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The Commoner
VOLUME 11, NUMBER 17
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IFo's tho Man
I haven't much faith in tho man who
complains
Of tho work ho has chosen to do,
Ho's lazy, or olso he la lacking In
brains,
And a bit of a hypocrite, too.
Ho's likely to cheat, and he's likely
to Bhirk;
Away with tho man who finds fault
with his work.
But give mo tho man with tho sun In
his faco,
And the shadows all dancing be
hind; Who can meet with rerorses with
calmness and grace,
And never forgets to be kind;
For whether he's sovereign or mer
chant or clerk
I have faith in tho man who's in love
with his work.
Chicago Inter-Ocean.
The New Housekeeping
To the housewife accustomed to
using and seeing In use only the old
tttylo housekeeping devices, a visit
to one of tho household shows,'1 or
to tho housekeeping department of
any of our large stores where
"demonstrating" is going on with
all kinds of new labor and other sav
ing devices, would bo a bewildering
revelation. The array of newly
offered domestic machinery is won
derful, and the motive power varies
from electricity, down through the
water hydrant to the "hand-power,"
and results are Bimply wonderful.
Tho first-cost of nearly all these
household helps is rather startling,
but tho saving in the long run more
than pays.
Tho flroless cooker has become an
established fact, and although there
are many mates on the market, the
Idea and the outfit are practically the
same in all of them. A couple of
radiators (soapstone) for each com
partment, tongs for lifting thom to
and from the fire, pots and pans and
ahallow wire frames into which the
pans are to be slipped, are about all
alike, and once having "got the
hang" of the methods, it would seem
that no housewife would attempt
cookery without one of them. With
this device alone, the fuel, the house
wife's time and nervous energy, aB
well as tho food itself, are all saved,
for tho food, though it cooks per
fectly, never scorches or burns.
"While the vacuum cleaner and
dustless duster keep tho carpets and
curtains and furniture clean, tho
laundry Is wonderfully simplified by
the use of the washing machine and
dryers and flat-irons run by electri
city or other fuel, the mangle iron
ing to perfection the straight pieces,
while the self-heating irons make
light work of doing the rest. Of the
wnall labor-saving inventions, thero
Is no end, and It almost makes one
long for a home kitchen where these
wonderful mechanical helps may be
put to use. There is economy in
dollars and cents, as well as time
and nervous energy, in the use of
this plethora of machinery in the
home that is becoming recognized.
ing done this for New York. In
Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Cali
fornia, Arizona, North and South Da
kota and Idaho, the husband controls
the wife's property absolutely; not
only her property, but her earnings,
are his to control in these states. He
has virtual control that is, the
wifo's rights are merely provisional
in Alabama, New Mexico and Mis
souri. In Wyoming, whoro women
vote, but are in so great minority
that their votes scarcely count, wo
man may not earn hor own living
unless she satisfies the court that It
is necessary. Louisiana has, upon
tho whole, the worst laws for women.
Now York state has probably the best
laws for women. Hampton's Magar
zino.
In these days, when women earn
not only their own and others'
living, but often a surplus as well,
and when so many women are be
coming property owners, It Is Impera
tive that they Inform themselves as
to the statutes governing their acts
and earnings. If they would so in
form themselves, many surprising
bits of Information, and not always
of a soothing nature, would be
opened to them. One of the draw
backs to this attempt to get legal
light is that the average woman will
not understand, and many cannot
understand, the technique of law
literature, while others refuse to Investigate.
that tho food eaten was more com
pletely assimilated than at any other
period. And the Kansas Industrial
ist, from which tho above items were
gathered, tells us to just go ahead
and drink all the water we want to,
at any and all times, in season and
out of season. It won't do a bit of
harm.
Spring Work
If you are so fortunate as to have
a plant of the clematis panlculata,
cut back the tops as early In the
spring as possible, so that It will
branch and grow freely near the base,
and the shoots thus produced will be
vigorous, the whole plant a mass of
foliage, and in the autumn, the whole
plant will be a mass of snow-white
fragrant blossoms. If you have no
plant, do not fail to order it, for
nothing is more lovely, either In
foliage or flower.
Women and tho Law
As women broaden out mentally,
they are becoming more and more
Interested in the laws governing the
property and other rights of them
selves and their sex generally. In
many of the Btates, the laws In re
gard to women havo been codified,
a woman, Miss Emilie Bullowff hav-
Water With Meals
In this restless age, we scarcely
"know where we are at," for we no
sooner settle down to one belief than
some "experimenter" comes alons
and knocks our convictions all to
pieces. We have been trying our
best to believe that we must drink
nothing with our meals not even
water, and we've been very uncom
fortable in the trials. But along
comes President Waters, of the
Kansas agricultural college, and tells
us that he has just received official
Information describing the conclu
sions In very interesting and im
portant tests along the water-question
lines in the laboratory of phy
siological chemistry in the University
or Illinois. Dr. P. B. Hawk is the
authority. Leaving out the elaborate
scientific details, this is what hap
pened: Two experiments were made,
one in which a man drank water be
tween meals, and another in which
a man drank it at his meals. It was
proven after long and careful obser
vation that water drinking at meals
stimulated gastric secretion, Induced
activity of the pancreatic function,
and decreased intestinal putrifaction,
all of which, as any normal person
knows, is perfectly proper. In both
cases, the water consumed was uni
form in quantity at all periods; in
the one instance, the amount of
water taken was Bmall, in another
large; in the largo amount it was
increased tenfold, with the result
Spring Dishes
With many, this is the between
season, as the cellar and storage are
empty, and the new vegetables have
not yet grown. While cornmeal is
not, in large quantities, to be recom
mended as a summer food, it is a
good, nourishing, easily digested food
for the changeable days of spring.
The Italians use cornmeal largely In
their dish called polenta, which is like
our hasty pudding. When done and
hot, the mush is poured Into a dish
or mold to give it shape, then, when
cold, sliced and fried and eaten with
a rich tomato sauce, a meat ragout,
or a thick, brown onion sauce.
Slices may be laid in a large baking
pan, thickly sprinkled with grated
cheese and bits of butter and
browned in the oven. A very hearty
dish is made by cutting the cold
mush into small, thick slices and
arranging them In layers In a baking
dish, well greased, with a thin slice
of bacon and a tablespoonful of
grated cheese between each layer;
pour over it a pint of cooked,
strained tomato sauce and bake for
twenty minutes. Serve this hot.
If macaroni or spaghetti is not
cooked enough before dressing, It
will be neither good nor wholesome.
Experience teaches that forty minutes
Is none too long to cook the paste,
and It Bhould be quite tender, al
though not soft enough to fall to
pieces, when ready to season, or to
serve with cheese. Beef, larded and
cooked, with a rich brown gravy,
seasoned with a very little garlic, is
excellent served with RnfurWi
Canned tomatoes, made into the
usual sauce, seasoned highly and
added to the boiled spaghetti half an
hour before serving, makes a nice
dish.
Serve spinach and greens as fast
as you can get them, and as often.
Dandelions, beet tops, radish tops, all
the tender green things that may
be gathered by the roadside, or
"thinned" from the garden beds, are
used for greens, and relished as
spring dishes. Rhubarb Is really a
spring medicine, and should be used
lavishly. Wash, cut into lengths,
put In a dish, cover with sugar and
set In the oven to bake; use no water
the plant will supply that, and when
it is done, It will be a delicious mass
to serve in pretty dishes with macaroons.
alkalis. If one has the misfortune
to have whitewash spilled on a car
pet, this will immediately restore it.
Keeping Shoes Nice
For calf-skin shoes, a wax polish
comes specially, to be put on with
a brush and then rubbed with a hair
or felt brush and finished with a soft
cotton cloth,. Dust and dirt should
always be brushed out of leather be
fore the polish is applied, as calf
skin is oily and holds the grit. A
paste for dull leathers, which should
never be shined, is made of glycerine,
lamp-black and turpentine, and must
be well worked into the leather to
give it the soft, dull appearance so
much admired. Patent leather needs
a' good quality of friction polish.
Only a thin layer should be applied
and quickly rubbed to a polish with
a textile brush and soft cotton-flannel
cloths. If the polish will not
appear, it is because the leather has
too much of the paste, and the shoes
must be washed with lukewaTm
water and castile soap; wipe the
water off quickly as possible. The
pretty bronze leather, gilt or gold
cloth, should be slightly brushed and
a liquid bronze or gold applied as
soon as they begin to dull. The
shoes or slippers should be on trees
as this is done. Naptha or gasoline
cleans evening slippers of satin, silk,
or kid, and there is an erasive known
as "art gum" used by illustraters,
that is good for this purpose. Tan
shoes should be washed with warm
water and soap, and rubbed with a
banana peel.
Japanese Oranges
The kumquat, or Japanese orange
is a small, orange-colored fruit,
usually offered in our markets in
boxes holding a pint to a quart, is
of Chinese origin, although now cul
tivated extensively in Japan. Florida
and California are taking up its cul
ture, and the demand for the fruit
is increasing every year. The fruit
grows on a low bush, both singly and
in clusters. The bush makes an ex
cellent pot-plant, with beautiful dark
green' foliage. The fruit does not
lend itself as readily to various
cookery as do the grape fruit or
orange, but it is liked by many in its
raw state, the pulp, which is acid in
navor, and the skin, which is sweet,
being both eaten. The simpler
methods of preparing it for the table
give the best satisfaction.
To Clean tho Brnsscls Carpet
To clean and brighten Brussels
carpets, take a fresh beef gall and
break it into a clean pan; pour one
half into a clean pail and add three
or four quarts of warm (not hot)
water. Take a coarse cloth and, hav
ing uniBiiea uie carpet well, rub It
hard with the cloth thoroughly wet
with the gall water. Only do a small
piece at a time, and have ready a dry
coarse cloth with which to rub the
carpet dry. ' Go over the whole car
pet in this way until it is clean. A
few drops of carbonate of ammonia
in a little warm water (rain writer
if possible) will change discolored
spots upon carpets, and indeed, any
spots, whether made by acids or
Fashion Notes
All sorts of combinations of black
and blue are being used. For in
stance, a black gown may have blue
cuffs and collar, while a' blue gown
may be cuffed and collared with
black.
For the young girls, the college
graduates and the brides, the early
summer will usher in a perfect riot
of color. For the older women, the
dark shades are the more fashion
able. With every shirtwaist and tailor
coat there must be a crisp white
jabot of lawn or lace. The jabot is
about five inches wide in the center
and Is attached to a band of lace
Insertion. It may be either part of
the waist or else pinned at the throat
with a pretty brooch.
The effect of a dark yoke and col
lar even of transparent chiffon or
net Is no longer smart; there must
do as much soft white against the
face as possible.
The season's long, half-fitted wraps
fall either quite to the hem of the
skirt, or are but a few inches shorter,
while in addition to tho Eton, there
are also separate jackets trimmed
fancifully and reaching no further
than the hips; but for separate coats
there are no between lengths; In
Bomo models the back Is plain, In
vmem uiere is a nigh empire Den
I Of BOft folded or rnllA1 emtln VhB
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