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The Commoner.
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': VOLTJJMQSJ 6i NUMBER 38
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A Prayer
; Not, mine to sing life's ;greater songs,
But, Father, may I be.
tin good attune if thy dear hand
' Should wake by minstrelsy,
The little songs of common things,
Which wise hearts know are best;
The lullabies of babyhood,
The songs of peace and rest.
Just as a chUd who knows not how
;;; To form her letters, yet
Looks up from her long striving,
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j-ercnance witn eyes iear-wuL . broken heartf sympathize, warn, com-
And -lets the teacher hold her hand fort and coun8el he ada that, to
' Vt- tirrlfo whoro aha nmrtfl nor.- I. i.. -r-r ... '.'! --3.1t ..
few. The Home page should be a
cosy sitting room, where we may come
to rest, shutting out all 'shop.' " She
further says tlie women of 'the farm
do not want to be eternally told "how
to do things," in the doing of which
they are usually far more experienced
than their would-bew teachers. Anoth
er writer says, if she wishes to know
how to do things, she goes to her
cook book, or othef books of refer
ence; but that thework olfthe Horn,
page should be to 'roadenfreVmhid,
spread a bright Idea, bmdj up the
To write where she could not-
So, .1,, dear Father, look to thee;
. Define and shape my lot. r
I Alice Crary, in Good Housekeeping.
i
;i October
;Not e'en the tender "breath of early
. ;' ' Springy .
' T Nor hot caress-of Summeri f rag-
h. '.'ran Prime. ' '
Such - benedictions to, the" "heart can
. ormg , . r . ,, .
yxssir AB., Vuv BOIt toucnes oi uctouerp
p- time . . . . .
TiA purple veil is on the "land and sea,
A lbttis-languor in the drowsy air;
All red and yellow flames the forest
tree. , a '.'
' . . ' . . j ,.(, j .? -. ,
October's- banners' blazon1 revery-
where:- --' ' '
aLi i. ;.W'S, ' t V
i&"; . X;iA;.;r, ;,-:
S. L. J.
tpurSpclal Chat
rl
",. - jWTO, v. doubtless ., heard , of the,
''vdvktLti (it is always a "woman, vou
krfbw) who talked so much that she
never had time to say anything. This
seems to have been my own case,
lately, as I have wanted to "say
things" to you for some time, but 1 perience.
vtuui suujects .uueriered. now as a
turn the Home page (nt'o- a Ifdusekeep
er's corner, pure and simple, would
be like putting every "librae to the
garbage cart, no matter what its rec
ord as a thoroughbred These are the
ideas of mature home-makers.
On the other hand, there are many
women who can not--or think they
can not react the books oi! reference,
and many of these are young Wives,,
inexperienced mothers' and untaught
housekeepers, who have ho kindly
mother, ' experienced aunt ot vsympa
thetic grandmother, or even the ex-
pert neighbor to whoiri they inay tUr;n.
for consultation. They haV6 ndwher.e.
to goor ihMrmatiohori'iriatVersdf-every-day
necessity, excepljlt be tothe
eareaVnsympihetic4H6me editor 6
theirjavorite or jit may be only paper
or' magazine. These', too, enjoy the
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mental and splrituav. , food, but tneir
material needs are so insistent that
they are forced to ask aid, as it is in
"doing, things.' they, find their greatest
inefficiency." They must learn, hut'ttie
books of reference do not always give
the methods in detail, and about these,
details they must ask. or learn by the
slow and of ttinmes costy process of ex-.
M
good time to speak.
iou Know we are very anxious to
tmake our Home Department of very
great value to our readers, so it shall
not fall' so very far behind our other
departments; if you have read The
commoner at all closely throughout.
you will see that there must be "some
j thing doing" in order to accomplish
lit. Your assistance in offerine ideas.
suggestions, criticisms and answering.
cans lor mrormation, has been very
tv.aiuauiq, anu greatly appreciated, and
we nope to sun further enlist your
nearty interest. The editor Is but
one; at its broadest, her outlook is
but narrow. Our readers ar hun
dreds of thousands, and they possess
ujq worm. It IS vorv kind nmi .
slderate (and more helpful than you
iknow) of you to toll mo what you
nvo, anu suggest meas; but it is just
tui muu una considerate, and perhaps
vvwu mure neipiui, for you to tell mo
wjiat you do not like, and what, von
would like as its substitute; what
you think might better be left put, or
ttuuou to, ana wnat features should
be particularly retained.
Regarding the conduct of the Homo
page of a weekly naner in which t nm
much interested, its readers said: "We
ueua tne Home page for sentiments
calculated to make us forget for a
moment the sordid cares that, for most
.? a constant burden, never
u except wnen some one's pen
wuQ0 uur BPims ro soar above and
beyond them all; so, it seems a waste
w mi uns space with directions for
making simple dishes, etc., which may
Now, will you write to me, sisters,
brothers, and give your ideas how,
from yQur standpoint, the Rome, page
may more fully serve the purpose
aimed at? Don't be afraid" to "hit
hard." "Faithful are the wounds of
a friend," and the kindest surgeon
must often -cut the deepest. Remem
ber, 1 want to serve all of you, and
will gladly work hard to give you what
you want. I can not publish the let
ters sent me,- for want of space; but
every line shall be carefully consid
ered, and you shall have my heartiest
thanks for any suggestion you may
offer. This is your page, as well as.
mine.
"Housekeeping as a Business"
Here is the idea of a business man,
as regards housekeeping: "If I were
a housekeeper, I .would consider the
business aspect as being the direct
application: of order, first. In your
house, you have all the- elements of a
business or commercial proposition.
You are a store-keeper, with (if you
keep help) one or more employes.
Your husiness is to provide custom
ers (according to the number of your
family) with food, lodging and. certain
services. Your business is simplified
in that your Income as well as your
charges are fixed or they should be.
Your income will necessarily be meas
ured by the .quality of services ren
dered your customers, and that which
they demand. If they are reasonable.
they will not object to paying you
for your services what the same would
cost them elsewhere. Estimate your
band would have to pay for a good
housekeeper; then add ten per cent
for wear and tear. If your customers'
object to so reasonable a demand, seek
the- divorce courts. You- can, do as,
well wkh others.
"Or, if you wish to be still more
jnoderatein your demands, leave off
your salary, and ask that your allow
ance be paid in advance.'- If this Is.
done, you can. usually saye something,
for ypursett by close buying.- The es;
sential thing- is to run, your own busl.
ness and pay your own. bills. Do not.
permit the "head of the house" to.
meddle in its affairs. He must pay
you a fixed sum for the quality of.
service he demands, and when this.
service ig furnished, it is no business
of his whether you show a profit for
yourself or not That is your look
out. If you apply business principles,
you will not work sixteen hours a
day, but will have ample leisure to
entertain your friends, and an .artisti
cally furnished house in which to ehj
tertain them. The husband, if worthy
of the name, would rejoice in a house
hold so ordered, and pay his reckoning-,
"with pleasure. The husband, who
is- mot willing 'to payuhis wife what
hewouldpay- elsewhere for. the sanie
or 'inferior . service even though it
consumes most of his incomerdfe-
serves that she elope with a more ap-
preCiatlve jnan-H-Ex, .
, The aovels not so much a "joke"
as it looks to be oh its face. If hus
bands j were willing to deal justly hy
their rwivesr. on, business, principles, it;
wouldgreatlyi simplify- matters,, in
many instances; But top many hus
bands demand of their wives that they
"make brick without straw;" in other
words, give them-the service they de
mand without a sufficient sum of mon
ey being forthcoming, to meet the ex
penses of such, demands. Or, if the
bills are, barely paid with much doling
opt of pennies and :a liberal indulgence
in. growls and abuse, there is nothing
left for the wife and housekeeper but
a sense of humiliation and, if she be
a woman, of spirit, a, hot indignation
at being thus compelled io fight f6r
even the amount his own indulgence
calls for. She is, in many cases, de
nied even the wages willingly .paid
the "hired girl," no matter how sat
isfactory the hired help may be; yet,
she must carry, a sense of responsi
bility Into everything r.she undertakes
knowing that she will, be held account
able for every penny she invests, even
though her part of the proceeds of the
business may be but the food she. con
sumes and the clothes she wears. No
wonder that some women "go through"
their husband's pockets, and indulge
in other petty ?'sneak-thievery" as the
husband calls it, in order to collect
a .jmolety of their just dues so con
temptibly withheld from them.
No sensible merchant would think
of carrying on, the business of buying
and selling in such a, slip-shod man
ner, as is done in .the housekeeping of
many ajiomo, principally because tho;
wife is forced to "run accounts" with
supply houses, or mus,t invest in un
desirable material because of a heav
ier demand than her purse will satis
factorily supply.
Iodine from colored cotton goods. Will
s&mo one help her 7 .;'
J. L. D, would like t,6' know how to
cah mushrooms. Can (6me one send
directions very Soon, and oblige him?
J'pistressed."-:i:f the blue fabric
look's faded after ironing, perhaps tho
Iron was too hot. it will regain its
color In a few hours. If you have
nice, soft rain water, make a "blueing
water' aSr dark as you wish, and rinso
the goods" in this, taking care to havo
all par'ts thoroughly rinsed. Hard
water w"ili not do, 'as the blueing will
not distribute evenly, and the goods
will appear spotted or streaked.
Ella'M. To make the quilt you men
tion, take any material silkoline,
drapery silk, or other thin goods, and
'make, little bags, three or four inches
'Sdjjare, ahd stuff 'evenly with nicely
carded wool; in tne middle oi eacn,
if ypif'StfiSh, a "tack" ( of bright col
ored' sillt or wool thread nlay be
placed. .Sew these little "bags together
with strong thread, wUh an "over-and-,oyer",
or "whip" l Wtitch, in rows
the" length you want y$tb quilt When
ydu.h'ave enough rows, to make the
desired , width, sew. the. lengths to
gether "with the same kind, of stitch.
Thp edges may be finished in any de
sired fashion.
Mrs. S. M. To fillthe cracks in
the wobd work or floOr,.make a paste
6Jf flour and waterbhe pound of flour
to tnree quarts or water, adding a xea
spobnfiil of alum. 'S6e .that al lumps
are beaten out, Intbthfs hot mixture
stir Wbf i newspaper, Ihredded fine with
your scissors, and 'let. it . soak until
mass can be .thoroughly incor-
the
porated. It should, be of the- consist
ency of well-beaten" putty.- ' Press ithe'
paste into the cracks? a littleat a
time; with a bluntrbladed instrument,
until, they will hold" no 'more, smooth
down even with the rest of the wood
work, making it as solid as possible.
It will harden as it dries, and can be
painted over&s the-resU of the(wqpd.
It will stop the : cold about your feet
Mrs. H. L. M. Make a gallon of
flour starch, taking care that no lumps
are in it Or if the fabric is very
dainty and thin, make the starch with
store" starch a cupful to four
quarts of "'boiling- water. Either the
sflouror the-'store" starch must bewet
until smooth with cold water before
the boiling Wateris poured on' it, and
must be stirred alb the. time While add
ing the boiling water. Strain, when
cool enough to; .use. ,Put three quarts
of the search into, a nice clean pan or
pail and add two gallons of tepid wa
ter. Wash the garment in this starch
water, using no spaprr-ttie starch will
cleanse;, then, when clean, put the
other quart of .starch into two or three
gallons of water and , wash again.
Jtins"e, well in clean, water and dry in
the shade. Before, it is quite dry, roll
up and lay aside for an hour, then iron
on. the wrong side. If. allowed to get
top dry, sprinkle before rolling up.
uwwuuu m any cook book." Another rant ,.nia nf i i,:," u:'
loZm7OV are, mtlny a South j then add the cosTof your
woikshops, but rest rooms are far tocown labor, based on what your hua-
. Query Box
"Farm Sister"- Ask any, or as many
questions as you like. If I can not
answer, others can. There is no set
"form" for a query. ;
C. H. C. would be glad to know of
The Home Seamstress
, . Fpr . autumn and .early winter wear
a pleasing change in style of skirt is
being introduced. The one and two
piece., circular skirts haye given way
to the five, seven and nine gored
styles, as these latter do not "sag."
The plaited models are also again in
favor. The general" tendency of these
skirts is to At closely about tho hips,
the flare starting about half way be
tween the hips and knees. The full
ness at -the lower edge .is increased
by plaited sections, which aro inserted
between the gores and give, width to
the bottom of the skirt These modes
are particularly adapted to tae severe
tailor-finish no much in vogue; and
appropriate material should be select-
AM OXJ) AHD WKLL TB1BD K1IXTOT
MM. Wi?ST.ow's8ooTHiya StkOT' for eM14rJ
fetklBehonlil Alwra be s4 fer ehlldiw wkll
toithlBjr. ItsofteBU the emus; Uy all pain, earaa
anything that will remove stains of ' aiVttfflT rmntr tor Ua"'
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