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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 1908)
, Tjy . ' "jifc A : .-JcAfV .? ? WWV! Wiv ftf !"? wt-j Vfc--- vfri tim I'-.te'- yi id . The Commoner. VOLUME 7, NUMBER 52 ",, t l' ' , i i h is 'f." ,'Kr fi.' ii' " jc V. , .- "T. J iV NT; JiVr. &&-.,. . ,',- rrv it .... &;.-: tu '. ISV v-.. 'II.'' ' M "i" -.; W -." ...-' ; '.. ', 111 ! ' i 1 3 -.3 ,1; li' v The Lonely Little FcIIoivh 'TJio lonely little follow sits among nis idle toys Arid finds no charm about what once he thought his greatest joys: Ho .does not fun and laugh and play) ho will but sit and Wait And listen for a footfall or the rattle 'of the gate, , And yatch to see somebody' coming ' through the open door ' j Somebody who will clasp him and will sing to him no more. ' He is too young, they tell us, far too " young to know at all 'The truth about the sorrow that the hand of : fate let fafl -.. And yet he sits and watches with his hope told in his eyes And oft with lips a-quivor he" will stifle little sighs; He gazes from the window in the sunshine and the rain j And none of us may fathom how his heart is wrung with pain. And nights he bravely clambers in, ' ' his little.- bed alone ' And 'whispers little prayers that his ;trusting 'soul has known Since first, he -lisped them slowly, : kpeeHng vat Somebody's knee- And-shoiild' we tiptoe illghtly to,. his bedside we' should see. n 1 Pirn -tear stains on his eyelids, for, . the-same as you or I jThe little.; bey has stumbled on the , -barring question 'IWhy?" i He can not understand it? Ah, we try Hard to believe That, lonely little fellows know not , wnat it is to grieve, I But they waken in the morning and they look about to find ! The arms that once would hold them in embraces warm and kind, I And they, too, have their sorrow, and they dumbly hold and keep j A memory that mocks them of the grief that will not sleep. I The lonely little fellows! Do you , know;Mqf one somewhere? 1 Thengd'take him up and soothe him ;iiiW m10, yu smooth his sunny hair, kWFAnd sing to him and whisner mti stories all the while I Until his eyes are laughing and his iipo wui wpar a smno, For life is scant of gladness, and the shadows dull the day "When tho lonely little fellows do not sing and laugh and play. "W.-.D. Nesbit in .Ste- Louis Republic. and nations than any printed, word can do.' Others are more or less tasteful designs - and bright colors Which please the eye, while still oth ers are merely the expression of friendly good will. Of the so-called "comic" class, some are really mirth-provoking without leaving "a bad taste in one's mouth," while still others are, as one writer has said, "a disgrace to the firm 'issuing them, a discredit to the one sending them out, and an insult to the one to whom they are sent." These aro the kind that should go out of fashion, ' and the sooner it is done, .the better. While many may be sent merely in a spirit of unthink ing fun, others are mailed with ma licious intent, purposely to hurt and annoy. In St. Louis alone, for the three days prior to and including Christ mas, there were 6,500 pounds 950, 000 cards passed through the hand? of the postal employees. .J !.. '... Postal Card, greeting , Many Christmas and New Year's ( cards. ame to me! from our friends, andbtheir coming was in effect like JPiW1.8 blealcing 'through clouds. ( Foru: pleasing remembrances, I am most-grateful. The custom of greet ing by picture card isa pleasant one, Jnd should nevergo but of fashion. Few .things so inexpensive carry with (them such an atmosphere of good will and thoughtful remembrance as these cards, and one seldom has too (many of them, or fails to welcome 'their coming. But there are picture cards and picture cards. Many, of tho first class are not only lovely, but educational as they portray the customs and arch itecture of many lantte and people giving one a bettor idea of places AN OLD AND WELL TRIED REMEDY Mns. Wikslow'b Soothino. Syrup for children teeth ne should always bo used for MdnnwhnS teeUUnp. It softens tho Bums, allays tooaln. cure wind collo and Is Uo beat remedy for diMrhoB! Twenty.flve ccuts a bottle. awrrnoe. Tho Farm Work Shop It is not always best, or necessary, to try to "keep the boys on the farm." Sometimes, the very best thing that can be dong is to let him get out in the world and see for himself what it is made '. of, But while we do keep him, let us make the life worth Jiving. . One of the most useful investments the father can make is a well-equipped work shop. The boys should be encour aged to use the tools, and to try their hand at making or mending, as the case may be. A blacksmith shop, though the outfit of tools may be but the most necessary for even rough work, will more than save its cost in time and attention to the rougher machinery which can be mended even by the unskilled. Car penter's tools may be many or few, but there should be enough of them' and of the kind to admit nf Hffin joos of repairing, or construction, and the boys should be encouraged to try their hands at such work. There should be a shoe and harness repairing outfit, and the harness, like the family clothing, should be kept in repair. We often s;ee otherwise good harness tied tpgether with strings, straps, pieces of wire; chain, or rope, that, with the proper use of harness needles, awls, waxed threads, etc., would serve for a long1 while and look neat. There should be paint brushes and paint for pre serving the wood work of im plements, and any handy boy woUld take a nride in Trunin c thin neat, if ho were only enlisted in the feuuu worn oy example. If the boy Sees nothing but riirtnrrtmv nnil l taught nothing about the; necessity ""- acuiuuB unngs m repair,i;how can one expect him to do it? We read everywhere that the .mother should see that the daughter learns how to patch and darn and mefld, but how seldom do we hear or read that the patching, darning, mending in the father's province of the farm should be attended to? Many a woman would prefer to walk to town, or to the country store rather than be seen riding in the old, ram-shackle, rick ety vehicle, with a horse or horses wearing a ragged, tied-together, and altogether disreputable as well as un safe harness, which 'a few hours' work some stormy day, or odd time cduld make neat and serviceable. Tho Weekly Wash "In the long-gone days of our fore bears, the pounder and tho barrel Tied with the tub and the rubbing board as a cleanser; but the inven tion of the' washing machine, -which does the work on the same principles (the forcing of water of Various1 de grees of heat through the 'meshes of the cloth to expel the dirt) has made tho work far less laborious, with less wear on either the woman or the "wash." In the" make of -the machines, there are good, better, best; but there are iew manes, even or the poorest, that, if properly managed, will not save the strength of the laundress, if only by dividing the labor among several hands; At best, washing is hard WOrk. and w11PT1 tllO mlllonlnm fully established, this, in common with other hard tasks will be taken out of the hands of weak women, and tho whole laundering business, bo better don by machinery. But until that time does come, we must do the best we can, by employing the mechanical devices which take away much of the heavy lifting of tubs, the shifting of waters, and the steaming of the woman. The woman who works over hot water -Until the pores of the skin are fully open, then goes out Into the wintry air to empty water or hang out clothing, is un wise. If nothing else can be done, before going out, plunge the hands and arms and wash the face With ?, water and thus reduce the lia bility to take cold from thjs. cause; Hands, arms, and head should be covered, with a thicker garment thrown about' the shoulders. The feet, too should be protected, as one's shoes get damp, and if the wa ter is carelessly handled, even wet, and at all events: th nrinnw oi sole is seldom thick enough to pre vent the- chill from cold,, wet or frozen ground while hanging the clothes on the line. Tubs should be fitted with a faucet near the bottom, to avoid -the lifting of the tub for emptying, and there are several ingenious ways of get ting the water to tho boiler and tub without lifting. Economy of strength should be looked after at every turn, and there should be no exposure of the laundress, 'saturated with steam as she invariably. is, that can be avoided. - Little Comforts There- is little that can be done about tho garden, these short, mid winter days, but "where there's a will there's a way" to make many little comforts, both for the inside and tho outside of the home. 'In stead of sitting about the house, drowsing over the fire, or going to the corner store to gossip with other Idlers, it would be a good thing if the gudo mon would look around and see how many little jobs he can find, the doing of which will result in much "comfort for the family dur ing the days to come. Benches and seats pan be made of poles, or slabs with very little labor and absolutely no expense, where there is timber and these, placed in the shade In the garden, or about the yard will bo very acceptable when one has a moment to rest while working about the premises with only the wet ground underfoot. Walks can be. made from the house to other build ings, if only of stones, or a ridce 0f aith hat yUl draln the water and afford a strip of dry ground to walk on; or logs, with one side hewn a maDy be stayed so they will not roll. If more expensive material, can be had, the work should be done as quickly as possible; but anything is better than" nothing. ' k 3 There should, be at least a door step, if not a porch floor, and on the side of this should be fastened a piece of iron for a scraper, and tho old brooms should be kept at tho door for cleaning the . manure and mud from the shoes before entering the house. A woman can not koon the house sWeet and clean, no mat ter how hard Rho mhv -nmir n. . :men and boys do not do their sharo SIT. IT nnd four 1-irw.r ,I11 J. .i .. 7 ii ', r uu' " uo just as tho father does. Hired men aro not angels, and perhaps they have grown up with careless, indifferent fathers wv, bu, uiojr wm not do above car rying the i clingings from the barn lot into the house. It is useless to expect tidy girls if the boys are al lowed to be untidy, for girls and women, get very much discouraged with the constant picking up and cleaning after. Brothers, . just look around a little, before you start oft to town, and 'see what is needed about the premises. Sanitation Now Is a good time for the gude mon to look after the "little things" which are still so big that, in tho hurry, season, when they are most wanted, they can not be attended to. Onp of these Is the carrying away from the house of the waste water of every sort. Where this water can be run into, the garden, it is excel lent for the plants, and it can be so used if the garden is below the house, by the use of drain pipes, or trenches of sufficient depth and "fall" to insure the water belmr p.nrHori .away. If, this pan not be done, there is,s,tUl the void, "cess-pool" .under- aruunu, iq wnicn tne water may bo guided, and from which the water will all drain awayinto the soil sur rounding it.. It is pow claimed that the CeSS-DOOl Is not a mfinnr.o tn health, but a real sanitary measure, ana ir tne son is sandy or porous, will not reauire anv attention for years at a time. Into this pool guiae tne waste water from the home and kitchen through pipes which, are easily laid. ' The pool should be loosely fwalled up not ce mented. House slops should never be thrown about the doors or yards winter or summer. Concerning Yeast The method by which yeast makes bread light Is easily understood. In the flour along with the starch is a small amount of material known as diastase. By the action of this dias tase in dough, part of the starch is change'd to .sugar. The yeast plants feed upon the materials in the dough, and ferment the sugar, producing the gas, carbon, dioxide and alcohol. The bubbles of carbon dioxide col lect in the dough, causing it to swell and this is the so-called raising of bread. The heat in baking drives out the alcohol and the carbon diox ide, but at the same time the heat hardens the dough, and the spaces formerly filled with the carbon diox ide are left as 'pores in the bread. uooa .Housekeeping. 3For Making Shirt Waists Do4 not bring he fulness of the shirtwaist into a very narrow space on each side of the center of front and back," as this gives ugly lines to the waist. The fulness should fall in straight lines from the shoulder to the waist-line, whether ma rjj?j Clear the voice. Allay the irritation caused by cough iftg. Use when required. 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