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The Commoner;
VOLUME 10, NUMBER 33
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Music of tho Corn
Tho grand armies of peace aro en
camping afield,
-Thoro is no glint on tho spear, no
blaze on tho shield;
No flashing of holmot, nor tho gleam
ing of blade,
For tho shaft of each weapon is pearl
inlaid.
Their standards aro glistening with
the dew of tho dawn,
And growing in splendor with tho
growing of morn,
And thero's music far sweeter than
the clarion horn
'Tis tho life-giving music of tho
rustling corn.
How stately and majestic and grace
ful in mlon
Aro tho soldiers of peace in their
mantles of green,
O'er tho brow of each soldier waves
a tall tafcseled plume
An emblem of plenty in tho straw
nodding bloom;
From tho land of tho prairies and
realms of the morn,
They aro coming, their arms brim
ming with golden corn,
And thero's music far sweeter than
tho huntsman's horn
Tis tho life-giving music of the
rustling corn.
They aro marching abreast where the
dim skyline dies
The grand armies of peace, born of
earth and the skies.
'Neath their ribbons and pennons
thero aro no ugly scars
The trophies of victory, tho red en
signs of wars.
Bread-bearers for tho nations more
fruitful than trees,
Tho tread of their legions is heard
cross tho wide seas,
Keeping step to the music of Blenty's
. full horn
Tis the life-saving music of the
rustling corn.
Baltimore Sun.
qnliness, for which tho wife is
blamed, but should not be. Sons,
soolng tho constant uncleanness of
tho father, do not realize the need
of cleanliness in themselves until the
ago whon the "girl" comes in, and
society brings them up with a morti
fying jerk. Girls, having the father
before them as a sample of domestic
manhood get a lowered estimate of
her deserts in tho matrimonial line,
and aro less particular. It is all right
to lecture women on neatness in the
home, but don't forget to give the
men a stirring , up, now and thon.
Some of them really should bo fumi
gated before entering into tho do
mestic circle.
. Slovenly Men
It Is a' lamentable fact that many
men men who are otherwise worthy
of the love of the women of their
household are disgustingly careless
of their person and clothing. The
mechanic, tradesman, laborer, and in
eomo instances, men in tho profes
sions, are apt to sit around, in their
work clothes after the day's, work
Is done, because I hey are "too tired,"
ot the "day is tqp near done" for
them to wash off the grime of the
day's toil and put on fresh clothes.
Many of these men, in towns and
cities, are of the beer-drinking, to-foacco-using
class, and the perspira
tion is anything but sweet-smelling,
-without the accumulations of dirt
from their various places of toil.
Then, how few of these men will
tako off the dirty t underwear, and
put on a fresh shirt on going to bed!
They just tumble down in all their
foulness, and - bed sheets, mattress,
nuilts. pillows soon become as dirty
and ill-smelling as tho sleeper. It
surely is not because of the expense
of the night shirt, because these can
be neatly made of very Inexpensive
materials.
'A woman whose love Is worth hav
ing and they are largely in the ma
jority la naturally dainty; but many
of them, toy being forced to live with
uch men uecome slatternly, and the
tyhole household gets an air of slov-
Storing tho Vegetables
It is not too early to begin think
ing of storing the crops that feed the
family through the winter. Improp
er storago of vegetables produces
many poisons which spread at least
ailments, if not real disease through
out tho household. Modern cellars
have walls and floors of concrete,
and these cellars should be well ven
tilated, with sufficient light for ordi
nary purposes. The bins for the va
rious fruits and vegetables should be
so constructed that.a current of fresh
air is always passing around and
through them. If the air is not freez
ing, it will help rather than harm,
even in cold days. The room should
be kept clean, and decayed vege
tables or fruits should bo removed at
once; sour milk, or niildewing foods
in dishes should not bo allowed 'on
tho shelves. It is the dead, unclean
air and the dampness of cellars that
breed poison in vegetables and fruits.
Antiseptics should be freely used in
the cellar, the walls and ceilings
whitewashed, boxes of lime set about,
small bags of charcoal laid about in
corners, the floor should be scrubbed
and all shelves washed with some
good disinfectant. Windows may be
left open at all times, except in very
cold weather, if wire netting is
tacked over the opening to keep out
stray dogs and cats. The steps
should be either whitewashed, or
painted; the concrete steps are much
to be preferred to wooden ones.
Are unnecessary. It is estimated that
school books and school dress now
cost per child of school age, per year,
about $125, while food and medical
attendance cost but $90 per year p,er
child, the age being between nine
and fifteen years.
Every child should learn early to
make some money for himself in cer
tain legitimate ways, under careful
supervision of his parents. By work
ing for this money, he finds wliat.it
costs to obtain it. The child should
bo required to spend the money judi
ciously, and thus learn that money
is of value in the possessing of
things wanted. It should be taught
to savo its money for a definite end,
and to consider well whether the de
sired purchase is really worth the
effort it cost.
Tho child should be permitted to
have its choice, and will learn by th9
mistakes made which is the better
way of using its earnings. In this
way, he is taught the true value of
money. ,
tivo little things, and do not readily
"take a hint." They aro industrious
ly persevering and persistent, and
ono is obliged to adopt heroic and
vigorous methods of extermination
They aro industrious, also passionate
and spiteful; will sting without
provocation; they fight among them
selves, and when some of them aro
killed, the others proceed to devour
the carcasses without compunction
perfect little cannibals. I do not ad
mire the little beasts, and wage a
war of extermination on them when
ever they Intrude. Mrs. M., Wa
verly. Mrs. L. S. C Illinois, savs: "Wa
can not afford to be very tender of
the feelings of the little pests of the
pantry known as red ants, or of their
cousins, the black ants. They aro
like some people theV will never
take a hint that is not administered
with a broadsword, and even after
such a hint, their persistence and
perseverence in "getting into things"
is simply wonderful. Just extermin
ate them; many a better thing has
gone the way of the world's waste
product, and we spare them better
than the nerve force it costs tho
housewife to fight them. Teach the
girlie that she must not allow in
sects in her house, and show her
why."
The Reason
A little girl listened to a long con
versation between two indiscreet
people over domestic troubles o hus
bands and wives; for several days
she was very thoughtful. Then she
uncovered her thoughts to her moth
er in this wise: "Mamma, I know
why a chicken crosses the road."
"And why does it, dear?' asked the
mother: "Because, it. has troubles at
home, and wants to die." Exchange
Floral
Exercise for the Mother
An exercise recommended by Ern
est Haekel, the scientist, is simply
stretching up, up, up, as If reaching
for fruit on the branches of a tree.
He explains the chief value of this
exercise by saying that the internal
organs have a tendency to drop with
increasing years, and this simple mo
tion, often practiced (a natural one,
by the way, as most of us "stretch"
on rising) serves to lift and keep
them in position. Instead of throw
ing the shoulders back, try lifting
the chest up, as when drawing a
deep breath, and hold the chest up
as much as possible. The shoulders
will assume the right position.
Gleanings
As the opening of the schools for
the fall term will soon be in order,'
it is well to remember that the two
heaviest burdens borne by the homes
of today are the cost of school
clothing and school books. A clip
ping from an. exchange presents the
figures, and they show that these two
items represent a greater expense
per child than food and medical tat
tendance. The point la made that
most school children are overdressed
and aro compelled to buy bociks that
Many complain that theif peonies
do not bloom; sometimes the buds
are set, but do not open. A florist
tells us that it is probably due to
acidity of the soil, and a dressing of
fresh lime worked in the surface
about the roots will usually over
come the trouble.
In sending for bulbs for fall plant
ing, do not be satisfied with the
cheap, or the "bargain-counter"
bulbs, as these rarely give satisfac
tory results. They are not true to
name, old bulbs with little vitality,
or too small to do more than "live
through." Better one big, vigorous
bulb that will give you a fine spike
of flowers, than a dozen that neither
bloom nor are true to name.
In many regions, especially in the
drouthy localities, sweet peas should
be planted in the fall, so their bloom
ing season will be past before the
hot weather burns them up.
This is the time to sow pansy
seeds, If you have not yet planted
tnem. do not delay; fall started
plants are the early bloomers of the
pansy family. Perennials and bien
nials should be planted this mranth,
and the seed-beds covered with sack
ing, or other loose covering, kept
damp; the beds must not be allowed
to dry out until the seeds germinate,
and they must then be watered judi
ciously, it will pay to care for them.
Do not forget that the plants ft r
the window garden must be attend
ed to now; pot. the slips and keep
growing thriftily, but do not allow
to bloom. Re-pot whenever needed.
Try to have a few plants.
For the Toilet
Answering Mrs. L. K. Nearly all
face bleaches have corrosive subli
matd (bi-chlorido of mercury) for
their basis. Taken internally, cor
rosive sublimate is a deadly poison,
but applied to the scalp or skin in
proportions given in the following
recipes, I hjive the assurance of sev
eral physicians and druggists that it
is harmless. It should be labelled
"poison" in red letters and kept out
of careless, hands.
For dandruff, get a five-ounce bot
tle; then get of your druggist ten
grains of corrosive sublimate, which
will probably cost you five cents; get
a pint of distilled witch hazel, which
will probably cost twenty-five cents.
Into tho five-ounce bottle put tho ten
THE WAY OUT
What to Do When Food Don't Agree
Tho "Iittlo Ant" Question
Mrs. M. S.,. Ohio, in lier strictures
on the method of exterminating ants,
does her heart more credit than her
head; If she had ever been beset and
tormented by the little peBts, slie
would know that they are not sensl-
When food don't agree sensiblo
folks make a change.
Where all others fail Grape-Nuts,
being partially predlgested and near
ly all nourishment, succeeds usually
from the first trial.
A lady in Washington says: "My
baby 19 months old had never seen
a well day in her life. She had suf
fered from Indigestion from the time
of her birth, and it seemed Impos
sible to find any food to agree with
her. She could keep almost nothing
on her stomach and she was in such
a constipated condition she suffered
a great deal.
"It was then that I tried Grape-
Nuts for her, steeping It thoroughly
and straining it, putting a small por
tion in each feeding and it worked
like a charm. She began to improve
Immediately and gained half a pound
the first week.
"Baby got her indigestion from
me, for my digestive organs have al
ways been weak. I rely on Grape
Nuts for most of my food for thero
are times when I can eat nothing
else. I am steadily improving and
know Grape-Nuts will make me en
tirely well in time.
"I never have 'that tired feeling'
any more. I eat Grape-Nuts and 1
feel its effect In Improved mental
strength very forcibly."
"There's a Reason."
Look In pkgs. for tho famous lit
tle book, "The Road to Wellvllle."
Ever read the above letter? A new
one appears from time to time. They
aro genuine, true, and full of liumjui
interest.