The Commoner
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TIIH ISAKG'AIN COUXTI2IC
By Berton Bralcy
Bargains In dross goods and , bar-
ga'ns in lace,
Bargains in garments of beauty and
grace,
Hero are the offerings pile'd in a
heap,
Bargains on bargains remarkably
cheap
AVaii, let's see whence these bargain
goods came
E'er we plunge into the bargaining
game!
Look at that, exquisite waist it was
niado
Down vin the slums by a woman ill
paid ;
Glorious pluino for a wonderful
hat?
Little child hands gave the beauty
to that!
Bargains in goods? Why, they're
bargains in brain,
Bargains in bodies and wvnanhood,
.loo,
Bargains in childhood hero ocred to
you;
Bargains in hate and oppression and
greed,
Bargains in hearts that must suffer
and bleed,
Bargains from sweat-shops and pesti
' lent holes,
Bargains in labor, and bargains in
souls,
Hero on tho counter together they
lie.
Bargain sale! Bargain sale! Gome
,on and buy!
" MW w
Tho New Year
' The' closing of one year and tho
..opening of another is but an arbi
trary division of time, for a year
closes every hour In the day, and
"Every day is a new beginning."
Tho seasons come and go, and we
rush along with them; but when the
sun has reached his furthest south
ern limit, and has turned again to
make tho journey to the northward,
we say the year is finished. We aro
told that as tho days lengthen, the
cold strengthens, and indeed, for a
short period immediately following
the short days, tho weather seems
tho sport of blizzards and blizzard
ous conditions, and the real -winter
seems to be just beginning. With
January and February, the in
creased amount of daylight sends
the spirits upward, and we face the
cold with courage and optimism.
The phenomenal weather of the
year just passed has given us a
keener enjoyment of the crisp
frosty mornings that are now due us'
and every one is beginning to look
forward with pleasure to the days to
come. There was much of dis
couragement in the twelve-month
just ended; but nothing was as bad
as was predicted. Tho shortage of
food stuffs has taught us to be more
careful in using what we have, and
has taught us many lessons of
economy in various lines. If we only
remember tho lessons and apply
them to our future work, the year
will have been a blessing, for people,
as a rule, are extravagant and waste
ful in every thing. Now that the
dark, cold days are with us, is a
good time to look over our fields,
and plan for the best outcomes for
next year. Study the failures; read;
think; study tho successes, and
balance the "books," resolved to
eliminate the waste and cultivate the
economical. If you have kept ac
counts, it will not be hard to do. If
not, then count the neglect as a loss,
and see that you remedy the failure
as soon as possible. Make the most
of every day, if you would succeed
with the year.
Work Blessing
While there is a great deal of
sentiment wasted about the "poor
people who have to work so hard at
Christmas time," there is a common
sense side to the question. These
people who have to work so hard are
not the ones who are complaining;
thoy are rejoiced that they have the
work, and will get the wage. True,
the shop girls, delivery boys, express
men, and the great army of workers
are a. little more, tired than r.t other
times; but they are very glad to have
the work; every shop of any size
hires a lot of extra help at Christmas
time, and many a household fire is
fed from these extra earnings. Many
a family would go hungry during the
holidays were it not for tho extra
work. They realize that they are a
great deal better off than if they had
nothing to do. It is a blessing that
people have work, and in all busi
nesses, trades, or professions, the
heads, back, limbs, ache at times,
even while the heart and mind are
satisfied. These things needs must
be, in all the walks of life. And after
all, are there any people in the world
more completely exhausted than the
house-mother who spends hours hunt
ing for something that her means
can reach, for the many who claim
her loving thoughtfulness. Body
and brain are both taxed beyond
bearing at times, and we are all glad
when the holidays are over. But the
shop girls are by no means the only
ones who find in them the severest
tax of their powers. The wage
worker is glad of the work; the
wages will get them many comforts;
the house-mother does what she may
from love of her family, sacrificing
herself "without money and without
price."
"When suffering comes, take it
bravely, and when it s gone, you
will find a blessing left behind. Not
all of God's angels are clad in white;
some come robed in black, with
A "Singer" is Always the Pride
of Its Owner.
over ethcSiCrridSSsViflfc SSeW8 rC-Cgnized "
perfection, nml all nhnr ,nb! of Be.w,PB machine
'rA' cam km wh5rnsai,',cir
:,. i.-w"'"" "l.c ' . When a won
f&s reXe" hKL " Jl .her
KWtefciSSS
US type
'ii.
Pvwa Lii.iiiik' ni:iniiinaK . - . "
Shops- or by Sinrskr.i?"y .Singer
ucaicrs or under other nai t'iTE. .OTP&
rcu "S w" .W4 imc dip,
1CU o
SINGER SEWING MACHINE COMPANY.
masks on their faces; but they are
all angels, doing the work appointed
them. If we open our hearts to their
ministry, we shall learn to say with
the Psalmist, "Before I was afflicted
I went astray; but now, I keep Thy
word."
n
Child Labor" Problem
Since the law against child labor
was put on the statute books, the
question has presented itself, as to
what can be done for the child who
is obliged to work or starve. There
have been various expedients sug
gested. None" of them have been
found satisfactory, and the United
States commissioner of education has
proposed another plan. He suggests
home-gardening for the child; that
the school term be extended and half
of each day be devoted to teach
ing the child to raise vegetables,
chickens, cows and pigs, the instruc
tion to be given in the home back
yard; he thinks the saving effected
by the work of the child would more
than pay his keep. But he does not
say who is to teach each child in his
or her back-door school, or what the
city, or tenement child who has no
back yard could find to do; even a
window garden is not always to be
grown, as there are few vegetables,
much less stock, that will make good
in the clouded, sunless room that is
filled with an atmosphere more or
less poisoned by fumes of gas as fuel
or illuminant. In even a small city,
or large village,, every member of a
family is, at times, forced to work in
order to live;
Another side of tlie question is,
what is to be done for the boy or girl
who, after school hours, has nothing
to do; except learn in the wide school
of the- streets, 'and are growing up
idle,-irresponsible, and untaught in
the most vital points that go to make
a good citizen. If a child's character
is formed by tho time he or she is
seven years old, as some contend,
what of the youth of either sex who
is deprived of the character-building
influence of. learning a trade and
cultivating a sense of responsibility
for the use of the time and ma
terials going to waste now while he
or she is running about the play
grounds or getting the educ. tion of
the streets?
it pays to use it all the time; but it
adds to the work of the laundry.
Table cloths Should have a quarter
inch hem, and napkins should have
as narrow a hem as possible. The
edge should be overhandedwith very
fine cotton, with the stitches taken
straight across, which is known as
tho napery stitch.
Linen for bed clothing is better
than cotton, but cotton fabrics are
excellent, and aro more often used
than not; cotton wears and launders
well. Sheets should have a wide hem
at the top and a narrow hem at the
bottom; linen sheets are nice if hem
stitched at top, but it docs not -pay
to hemstitch cotton. Hem by hand,
if possible.
Pillow cases should be overhanded
at the sides, if the single width is
used; but the tube cotton is better.
Inserting embroidery set in above
the hem, with a ruffle or lace on the
edge, is a pretty way to finish pillow
slips. Hem-stitching is good for
slips.
For the Toilet
Crude petroleum is one of the
best applicants for thin hair, and
should be rubbed on the scalp, "as it
is the roots' of the hair which need
nourishing. Vaseline is a prepara
tion of petroleum, and is excellent
for the hair. It should be rubbed
directly on the scalp, through the
parting of the hair, but should not
be used so often as to make the hair
oily. Where the hair is growing
scant on the temple the vaseline will
help its growth.-
An excellent hair tonic is composed
of tincture of cantharides, one ounce;
oil of lavender, one-half dram; oil of
rosemary, onerhalf dram; eau de
cologne, ejght ounces. Apply to the
scalp with the finger tip's every other
night.
Skin that easily chaps requires oil;
very hot water is bad for the hands,
and sp is very cold water. A little
powdered borax in the water will
FRIENDLY TIP
Restored Hope and Confidence
For tho Homo Seamstress
The January sales follow the holi
day shopping, and there are many
real bargains to be picked up in the
way of white goods and linens. A
great deal of the spring sewing can
be got out of the way during the
XT WTien ,not?lns Can be done out
side. The buying and making up of
able and bed linens is always a joy
to the housewife, and whatever the
quality of the goods one is able to
buy the best of its kind should be
JitA i L one good6
-.-..,.. .".. ..nu ui mree poor ones
,Ilri,?a""0tlet ,the . set the
wjv .j w it vitiii n inirii
There are always good colored
damasks on the market, and in rem-
?ti?,t8f thre1 arVften Client qua
ities for reduced prices. For general
use where there are many in famiiv
or children, they are ve?y good and
nS'S t0 ?et, a quality that wUl boa?
ilv niV, A faded table cloth always
com.8edlify-t,The, White damask of
com Be, is the best for wearimr
JJS1 ?;," ?f tUe same spe oMtae"
and if -the laundry is not in question'
After several years of indigestion
and its attendant evil influence on
tho mind, it is not very surprising
that one finally loses faith in things
generally.
A N. Y. woman writ.a an infovoot-
ing letter. She' says:
"Three years ago I suffered from
an attack of peritonitis which left me
in a most miserable condition. For
over two years I suffered from
nervousness, weak heart, shortness of
breath, could not sleep, etc.
"My appetite was ravenous but I
felt starved all the time. I had
Dlentv of fond Vmf H rUrt Tirtf ii.
me because of intestinal indigestion.
iviemuiu treatment aid not seem to
help. I got discouraged, stopped
medicine and did not care much
whether I lived or died.
"One day a friend asked me why I
didn't try Grape-Nuts food, stop
drinking coffee and use Postum. I
had lost faith in everything, but to
please my friend I began to use both
and soon became very fond of them.
"It wasn't long before I got some
strength, felt a decided change in my
system, hope sprang up in my heart
and slowly but surely I got better. I
could sleep very well, the constant
iu.vHB iur iooa ceasea and I have
better health now than before the at
tack of peritonitis.
"My husband and I are still using
Grape-Nuts and Postum."
Name given by Postum Co., -Battle
weieiki,iMJ,cl Read' "The Road to
Wellville," in pkgs. "There's a
Reason."
Ever read the above Jotter? A new
one appears from time to time. Thev
ianteel?eCS,t.Ul,lC, a"d "" of 'hum
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