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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 1912)
h fri w Ljfl w M Ifc. X" ftK ty IW fe& M i,r re !' m The Commoner & &y3? J D 3 i 101611 L V VOLUME 12, NUMBER 50 BYE-LO-LAND Cradle Song Baby is going to bye-lo-land, Going to see the sights so grand. Out of tho sky the wee stars peep, Watching to see her fast asleep, Swing so! Bye-lo! Baby is safo in Bye-lo-land, Swing so! Bye-lo! Baby is safe in Bye-lo-land. Oh, tho bright dreams in Bye-lo-land, All by loving angels planned, Soft littlo lashes downward close, Just like the petals of a rose. Swing so! Bye-lo! Prettiest eyes in Bye-lo-land! Swing so! Bye-lo! Prettiest eyes in Bye-lo-land! Sweet is tho way to Bye-lo-land, Guided by mother's gentle hand, Littlo lambs now are in tho fold, Littlo birds nestle from the cold. Swing so! Bye-lo! Baby is safe in Bye-lo-land! Swing so! Bye-lo! Baby is safe in Bye-lo-land! Answering the call from Mrs. N. P., of Kansas, for the above words, wo aro indebted to Mrs. Ruth Bart lett, Whitesville, N. Y.J.Mrs. Eleanor D. Smith, of Colorado Springs, Colo., (who tells us "This was my favorite cradle song for each of my seven children") ; Mrs. C. F. Grear, Jones boro, 111.; Mrs. C. S. Hollis, and Mrs. J. B. Lewis, from St. Louis, Mo. Our thanks aro due to each of these friends for the kindness. ing tho Bible. Instead of dozing over the fire, or going to the village storo to pass the time, it would be a sensible idea for them to hunt out a few answers to questions of respect toward tho church house, and learn from tho Biblo that cleanliness is not only a command, but a demand. Then, too, if there is no house of worship, thero should be one; the school building should afford a tem porary meeting place, and it would be a good idea, when planning and building tho school house, to plan also and build in connection with it a hall to be used for religious, social and educational purposes. The only house of worship the Bible describes was tho templo at Jeru salem, and every precious thing, gold, silver, copper, ivory, precious stones, silken goods, costly woods, wore all largely used in tho build ing. They will learn, too, that it almost exhausted tho treasures of the kingdom; but it was done at the express command of tho Divino Architect. When we have done our best, nothing more is required of us; but after the house is set to order, it should bo made a real house of tho Lord, to which each and every one may come, sure of a blessing. Show the spirit of loving kindness in your treatment of all who enter in, no matter the cut of tho garment, or the style of the fashion. It is the spirit that should be met, not the clothes of the body. children can be taken from tho mother's care merely because she is poor, or unable physically to do her housework, and the mother bo forded to give up her children for this cause, what one of us, so situ ated, but would choose to have no children, rather than to be thus tortured? Tho Christmas Season The year now closing down amid the "sounds of revelry" always to be hoard at the season of Christmas good will, has brought to many of our readers much of joy and thank fulness, while to others it has been shadowed by sorrows and losses. We can not wish a "Merry Christmas" to all, for to some, the wish would seem a mockery. But we do wish, most sincerely, that to each and every one of our,, readers may come tho joy of having done well the duties of life, and that they may have health of body and spirit to go through tho coming year, doing good unto others, and trying to live, as well as to say, the good wishes that now, in this festival season, spring so joyously to their lips. May you all have a happy, wholesome, satisfac tory Christmas, and carry its spirit with you throughout the coming year. H. W. M. Tho Church Houso Every effort should be made to keep the church clean inside, and its grounds, outside, if it have any, attractive and in good order. In side, there should bo as much care observed in the matter of dirt, as in tho home. Thero should bo scrapers and door mats at the door for the removal of mud, or other dirt clinging to tho foot wear. Tho disgusting habit of spitting on tho floor is dying out, even in country places, but it should die faster. Very little less objectionable is tho cuspidor, and this, too, should have no place in tho church room. If the men do not respect themselves, so far as habits and cleanliness is in question, they should at least be made to respect the house of God. It would be a fine thing if tho men of the family should spend a few hours weekly, if not daily, in read- Gleanings The demand for mothers' pensions is being made by several states, and it is a right move. It is extremely hard for a mother, whether or not a widow, to do battle with the world for a lot of little children, to give them the right attention and at the same time feed and clothe them. The cry of "race suicide" has some what subsided, and it was a sense loss cry from the start, for there were so many little children being thrown on the world without ade quate provision being made for them, that the question should have been and still should bo, "How aro we to care ror tne little ones we now have with us," not, "how shall we increase the number?" In Illi nois, the pension is paid, no matter if tho father is alive, if he does not help to support the children from any cause; in St. Louis, the ordi nance is that a woman must be a widow, in order to be eligible for the pension. This is not fair to either the child, the mother, or to the father. The father should be forced, by the state to earn something, and devote his earnings to his family. It is argued that if a mother could draw a pension for each child, the father being still alive, many more men would forsake their families. But the majesty of the law should reach out and force those deserting fathers to help pay the ponsion, if no other way than in tho penlntentiary, or the work house. If tho father finds ho can not live with the mother, he is, or should be, still re sponsible for the needs of his chil dren, and he should be forced to realize the fact by tho laws of the state. No wonder women shrink from motherhood, in the face of such conditions as now prevail. It is a costly thing to rear a child just food and clothing, to say nothing of schooling, and care. Then, too, con ditions are such that one never knows what may happen to tho child, even in tho home. If littlo Tho "Last Things" In the hurry and worry that has become so large a part of the holi day season, many things may be overlooked, or put off, from day to day, until, at the last moment, every thing seems to crowd everything else. In the matter of mince meats, if you have not made a supply, a very good article, to serve as a foun dation of a better, may be had of first-class grocery stores. To this may be added cider, either sweet or boiled, to give it the right flavor, then, fruits of various kinds finely chopped, arid it is seldom that more spices are needed. In the "ready made mince meats, there are fre quently stems and large pieces of cinnamon bark, whole cloves more than one wants, and these should be carefully picked out. There should be plenty of "filling"- in the pie, and when served it should be hot clear through. It may be made several days before using and the pies baked to be reheated. There are many re cipes for fruit cake that may be mado at the last moment, and will be just as much liked as the more expensive kind made several days before. If you find yourself too hurried to do all you intended to do, just cut down the list of "things," and do what you can. Any one whose opinion is worth having will appre ciate yourself, and your society much more than an overplus of food stuffs. Do not try to do all the entertain ing yourself; let your guests enter tain each other part of the time. Let the social features predominate. Don't force your guests to listen to the children's practicing, or "speak ing pieces," and remember that even a paper, or story or poem written or selected by one of them, may be exceedingly tiresome to the rest of tho company. In i these days, when every homo is crowded with litera ture, one can do their own reading at home, and nearly every one likes to talk or listen in such gatherings. What the Farm Women Are Doing The second International Farm Woman's congress was held in Leth bridge, Canada, October 22-25, 1912. To co-operatively handle the prob lems of the home interests is what this congress aims to do. The In ternational Farm Women's PreBS Association is an auxiliary to the congress, and was organized last year at Colorado Springs, with 11 charter members, and closed its first year with C2 members. The 11 wo men who were the charter members felt that upon them as farm-paper women devolved a great responsi bility in exploiting and promoting the work which the congress aims to do among women in rural com munities. To this end, they or ganized themselves into this Auxili ary Press association. Its aim is to count among its members tho home conductor of every agricultural, horticultural, poultry and bee paper in the country, as well as all promi nent contributors to toes papers Through. their colmuns'it believeB it can reach out and touh tho rural women as they can bo reached in no other way. They can acquaint them with the work as it is being done other parts of the country; can gather information from their own and different localities to pass on to the headquarters of their nresJ association. This in turn can be used as a resource from which to draw to keep up active and con tinued reports of interest between the parent association the congress and the farm women readers. The underlying purpose of the Interna tional Farm Women's congress and its Auxiliary Press association, is to make a network of neighborhood clubs. The town and city women have heretofore had about all tho benefits of these clubs, or gather ings ot women lor mutual improve ment and for betterment of the home and social interests, but the rural sisterhood is now awakening to the importance of social exchange, col lecting and distributing ideas, facts and methods, and developing the social side of life in order to in telligently prepare their children for the work that is now falling to the hands of the coming generations. Keeping the Water Supply Clean A writer on hygiene tells us (what we already know) that "There is scarcely a settlement or village but haB its water-course fouled by tho lazy and ignorant inhabitants who use thorn as a receptacle for every and all kinds of filth and abnomina tion, and the waters of which aro still used for domestic purposes, if not for slaking-"-thirst." It is not an easy matter to detect impurities, even for the skilled chemist and microscopist; the most dangerous impurities are so hidden that all the light of science has scarcely been able to show them as they are. They are the pestilences that walk in darkness. But there are many pol lutions which show up so glaringly that they should be suppressed, and the sources removed. Solid impuri ties may be removed by Alteration, and we have filters of every size and price and degree of efficiency; but too much faith must not be put in Alteration to the neglect of precau tionary measures. Disease germs do not seem to be stopped by any amount of Alteration, although this method of purification is of un doubted utility. An old, unclean filter may of itself become a serious menace. The boiling of water is recommended and often resorted to, and does destroy organic matter and perhaps certain kinds of germs. But many germs resist the boiling tem perature of water, and -water that has been boiled is not palatable, and not regarded as entirely wholesome, as all gases are removed. Some authorities contend that only dis tilled water should be used for do mestic purposes and cookery, and there are many distilling devices on the market. But whatever one does, it seems to be established as a fact that water, once fouled, can not be cleansed again with any degree oi certainty. Much of the offending element can not well be kept from the supply of water, as seepings, drainage through decomposing vege table matter, as well as through de nnmnnsfm? inHfio.t and animal mat ter, but everything, that can be done should be done, and the peopio taught to look upon the matter as onoof life and death, or at lease, disease. Dry-CIcaning of Garments For articles that can not J& "tubbed" for various reasons, ury cleaning is a very effective Meth0?J removing many spots and sou" places. Delicate faturrcs and colors, materials that shrink, garments i too heavy to handle, such as men s clota irig, and many other things whe wetting is not nuvinn -"- -I cleaned effectually by the ue o