. Lewis Carroll “was always ready and willing to preach at the special service for college servants which used to be held at Christ Church every Sunday evening.”—Collingwood, Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll, p. 77.
[378] The home for aged servants in Dresden is under the immediate patronage of the Queen. In 1892, when visited, it had accommodations for fifteen women who must be at least sixty-two years old and give proof of having been a servant before being admitted. It does not apparently differ in principle from a well-conducted old ladies’ home except that its inmates must all have been servants.
[379] There are many of these homes where girls out of employment can have comfortable accommodations at a reasonable rate. One of the most interesting is the “Heimatshaus für Mädchen” in Berlin. In 1892 it was located under the “Stadtbahn” or elevated railroad of the city. Under pressure it could accommodate two hundred and was constantly increasing its facilities. In 1891 five thousand girls had found in it a temporary home. They remained on an average about five days. Each occupant pays 25 pfennigs for lodging, 10 for coffee, 15 for dinner, and 10 for supper. Even at these very low rates the home is self-supporting. The only source of income is the fees paid to the employment bureau carried on in connection with the home. Every employer pays 3 marks when he secures a servant through the bureau, and every employee pays the same when a place is secured. That the class of servants who frequent it have a family likeness to their sisters in America was indicated by the questions overheard asked by would-be servants of prospective employers: “How many children are there in the family?” “How many servants do you keep?” “Is there running water in your flat?” “How many flights up do you live?”
[380] The Sonntags-Verein has its headquarters in Berlin where in 1892 it had twenty-nine unions under its charge, with one hundred and twenty-one in other parts of Germany and six in Russia, England, and Austria. Its work is almost exclusively religious in character, but entertainment is provided consisting of music, games, and reading, and beer or tea is served with bread and butter. About fifteen hundred girls were members of the Berlin branches in 1892. The difficulty of starting and maintaining these unions was very great. The free time of household employees is every other or every third Sunday afternoon, so that attendance is very irregular and interest correspondingly fluctuating. Employers often discourage the attendance of their employees, saying that they need rest rather than recreation, while the girls themselves often prefer the coffee-houses or beer gardens. The Deutsche Mädchen-Zeitung in 1892 had been published twenty-three years in the interests of the Verein and had a circulation of four thousand copies. These, however, were not taken by the girls themselves, but by their employers for them. “The Germans never wish to pay for anything themselves, they wish everything given them,” said a German employer in explanation. The Sonntags-Verein owed its inception to the interest in the class of household employees taken by Frau Banquier Lösche, and since her death, four years ago, the work has been carried on by her daughter.
[381] These usually receive young girls after they have been confirmed,—at about fourteen years of age,—and train them in everything pertaining to the house. They do not naturally at that age go of their own accord, but they are taken by their parents or guardians who often sign a contract, agreeing that the girl will remain in the school at least one or two years, as the case may be. The schools are well attended, and the girls apparently contented.
Edward S. Joynes, in his report on the Industrial Education of Women in Germany (Columbia, S.C., 1896), gives a full description of the training in domestic work given in the regular German industrial schools for girls.
[382] At least two important historical studies of the topic have been made,—one by Mr. Albert Matthews on “The Terms Hired Man and Help,” and one by Mr. James D. Butler on “British Convicts Shipped to American Colonies.” Statistical investigations of the subject have been carried on by the state bureaus of labor in Minnesota, Colorado, and Indiana. The Massachusetts bureau has collated the results of investigations made by the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union of Boston, Miss Isabel Eaton has made an exhaustive study of negro domestic service in the seventh ward of the city of Philadelphia, different branches of the Association of Collegiate Alumnæ have carried on valuable local inquiries into the question, while the bureau of labor in Washington is about undertaking a comprehensive study of the entire subject. The New York state library has issued a full list of articles and books bearing on the matter, and the city libraries of Providence, Rhode Island, and Salem, Massachusetts, have published similar lists. In view of these facts it seems not unreasonable to make the above claim.