Part 5

The writing rooms should be cleaned before breakfast. The sweeping should be done the first thing in the morning. The desks should be supplied with fresh pen points, paper and ink once a day. The waste paper baskets should be emptied as often as is necessary, and the cuspidors should be cleaned at least four times a day.

_Keeps Assembly-Room in Order._

It is usually the parlor maid's duty to take care of the casino, more familiarly called the assembly-hall. The casino floor requires very careful cleaning. No scrubbing or sweeping with ordinary brooms is permissible on a polished hardwood floor. It should be carefully swept with a bristle broom and the dust taken up on the dust-pan. The floor should then be dusted with a broom, over which has been tied the cotton-flannel bag made for the purpose. If there are any spots on the floor, they will have to be washed up, but this will take off the polish; therefore, it must be restored by the weighted brush or weighted box with Brussels carpet tacked on the bottom of it. The original polish is restored by pulling the box back and forth over the floor. A housekeeper will make a sad mistake if she attempts to scrub the ballroom floor.

_Waxing the Ballroom Floor._

In most every hotel, it is left to the housekeeper to wax the ballroom floor before the opening of the "hop." The wax is sprinkled over the floor.

In very large hotels in large cities where there are three or four public parlors, and where three or four parlor-maids are employed, their work is confined to the parlors. The parlor-maid waits on the ladies, helps them on and off with their wraps, and caters to their comfort both physically and mentally; keeps the parlor clean, and does many little acts which go to make a great big hotel seem like home.

_The Card and Wine-Rooms._

No drinks are served in the public parlors, public halls, or cosy-corners. The wine-rooms are usually kept in order by the parlor-maid. The bar-porter should come for the bottles and remove the dishes. The parlor-maid should sweep and dust the wine rooms and wipe the tables, if they are polished wood. If they are ordinary dining-room tables, she should put clean table-cloths on them twice a day. The wine-rooms are usually named for the cities: Chicago, New York, Binghamton, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Denver, and New Orleans.

The card-rooms are kept in order by the parlor-maid. There is seldom much furniture in a card-room, only chairs and tables. Sweeping and dusting once a day and a clean cover for the table is all that is required.

To make a muslin cover for a poker-table, take a piece of muslin and cut it round to fit the table, allowing six inches to hang down. Run a casing on the edge of it, with a bias piece two inches wide. Run in the casing, a drawing-string of common wrapping-twine. The drawing-string must be as long as the muslin is around so it will not have to be removed when laundered. After it is laundered, put it on the table and pull the drawing-string, and tie under the table.

In small hotels where the parlor-maid is called on to perform all of these manifold duties, she is assisted by the houseman.

ABOUT CHAMBERMAIDS.

Some person that does not know anything about the life of a chambermaid 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.

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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