will tell you that the "chambermaid has no protection, no morality, and
is without the influence of a fixed place or home atmosphere;" finally,
that "chamber-work is the most degrading occupation a girl can engage
in!"
If a girl is not capable of a higher calling, why should not she make
beds in a hotel when there is such a crying need from the hotel managers
for conscientious and painstaking work? It is not every girl that
Providence has blessed with a prima donna's voice. Not every girl can be
admitted on the vaudeville stage. Not all have had kind and wealthy
parents to send them through college and fit them for the higher
attainments.
_Chambermaid Can Take Care of Self._
The proprietor is ever ready to protect the maids from undue familiarity
from the male patrons of the hotel. This is seldom necessary. The
average maid meets an incivility with a cold disdain that puts to rout
a second attempt. Men that wreck women's lives are found outside of
hotels.
_Religion a Factor._
It is an undisputed fact that the Irish-American Catholic girls make the
best chambermaids. The comfort found in the Catholic religion
compensates for the loss of home ties. She is without any danger signal
save her own conscience, yet there does not exist on the face of the
earth a more moral class of girls than the Irish-American Catholic
chambermaids in the hotels of the United States.
She goes at her work determined to use her experience as a
stepping-stone to something higher. She encounters many pitfalls. She
makes a few mistakes, but during her stay in Yankeeland she has learned
President Roosevelt's maxim: "The man who never makes any mistakes is
the man who never does anything." She is consoled by it, and from her
pitfalls learns a lesson that enables her to avoid making the same
mistakes in the future.
_Not a Bad Day's Program._
At the Grand Union Hotel in New York City, and in hotels in other cities
in New York state, the writer has learned from observation that the
social side of the chambermaid's life is a pleasant one. She begins the
day at 7:15 and quits at 4:00, except the night she is on watch. She is
given a ten o'clock lunch; she has one hour for dinner, and at 2:30 she
is given fifteen minutes for a cup of tea. The night she is on watch,
she is served with a good dinner of chicken and all the good things the
hotel affords. She has every third Sunday off and may follow her own
will. She has time to cultivate acquaintances, and attend to her
religious duties.
_Christmas Time._
There is kindness and courtesy existing among the maids. When Christmas
day draws near, the festivities are looked forward to with eager
anticipation. Mysterious-looking bundles are coming in and going out.
Friends are remembered. The father and mother, brother and sister over
the water are not forgotten; and likewise the maids are not forgotten by
their employer. The dining-hall is wreathed in holly, the table is
loaded with all the season's delicacies. Trade is dull in the hotel, and
the time is given over to enjoyment.
_Chambermaids at Their Best._
There are evening parties in the "help's hall." The weekly "tips" or any
"stray coins" are invested in sugar and butter, and "fondant" is made
that would melt in your mouth. Then there is the "taffy-pull," the cups
of tea, and the "fortunes told," over the cups. The jokes go round, the
merry laughter resounds and gets so loud that the housekeeper, who has
retired, rises, and hastens to put a stop to the noise. Arriving on the
scene, she has not the heart to reprove them. Herein she tastes an old
joy of girlhood. It is Christmas. She slips back to her own room and
into bed again. The airs of "Killarney" and "The Wearing of the Green"
die away, and the house is quiet.
MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS.
The housekeeper should furnish the houseman with a synopsis of his
duties every morning.
In addition to this, he has, of course, his regular duties--sweeping
halls, dusting, cleaning cuspidors, washing windows, hanging curtains,
moving furniture, laying carpets, and cleaning lights. Sweeping roofs
and keeping gutters clean fall to his share also. Fortunate indeed is
the housekeeper that can have a houseman for each floor. A skull cap and
an over-all suit would be appropriate apparel for the houseman.
* * * * *
Any defective plumbing in bathrooms should be promptly reported by the
housekeeper. Sometimes a guest will justly complain that the faucet in
the bathtub is out of order, and the water trickling all night keeps him
awake.
A tray under the ice-water pitcher will save the table or dresser.
* * * * *
The soul of the housekeeper faints within her when a guest complains
that he has been given a room reserved for "plain drunks." He calls
attention to the fact that the carpet is patched in thirteen places, and
at least as many patches of paper are in evidence on the wall.
* * * * *
The sweepers require special care. The maids should bring them to the
linen room once a month where they are oiled. Never empty the sweeper by
pulling the pan down, as this breaks the spring, causing the pan to drop
lower than the brush, and the sweeper fails to pick up the dirt. A
Bissell sweeper in the hands of a skillful maid will last three years.
_Season for Repotting House-Plants._
September is the season for repotting house-plants. As flowers are such
important factors of civilization speaking to us of nature's God, it is
surprising that more plants are not seen in hotels, and that more
proprietors do not adopt this ingenious plan of beautifying their
dining-rooms and corridors, using palms instead of those cheap
artificial roses which are so conspicuous in third-rate hotels.
The stately palm lends an air of refinement that nothing else can give.
The greatest obstacle to the growth of house-plants is dust. The palms,
azaleas, and rubber plants may be sponged occasionally to keep them
clean and healthy. Other plants may be taken to the bathroom and given a
shower-bath. In the summer time, two or three times a week is often
enough for watering the house-plants. In winter, once a week is
sufficient.
WHY HOTEL EMPLOYEES FAIL TO RISE.
The reasons why some people never rise above commonplace positions
should be made clear to all that seek employment or better conditions.
In every field, there are those that never take the initiative, and they
make up the great majority. They are apparently afraid of doing too much
work, or of making themselves generally useful, or of doing some bit of
work that has not been assigned them, for which they might not be paid,
forgetting that the world's greatest prizes are generally bestowed on
the individual who does the right thing without being told.
If we wait to be told our duties, we cease to be moral agents and are
mere machines, and, as such, stationary in place and pay.
If you would succeed, cultivate self-confidence, which is one of the
foundation stones of success. Rest assured your employer knows the
difference between "bluff" and the real thing. "Nerve" will not win in
the long run. It may accomplish temporary advantage, but there must be
something back of "nerve."
Practice self-control. If you can not control yourself, you can not
control others. When the commander riding in front of his army takes to
the woods in the face of the enemy, he can only expect his troops to
follow his example. Anger is an unbecoming mood. In serenity, lies
power.
Keep busy. Improve each moment. Do not be afraid of too much work. The
office-boy that sits around watching the clock, as if he might be
waiting for his automobile to take him home, will never own the hotel.
The superintendent that has not enough patience to instruct properly a
beginner may lose valuable assistants and can not hope to achieve a
great enterprise.
Do not become discouraged and resign your position because it is not up
to your ideal. It may be better to bear with the ills you have than fly
to others you know not of.
SUGGESTIONS IN CASE OF FIRE.
It is hard to tell a housekeeper what to do or what not to do in case of
fire. No two hotels are alike, and no two fires occur in the same way.
Circumstances are to be considered first. Much depends on the location
and the progress of the fire, and whether it is night or day. It is an
old maxim "that fire is a good servant but a hard master." Shakespeare
wrote: "A little fire is quickly trodden out, which, being suffered,
rivers cannot quench." It is bad policy to delay sending in the alarm to
the fire department. Many persons put off this important duty until it
is too late. They reason that it might alarm the guests and cause a
panic and that they will be drowned out. Thus they battle with the
flames with the incomplete fire apparatus belonging to the hotel,
refusing the petition to turn in an alarm to the fire department until
the fire has gained such headway that it is impossible for even the
skilled firemen to put it out. Thereby jeopardizing the lives of the
hotel guests and also the lives of the firemen. No general in command
of an army, no hero in battle deserves more praise than do these
courageous men who hourly risk their lives to save lives and the
property of others. Minutes count for something in a fire. The fire
department can quickly and quietly put out a small fire, and the guests
of the hotel may never know that a fire has occurred until it is all
over. Panics usually follow when the people are face to face with the
flames, and not at the sight of the fire department in front of the
hotel. To a sensible mind, the fire engine and firemen should bring a
feeling of safety. A feeling that if the hotel is on fire, the fire will
soon be extinguished. Keep cool; don't run, and don't talk or give
orders in an excited tone. Should a fire occur in a single room, close
the door of that room to prevent the flames from spreading, and go to
the nearest fire hose rack, and attach the hose to the plug and take the
nozzle end to the door of the room in which the fire is started, then go
back and turn on the water. If the water is turned on before the hose
has been carried it will make the hose too heavy for one person to
carry, especially if you have to climb a stairway or go any great
distance; a fire hose when full of water is very heavy. The housekeeper
should never desert the hotel in case of fire. She has in her possession
keys to all doors. She is familiar with the location of windows and fire
escapes, and the location of the fire extinguishers and axes. She knows
the position of all stairways, particularly the top landing and scuttle
to the roof. She knows where all fire proof doors are located, where the
water pails are kept and she can render the firemen great service in
directing them to a more advantageous position. All doors should be
unlocked so that the firemen can have free access without breaking them
in and causing delay. The doors, however, should be kept closed to
prevent the fire spreading. The rapidity with which a building is
consumed by flames is due to the wind and the draughts from stairways,
open doors and windows and elevator shafts. The walls of elevator shafts
and all vertical openings should be built of non-combustible material,
such as brick and mortar and all elevators should be equipped with
automatic traps. In case of a fire on the first floor, the automatic
trap would fall when a certain degree of heat was reached and thus
prevent the fire from reaching the second floor, and the progress of the
fire would be delayed.
All fire hose should be tested every six months. A leak may have caused
the hose to become worthless. All hose should be attached to the fire
plug at all times and the little wrench for turning on the water should
be tied to the rack where the hose is kept. All these essentials should
be examined and carefully scrutinized by every housekeeper and
chambermaid. A fire can make great progress while some inexperienced
person is fumbling with and trying to attach the hose and turn on the
water. There should be a red light in the hall in front of the fire
escape window; a red light can be seen better than a white one. The view
of the fire escape window should never be obstructed by any kind of a
curtain.
All hotels should have a stand pipe, it will reduce the rate of
insurance one-third.
Although few people know how to escape down a rope fire-escape, every
room in the hotel should be equipped with one. All fire departments
should have a life net; dropping into a life-net is not so hazardous as
sliding down a rope when one is ignorant of the proper way to do it. The
life nets are made of woven rope with springs, and are 10 feet in
diameter. The firemen hold this net and persons dropping into it can be
saved.
The Kirker Bender spiral tube fire-escape is the best and safest. In one
minute 200 persons can slide through the Kirker Bender, to absolute
safety. It is a very expensive fire escape, but expense should not be
considered when building fire-escapes. There should be a fire-alarm box
in every hall. Should a fire occur, on a floor where there is no
fire-alarm box, a messenger would have to be dispatched to the office
before the fire company could be notified. Some hotels have no fire-box
at all. The fire-box being located a block away from the hotel.
Fire-boxes can be put in hotels with very little expense. It is an old
saying--"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." This is
especially true in the case of fire prevention. If the following
precautions are taken, fires from accident or spontaneous combustion
seldom occur.
_Fire Prevention._
Keep your hotel clean and never allow rubbish, such as paper, rags,
cobwebs, old clothing and boxes to accumulate in closets and unused
rooms. Don't allow coal oil lamps to be used by women patrons for the
purpose of heating curling irons. Never put up gas brackets so they can
be swung against door casings or immediately under curtains. Never keep
matches in any but metal or earthen safes. Never keep old woolen rags
that have been used in oiling and cleaning furniture, or waxing floors,
unless in a tin can with a tin lid.
_Origin of Fires._
Fires are the results of accidents, of spontaneous combustion, and of
design. If they have been accidental, the cause can generally be
discovered, and it will be found, that they might have been prevented.
Carelessness and negligence are the cause of over two-thirds of all
fires.
Electrical fires are caused from electric light wires lying against
wood or iron, or coming in contact with water. A stream of water thrown
on a heavily charged electric light wire will give a shock and may even
kill the fireman holding the nozzle. This is one reason why the electric
lights are cut off when a fire is raging and thus leaving people to
grope their way out through darkness. All hotels should have hall-ways
lighted by gas, and especially should a gas light with a red globe be
placed in front of all fire escape windows.
Should a fire occur at night the housekeeper should give orders to have
all doors unlocked and the gas lighted in the halls.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE HOUSEKEEPER.
The greatest wonder to my mind is that more women that must of necessity
earn their livelihood, do not adopt the profession of hotel
housekeeping. What nicer or more profitable way can a woman earn her
living. Standing at my window of a stormy morning, I see many women
going early through the wind and snow, sometimes rain, to their work,
and I can not help comparing my daily tasks to theirs. Many of these
women stand all day behind the counters of some large dry-goods store,
where they are designated only as No. 1, No. 2, and so on. Some of the
women are going to work in silk mills, where the looms keep up a
deafening roar, and where, at their noon hour, they must eat a cold
lunch. These women get a small salary, on an average $8.00 a week, and
out of this they must pay their room, board and laundry bills.
I could not refrain from contrasting the hotel housekeeper's position
with that of other women-workers in cities. The housekeeper has a good,
warm room, clean bed, hot and cold bath, and the best eating that the
hotel affords. She may command the respect of all other employes in the
house, and may make many life-long friends. My advice to any young woman
seeking a situation is to start right at chamber-work, to keep her wits
sharp, and her head on her shoulders. To be sure, there are many
temptations, all of which the average girl should be able to resist. But
a chambermaid with a modest and reticent disposition may never meet with
any pitfalls, at least, no more than would be encountered in a dry-goods
store or factory. From chambermaid, she may get promoted to the
linen-room, where she will be shielded and protected from interlopers,
and will have plenty of leisure to sew or to mend for her own benefit.
She can save money, for she will have better pay in the linen-room. She
will also have better food, and will learn something of the executive
management of the hotel. Naturally, she will see more of the proprietor
or the manager, and will learn his ideas and principles, which knowledge
may be useful to her in later years. Time brings about many changes, and
hotels change proprietors, as well as housekeepers and managers. Often,
when a new manager makes his appearance, he will bring his housekeeper
or linen-room woman with him; in this case, the linen-room woman may
have to secure another situation. Now is her chance to take a step
higher on the ladder, by obtaining a position as housekeeper.
INDEX.
Assembly Hall, 87
Attention to Details, 34
Birds of Passage, 32-33
Character in The Hotel Business, 26
Cleaning Rooms, 41-44
Card and Wine Rooms, 88
Cleaning Brass, 85
Chambermaids, 90
Evolution of the Housekeeper, 104-105
Fires, Suggestions in case of, 98
Fire Prevention, 102
Fires, origin of, 103
Gossip between employes, 29-30
Housekeeper and the Help, 17-22
Housekeeper's salary, 38-40
Housekeeper, progressive, 35-37
Housekeeper's Rules, 81
Housekeeper, relationship between guests, 31
Housekeeper, requirements of, 11-20
Housekeeper, and co-operation, 17-22
How to Make Beds, 47-48
How to Clean Walls, 49-51
How to Scrub a Floor, 51-52
How to Get Rid of Vermin, 53-57
Linen Room, Linen Woman, 63-68
Linen, table, care of, 69-70
Linen, removing stains, 70
Linen, best kind, 71
Linen, how to test, 72
Laundry, making bleach, 73-80
Miscellaneous subjects, 94
Parlor Maid, 83-90
Proprietor's Wife, 23-25
Room Inspection, 21-28
Vacuum Cleaning System, 58-62
Waxing Ballroom Floor, 88
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| Transcriber's Note: |
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| Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the |
| original document have been preserved. |
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| Typographical errors corrected in the text: |
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| Page 9 Riebold changed to Reibold |
| Page 12 linen-en-room changed to linen-room |
| Page 14 housekeeperes changed to housekeepers |
| Page 22 ordel changed to ordeal |
| Page 23 plebianism changed to plebeanism |
| Page 24 benefitted changed to benefited |
| Page 31 sweetner changed to sweetener |
| Page 33 admireres changed to admirers |
| Page 39 avereage changed to average |
| Page 40 theadbare changed to threadbare |
| Page 44 symmetricaly changed to symmetrically |
| Page 49 woll changed to wall |
| Page 49 obmtain changed to obtain |
| Page 58 clening changed to cleaning |
| Page 59 sytem changed to system |
| Page 60 accumulationg changed to accumulating |
| Page 63 line changed to linen |
| Page 65 ow changed to How |
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| Page 70 procees changed to process |
| Page 71 presen changed to present |
| Page 75 line changed to linen |
| Page 75 pilow changed to pillow |
| Page 85 cupidors changed to cuspidors |
| Page 87 cosino changed to casino |
| Page 88 Balroom changed to Ballroom |
| Page 89 Binghampton changed to Binghamton |
| Page 96 occasionaly changed to occasionally |
| Page 99 headwas changed to headway |
| Page 100 prevtn changed to prevent |
| Page 102 an a floor changed to on a floor |
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End of Project Gutenberg's Guide to Hotel Housekeeping, by Mary E. Palmer