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The Commoner. R
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VOLUME 7, NUMBER 20
A '? VJiJUl X
Tho Marks of the Cross
No longer does tho world send forth
its call
For men to strive and suffer all
alone,
To stand for faith and fall as mar
tyrs fall,
Beneath tho hittor blows of stone
i on stone;
No longer but tho neighbor at your
side,
Who greets you every day with
. smile all fair,
Would cause you to look at him
open oyod,
Did you but know what marks his
shoulders bear!
And they who spend their strength
in mills and mart,
Who swing the sledge, or bend
above the books,
Or in the world's great taBk do their
one part
In unfrequented, hidden, dusty
nooks; ""
Who in high places rule, and they
who servo,
And often see their gold has
turned to dross,
Who pay tho toll of strength and
soul and nerve t
Upon their shoulders' is tho chaf
ing cross.
And we need but look back addwn
the years ';
To those old days now shadowed
In our dreams,
Until wo find the, one who changed
our tears ' '. '
To smiles that glowed In laugh
ter's brightest gleams,
And see the mother patient, hope
ful, fond
Who gave us of herself by day
and night,
And looked to the to-morrows far
beyond "'
Yet she would say her cross was.
ever light.
And each and all, today'tomorrow -
yes,
Through all the endless avenue of
time, '
We bear our cross in pleasure or
distress,
Though on the way. we falter as
wo climb.
tio longer have we martyrs?, Way,
but then
It bootg not if we garner "gain or
loss; V'
There is no one of all the sons of
men
Whose shoulders show1 no mark
ings of the cross.: -:
Walter B. Nesbittf, in Republic.
."Balanced Rations",
Every farm paper is full of teach
ings on these subjects, and the
speakers at institutes and other
gatherings for the farm people talk
learnedly of food proportions. These
foods are for the animals of the
farm; but, valuable as these ani
mals are, there are other, far more
valuable bodies getting their living
out of the farm, for the welfare of
which little thought is seemingly
taken. A tired tarm wife writes to
me": "If the men can have lectur
ers com and talk to them about
balanced rations for the animals of
the stockyard, I do not see why they
should not have some one who
knows come and tell ua what to feed
AN OLD AND WELL TRIED REMEDY
Mks. Wiwslow's SooTiiftfti STitupforohil'
drcn teething should always be used for chil
dren while teething. Itsottons the cums. allays
all pain. cures wind colic and is tho best remedy
for diarrhoea'. Twonty-Uve cents abottla.
'"i .1
the children, and why such foods
should be given. Very few home
mothers know anything about prac
tical chemistry, and we have so lit
tle time to give to reading, that we
can not learn. Talk as one may, the
work on the farm is hard hafd;
and few women have the nerve
force left, after their necessary work
is done, to try to understand long,
technical articles on tho chemistry
of foods. Most of farmers, however..
do not regard their children's wel-
rare as being quite as Important as
that of their stock."
And right here comes In the im
portance of the so-often decried
"club." In every neighborhood
there should bo "mothers' meetings"'
or gatherings, at which questions
may be asked by the uninformed,
and answered by the more experi
enced. For this purpose, an organ
ization is better than a mere chance
gathering for if the meetlnern nrr
anticipated and prepared for, the at
tendance will bo better, and more
regular. Better interest will bo
manifested, and many a "troubled
Martha" will take time to take her
perplexities to a meeting where
she knows she may find a solution
for her problems. Now that -the
long days re with us, why not
make up our minds to form a club,
and then do it. You remember, the
Bible tellB us of the efficacy of the
"two or three gathered together,"
and you can not fail to receive bene
fit from this mingling with other
minds.: However good and kind your
husbands may be; they ' are not so
much interested in the welfare of
the children as the mother should
bo. Make room for the afternoon
meeting at least once a week. JLet
the luncheon be a "neighborhood"
affair, each one bringing a contribu
tion to the refreshments, so "as not
to make the affair burdensome to
the hostess. Do try it, sisters..
Tho Summer Outing
.It Is not too early to begin plan-"
ning for the. summer outing. We
may have but a day, or a few of
thejh, at most, arid there may be
po money to spend on dress or trav
el; but this should not 'discourage
us. Wo all need tho vacation, and
we are all loncrinir to cet mv
the green, fields, the forest, the
stream, or the water-side. Not even
the farm family, so "surrounded by
the beauties of. nature as at times
to. tire of them, wants to.. go to the
city for a change. Further away
from the haunts of human beings,
into the wilds and solitudes, is the
one cry, "back to nature," and to
the fresh, syeet air ,and lear,
health--giving sunshine. if, one will
but plan wisely, doing little by lit
tle the things that must bo done,
keeping always in view the things
that will serve best for the holiday
flitting, the "getting ready to go,"
should not be burdensome. We
should leave behind us all the un
necessary, hindering things, and
look forward to the simple life that
befits our anticipations of restful
change; the dominant idea should
be comfort, and the casting aside of
care. If matters are looked at in
the right light, there can be real
comfort and rest for a very little
money. .
If you can "not spend inoney and
time to go far away, take "day"
vacations as often as possible; or
even an afternoon, .spent in luxur
ious idleness in the woods or the
meadows, or in some not frequently
Yisited place, will. rejuvenate the par-
ticipants, men, women or" children.
A few neighbors could go together
some day, If only to a camping
ground a few miles away, or to some
shady, grassy pasture, or on the
banks of a stream, with no "fussing
about food." carbed in comfortable.
every day garments that will stand
the disasters of the trip, giving the
day over to idle happiness. If the
whole family could not be spared,
let the mothers have the day, free
from th5 care of the kitchen, taking
plain, wholesome foods and some
thing in which to "make coffee"
over the camp fire, and let the little
folks do the table setting and chores.
You don't know how the little
Jthings enjoy -the responsibility of
waitingjDn the "big folks."
. Tho "Help" Problem
When., our housekeepers learn to
get all the help they can, and keep
all the help they get, the housekeep
ing problem will be much easier of
solution than it now is. It is won
derful, how many little contriv
ances: as well as large ones are now
on the market in the interests of
the housewife. In, a great many re
gions, gas is to be had quite reason
ably for.f.uel, and the old coal or
wood range can be set aside during
the hotweather, while in others, the
"wicklesa blue-flame oil cookers,''
with one, two or three burners, or
even more,, may-be had at a cost
bf from" $4 tn $&. n-n'A 1rarnoana 'n
)V i ii V j . Z ' f . twwnu WjiA
iwui quj is saia to oe a better, as
well as a .cheaper fuel, than any
other, and the stove is as safe as
the oil lamp, and as easily kept
clean. With either a gas or an oil
stove and a good steam-cooker, the
terrors of putting up fruit are great
ly lessened. The steam cooker is as
valuable for cooking foods as the
cooking chest, and every housewife
should have one. Some women buy
these things, and before they have
learned to use them, or know their
vaiue, mey set them aside, and go
back to, the old methods, roasting
themselves, as well as the dinner.
In time, we shall have denatured al
cohol for fuel in the home, and this
is said to be a far safer fuel and illu
rainant than the inflammable gaso
line we have so long used. if is a
pleasure to go through a large de
partment, or other store having de
partments set aside for household
furnishings, to see how very many
little conveniences, at very small'
cost, are now ready for the fortunate
housekeeper who has the good sense
to furnish her kitchen and laundry
before she spends any money in use
less bric-a-brac or dust-catching
draperies for the rooms seldom used.
One of the "must-haves." of every
family should be a good washing
machine and wringer; but there are
other conveniences that will lessen
the work of the laundry, and, alto
gether, the whole outfit will not cost
as much as a break-down from over
work, or the hiring of a usually in
competent laundress because the
housewife is not able to do the laun
dry work. My dear readers, if you
can get out of the heavy. work, do
so; but if you can not, do get the
helpful machinery! h
" '. ' . - i- ,
, "Dust Uiitb Dust"' :- ' '
A letter, comes Q, me frani'.one'of
our readers in, , the .sparsely settled
region of the far northwest, bearing
the, intelligence that another human
soul had passed out into the Un
known, .and the writer, adds that the
wishes of the deceased were carried
out in the cremation of the poor
perishing shell of mortality left be
hind. The remains -were carried to
a large city on the coast, and the
ashes returned, dust unto dust, to
the earth that gave it - .
"Dust unto dust," this friend had
often said tn m 4ri ii" iww&
youth-time when we 'had walked tho
aamu yvn.ua auu snaroa eaca other's
sorrows and joy's. The slow process
of decay under ihe cofflri-lid had
been so dreaded, and cremation
Would but hasten the process of re
turning" the body to ite elements, and
had sedmed so desirable that this
had been a last request. One need
not read of the exhuming of the
mummified bodies or scattered bones
that have lain so Iprig in the ceme
teries and burial places of the old
w,orld to realize that there is no
rest for the dead that can be assured
by burial in the earth, or packing
away in costly tombs. Even now,
we read almost daily of tho uncov
ering of bones through excavations,
or of the removal of bodies from
crowded cemeteries to make room
for the invasion of commerce. We
robe our dead in spotless white,
cover their coffins with flowers, and
lower the precious bodies into the
earth, anof when all is hidden, we
seek to lessen our sorrow by tenderly
caring for the mound that hides
them. But we are here such a lit
tle while! t A day, a month, a year,
ahd we, toQ, may .be put away, and
there may be no other hands to deck
the mounds, of either the loving or
the loved. ,. So many graves lfer neg
lected, sunken, the sleepers 'for
gotten; ' ' jV '" u..-
The Jdea of; , cremation is not ,-n'o w
so distressing as'it once was, and' the
practice ,'is. growing; in many largo
cities there ar.e established cremato
ries where every, digressing feature
is hidden from, the mourner, and
when the white dust Is' given back
to us in its lovely urn, we may, if
we wish, keep, it, or dispose of It
as seemeth best to us. We know
that our dead can never be disturbed
and, instead of the long, slow decay,
the 4oyefl body has passed af once
into thQkdust that may be returned
to its natiye dust, never more to
know the desecration of unfriendly,
or careless hands.
'"Beginning Anew"
It is useless to grieve over any
error pf the past. Forgive yourself,'
and strive-to set up a new life in
which this bitter experience may
serve to set you On your way to a
better and higher road. Cease your
sorrowful self-accusations, and put
all your energies into a climb for
the purer atmosphere. We sin
through ignorance, or it may be,
weakness; it is the sin that must
die-not the sinner. When we know
Xr Yeone wrong an are sorry
for it, the battle is half w0n; we
must finish it by forsaking thq broIS
back we must press forwards day
by day, doing always the host we
an?idnemSe iS,Jain' and actIa s
antidote. The idea that the Rmii
muft Bue. -for eint of thl hoy
S,!?"03;"18- The soul does
Sff If Then, ifc rea"zes the result of
the broken law. It must heal itself.
I'd oTen6 ITs tm"St ?ay e peS?
im? ?a hi J? hQQny way of learn
S? e hard Iessns set for us
Wheji we realize that we have erred
the one thing to do is to do bitter
an? bC2SinSt? ourselve,
?f i t0, ?how ou earnest e-p-ntance
by doing something to .help
others' over the rphgh rilaces it? a
life-tq wash out the stains; to El
hijeakand pon ouThe
bruises. Stop wailing, and go to J
I0!' Siug,' if but a note oVtwo,
nanTw ,alry.s UPW4 along the
path that leads to the perfect plane
(ot
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