These are simply general directions, but quite necessary
if one would be an expert in marketing. Without some
guide, by which to judge of the quality and value of
articles needed in the home department, and especially
of the food, on which so much of health and comfort for
the family depends, the most experienced would often
fmd their duties very trying; but for those just entering
the field, and too poorly fitted for the work before them,
there must be something definite and reliable, to assist
while learning the way.
SERVANTS.
There is, in this country, a foolish prejudice against the
term "Servant." Why? What is the true meaning of
the word? A slave? No. An inferior? Not necessa-
rily. The definiton is very simple : "One who serves or
labors for another." What is there degrading in that ?
Every one is, or should be, laboring for or serving others.
That there are different degrees of servitude, no one will
deny. The rank or position of each one who serves must
depend largely on the ability of the servitor, and the qual-
ity or character of the work he offers to his employer.
The President is the " servant " of the people ; the law-
yer, of his client ; the physician, of his patient ; the cler-
gyman, of his church and congregation ; the mechanic,
of those needing his special services ; the laboring man,
of the farmer; and the cook, of the mistress of the
house. Each receives compensation in accordance with
the importance of the services rendered, and the terms
mutually agreed on.
This is true in every profession, in all business, from the
highest to the lowest. In every department there are cer-
tain stipulations to be accepted before service is rendered,
and each party, employer, as well as employee, is bound to
fullfil his part of the contract — the lawyer who demands and
receives his fifty thousand dol.ar fee, as much as the cook in
the kitchen, who has such wages as she herself demands;
(48)
SERVANTS.
49
not such as her mistress may be pleased to give. One is
just as much the servant of the employer as the other, dif-
fering in degree and honors, according to the market value
of the skill or talent they are able to bring to the market,
and in nowise controlled by the caprice of the employer.
If this is a correct rendering of the term " servant," we
fail to see any degradation in it. It is a more convenient?
and, to our thinking, a more respectable term, than " Do-
mestic " or Help." It may have just as much honor
in it as those to whom it is applied please to secure for
it by their own acts ; and with this explanation of our
rendering of that word, we propose to say
A FEW THINGS ABOUT " SERVANTS."
Page 21
Presented as published in 1896. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
These are simply general directions, but quite necessary if one would be an expert in marketing. Without some guide, by which to judge of the quality and value of articles needed in the home department, and especially of the food, on which so much of health and comfort for the family depends, the most experienced would often find their duties very trying; but for those just entering the field, and too poorly fitted for the work before them, there must be something definite and reliable, to assist while learning the way.
There is, in this country, a foolish prejudice against the term "Servant." Why? What is the true meaning of the word? A slave? No. An inferior? Not necessarily. The definiton is very simple : "One who serves or labors for another." What is there degrading in that ? Every one is, or should be, laboring for or serving others. That there are different degrees of servitude, no one will deny. The rank or position of each one who serves must depend largely on the ability of the servitor, and the quality or character of the work he offers to his employer. The President is the " servant " of the people ; the lawyer, of his client ; the physician, of his patient ; the clergyman, of his church and congregation ; the mechanic, of those needing his special services ; the laboring man, of the farmer; and the cook, of the mistress of the house. Each receives compensation in accordance with the importance of the services rendered, and the terms mutually agreed on.
This is true in every profession, in all business, from the highest to the lowest. In every department there are certain stipulations to be accepted before service is rendered, and each party, employer, as well as employee, is bound to fulfill his part of the contract — the lawyer who demands and receives his fifty thousand dollar fee, as much as the cook in the kitchen, who has such wages as she herself demands; (48)
not such as her mistress may be pleased to give. One is just as much the servant of the employer as the other, differing in degree and honors, according to the market value of the skill or talent they are able to bring to the market, and in nowise controlled by the caprice of the employer.
If this is a correct rendering of the term " servant," we fail to see any degradation in it. It is a more convenient and, to our thinking, a more respectable term, than " Domestic " or Help." It may have just as much honor in it as those to whom it is applied please to secure for it by their own acts ; and with this explanation of our rendering of that word, we propose to say
A FEW THINGS ABOUT " SERVANTS."