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The Commoner.
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yOLUilB 3, NUMBER 13.
ness as housekeeper, In some form
or other, and the only way to pro.
erly. meet It-is to have her understand
business methods.
-rT1
S
r.kled Mandi.
Poor, tired hands, that toiled so hard
for mo!
At rest before mo now I see them
lying;
They toiled so hard; and yet we did
not sco
That sho was dying.
Poor, rough, red hands! They drudged
the live-long day
Still busy, when the midnight oil
vns burning;
Oft toiling on until sho saw the gray
Of day returning.
If I might sit and hold those tired
hands,
And feel the warm life-blood within
them beating,
And hiss the faded eyes and withered
cheeks,
Some whispered words repeating,
I think tonight that I would love her
so
And I could tell to hor my lovo so
truly
That, e'en though tired, sho would
not wish to gc
And leave mo thus unduly.
Poor, tired heart, that had so weary
grown,
That death came all unheeded o'er
it creeping;
How strange it seems, to sit hero, all,
alono,
"While sho is sleeping!
Dear, patient heart! that deemed the
heavy caro
Of drudging household toil its only
duty;
, That laid aside all deep, heart-yearn-inga
thoro
Along with beauty.
If I could look into those brave, sad
eyes,
And kiss the pathos of her patient
smile,
And toll her all hor love has Ijeen to
mo,
Hor hands in mine, the while
Ah, learned too late: While yet 'twas
mine, unheeded!
I kiss her hands ,and moan, with
bitter weeping;
Oh, sad, worn heart! Oh, sore-tried
love! Tonlghl
How sweet sho's sleeping!
Mother, if In some realm of brighter
day,
ali Your spirit, purified by fires of pain,
Should llngor, listening for somo half
missed voico,
"With thoughts of Earth, again,
And I could send one whispered word
through space
Ono word of Earth, to reach your
higher sphera, ,
I would low-grovolling in my grief
. sob out,
"You were so dear!"
Tha "PassBook."
The "pass-book" system is one of
the greatest evils that has over be
fallen tho laboring man, and should
bo discountenanced by every ono hav
ing tho good of tho wage-earnor at
heart, Tho very first stop toward a
betterment of his condition is its ban
ishment, and a strict dependence upon
tho money in hand. Pay cash for ev
erything purchased. Instead of a pass
book, keep a dally expense-book, and
In it set down every expenditure,
however small, each day, and, at the
end of each week or month post it
up; you will then know just how
much of your expenses are really nec
essary and will bo able to locate tho
leak that is keeping you poor.
xuro 10 Keep a little within your
income. If you practice the cash sys
tem, you will find that you can (.and
will) do without many things which
you thoughtlessly orderod charged to
you, and your merchant will deal bet
ter by you 'in your purchases, as a
cash customer is vastly more valua
ble to his business than a pass-book
customer can possibly be. If, through
some temporary adversity, you are
compelled to ask the favor of a tem
porary credit, it will be much more
readily granted you than if you were
but asking an extension of an over
duo "bill."
If possible, deal with a cash store,
and tho ono having tho largest as
sortment of goods; you can buy much
more advantageously by having a
largo stock and different grades from
which to select It is an axiom that
tho best is the cheapest, but the care
ful buyer will often find intermediate
grades in many articles that answer
fully as well as and in some cases
better than, the high-priced articles.
If possible, buy by the quantity; do
not get sugar by the quarter's worth,
or got a nickel's worth of butter;
such dealing pays neither the buyer
nor tho seller. Do without a few
days, until you can buy a supply
worth carrying homo and try to lay
in your groceries, fuel, and other nec
essities at a time when you can save
a few cents by so doing. It should
bo as easy to pay for the "live" horse
as for tho "dead" one; and it would
be, if only you would pay as you go,
and buy only what your cash would
cover. However little it might get you,
it would bo yours, and you would
keep your self-respect at the same
time. A man who owes nobody and
has a "job" at even small, steady
wages, is richer than a king, and is
beholden to nobody.
Ob, Girls!
"It Is stated on the authority of the
head of tho Chicago board of chari
ties that during the year 1902 four
hundred deserted wives, who applied
to tho bureau of charities for assist
ance, and later obtained divorces, ad
mitted that they could 'neither cook
nor Keep house,' and, of course, could
not keep husbands. JBad cookery-and
slovenly housekeeping were the di
rect causes of these marriages being
failures. For these unhappy mar
riages, tho men were themselves, in
great measure, to blame, and they
need not pose as objects of popular
pity. Why did they marry women
ignorant of the first requisites of a
happy domestic life?" Housekeeper
(Minneapolis).
While I do not feel disposed to
waste sympathy on men who delib
erately install in their homes as
wives womon with no practical knowl
edge of the "first, requisites for a hap
py domestic life," I do not altogether
lay tho blame of tho disastrous re-
amis or sucn ill-advised proceedings
entirely upon the masculine shoulders
In tho present condition of things'
how Is tho average man to know the
extent of the culinary education of
tho girl ho "falls" in lovo with? His
own lamentable igtiorance along such
ines disqualifies him from recogniz
gi tijV'dSM1; ot domestic culture,
and It is usually the girl with the
l3 2 hands-the ones who "toll
not -that attract tho impressionable
and possible marrying man
The gist of tho matter lies in tho
fact that neither the young man nor
young womato are taught anything
about the dutloa nn, ri4ii.iV"ls
jpurtaining to tho marrJaxja TOiaoSi
but are allowed to enter, wholly un
prepar.ed, into tho "Holy of Holies,"
to waste or to win, as their native
good sense, or the lack of it, may or
der. Tho fault lies far back of the
wooing days. It should be accounted
criminal, in this enlightened day, for
a girl to be allowed to marry whilo
unable to "read tho riddle" of plain,
nutritious cookery; and it should be
considered an essential part of her
education to have mastered at least
the elements of domestic science. Girls
should bo taught that, to make a pan
of light, nutritious biscuit, or a loaf
of tender, appetizing bread is a much
greater accomplishment than to know
how to turn out tho most delicious
"Angel's Food" cake. Cake may be
good, but bread is immeasurably bet
ter, and good bread, like charity, cov
ers a multitude of sins and culinary
short-comings.
Keeping Brick Walls Dry.
- Many persons experience difficulty
in keeping brick walls, especially in
basement rooms, from becoming damp
and ruining the plastering or paper,
or warping the wainscoting. To rem
edy this Is not always easy, but here
is a recipe, given by an old builder,
and it is worth trying.. The remedy,
according to this recipe, consists in
using two washes or solutions for
covering the walls, one composed of
castile soap and one of alum water.
The proportions are three-fourths
of a pound of soap to one gallon of wa
ter, and half a pound of alum to four
gallons of water, both substances to be
perfectly dissolved in the water be
fore being used. The walls should
be perfectly clean and dry, and the
temperature of the air not above 50
degrees Fahrenheit when the compo
sitions are applied. The first, or soap
wash, should be applied when boiling
hot, with a flat brush, taking care to
form a froth on the brick work. The
wash should remain twenty-four hours
so as to become dry and hard before
tho second, or alum wash, is applied
which application should be done in
the same manner as the first Tho
temperature of this wash, when ap
plied, should be GO degrees or 70 de
grees Fahrenheit, and this also should
remain twenty-four hours before a
second coat of the soap wash is put
on. These coats are to be applied
alternately, until the walls are made
impervious to water. The alum and
soap combined thus form an insolu
ble compound, filling the pores of the
masonry and entirely preventing the
water from entering the walls. It may
be used both inside and out
Business Knowledge.
While a thorough knowledge of the
foundation facts" in regard to
housekeping and cookery cannot be
too strongly insisted upon for ou
girls, she should also be taught some
thing of the transaction of the everv
day business of life, especially such as
is in daily demand in tho home life
No matter what her financial or so
cial standing may" be, or what her
prospects are, there Is always a pos
sibilityin many cases, a probability
that sho may, at some time, bo de
pendent upon her own endeavors for
support, or aWoast called upon to care
for whatever property may accrue 11
hen A 3Wy reeted economy de
mands that a woman should be able to
balance accounts, sign checks, write
out receipts, make" purchases and nass
unon valiiPfl. -TMa ,iM tt"u pass
Ahor ft, overy depTrtmont o TrT
Restless Boys
Boys oftengp astray from the very
energy and restlessness of their na
tures, without any vicious purpose, if
in such cases, thev 'are treated with
severity and coerced by stern au
thority, there is great peril that they
may go from bad to worse, and end hi
shipwreck of character. But such
boys have often developed into th
highest type of manhood, when treated
with genuine sympathy and kindness'
and made to feel that life holds large
possibilities for them. Such natures
need a firm, loving guidance by a hand
they feel they may trust, together
with a fostering and developing of
their own self-respect and sense of re
sponsibility. , .
Marrying the Cook.
It is confidently asserted, and not
without a show of reason, that the
day is not far distant when, to have'
it said of a man that he has "mar
ried his cook," will occasion neither
surprise nor consternation among hia
most fastidious friends. The cook of
the future will be a scientifically edu
cated, self-respecting and healthy wo
man, who will, recognize the import
ance to the physical and moral well
being of her family of well and hy
gienically prepared . foods. The reisn
of thd "incompetent" is passing
away, and the day Is dawning in
which the "housework girl" will have a'
only herself to blame if she fails to
receive .the respectful consideration to
which her importance in the home life
of the family entitles her.
When that day arrives, we shall see
happier, because healthier'homes, and
refined, educated girls .wjll not be
ashamed to have it known that they
prefer the services of the home' to
that of the shops. When to acknowl
edge a preference for the safety and
the healthfulness of tho home life does
not subject one to the imputation of
low morals and degraded tastes,
bright, intelligent girls will be ready
enough to seek such positions.
But women, themselves, must bring
it about. Women who employ must
be ready to recognize and reward in
telligence and ability, while girls
seeking such places must make it
their business, to possess the ability
and intelligence requisite to meet tho
demand. Along with her other learn
ing, the housework girl must learn to
COOKING CONTEST
Bight in tho Family Kitchen
The ladles have a champion inter
ested in the betteiment -- of family
cooks.
$7,500.00 in cash has been donated
by C. W. Post, Chairman of the Pos
tum Cereal Co., Ltd., to bo distributed
between now and July next in 735
cash prizes to stimulate'family . cooks
to better service.
Less burned and greasy meat, and
potatoes; less soggy biscuits, cake,
etc., and better coffee, Postum and tea
is the motto.
The girls are to -compete in tho
preparation of good, everyday dishes
and in general cookery. Probably
Grape-Nuts and Postum Coffee 'will
come in for somo attention incidental
ly, but the tests will be conducted un
der t'ue daily direction of the house
wife and 735 cooks will win varying
cash prizes from $200.00 down io
$5.00, no one Is required to pay any
thing whatever to enter this contest"
ana each winner will receive a large
certificate or diploma w'th a big Pos
tum seal in gilt, a badge of distinction
much to be sought after. -Particulars
twi It1"1? by addressing Cookery,
? ? ' vFi, 448 of Dostum Cereal Co.,
Wd' Battle Creek Mich.
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