August, 1920 
19 
THE EIGHT 
HOUR 
KITCHEN 
The Same Principles of Equipment and Management That Make a Factory 
a Success Will Simplify Domestic Work 
W HETHER we like it or not, this is the 
era of the short working-day, in the 
home as well as in the factory. Although com¬ 
paratively few households are being operated 
on a strictly eight-hour basis, yet all are more 
or less affected by it. The regular household 
staff must be secured in spite of the competi¬ 
tion of factories where the eight-hour day pre¬ 
vails. In houses where a small permanent 
staff is supplemented by additional help for 
night or mornings, these workers come on an 
MARY ORMSBEE WHITTON 
hourly basis. Thus, directly or indirectly, the 
home-keeper is faced with a new time-standard. 
In fact, the householder is in the position of an 
industrialist whose product requires continuous 
operation of the plant, while, at the same time, 
labor-shortage makes extremely difficult the 
introduction of a three-shift system. 
The only constructive recourse for the house- 
manager is to re-organize the mechanics of her 
shop, as it were, in such a way that the time- 
element can receive due attention. There are 
two things at present that favor such a change 
of procedure: first, the great number of me¬ 
chanical assistants, largely electrical, now 
available in a high state of perfection, and 
secondly, the changed point of view of the 
present domestic employee. 
Recall, for a moment, the typical servant 
of the old school, slow-moving, faithful, indus¬ 
trious, content to jog along from day-break till 
dark at a steady figurative six knots per hour. 
In contrast to her was the woman who, of 
The all-electric kitchen offers the most convincing solution for the problems of domestic management that thousands of housewives now face. It 
requires intelligent handling, but less actual labor. Its cost of maintenance and its general convenience more than compensate for the initial 
cost of installation. In this all-electric kitchen the equipment includes a range, fireless cooker, percolator, grUl, ovenette, vacuum cleaner and 
ironing machine. Courtesy of the New York Edison Co. 
