[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.