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The Commoner.
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VlfiiiJ jCHelen Watts Mcty Y
VOLUME 12, NUMBER 51
"In Mcmorinm"
Only at even como tender lights
That never the day with its sun
shine knows;
Only at even comes down the peace
That broods 'til the petals of flow
ers close;
Broods about them and holds them
fast,
As lulled by silence they fall
asleep,
Folded and clasped in the soft caress,
Shielded by shadows, tender and
deep.
Only at even. So came to him
The gentle gloaming as full of
peace
As the tender springtime's fragrant
dusk,
When the restless sigh of the
breeze has ceased.
So came to him the peace of rest,
Like the tranquil bush at the close
of day,
In the solemn beauty of eventide,
When the sun's fierce shining is
soothed away.
So came to him the shadows vast,
That shut away all earthly things;
And earthly sounds were hushed to
him
Who heard the sweep of heavenly
wings.
So came to him the low, sweet call
Pure and holy and sweet and deep;
And like a little child he passed
Into the Father's tender keep.
Hattie Whitney Symonds.
follow the light into the Glory of
tho New Day.
"The Now Year"
While wishing every one of you
tho best that the coming twelve
month can bring, it is always a ques
tion what that best may be. It is
not always the Bunshine; for some
times too much sunshine is worse
than less would be; it may not be
the clouds and falling rain; for the
supply of these may already be more
than your life can bear. We can not
all be happy; neither is it well to be
always merry, or even joyous. What
might be to one the height of pros
perity might bring to another only
disaster. So, while my mind sweeps
away to your many thousands of
homes, I can think of nothing better
for you than that you may be among
the world's workers, in one field or
another, busy with hand and head
and heart, in the ministry unto
others that alone brings the "peace
that passeth understanding" the
Joy that makes of even the shadow
a blessedness. Every day, the people
of the world are groping after the
light; trying to find the paths that
lead to the greater heights; many
may stumble and fall, and others
may sit down discouraged; but a
few brave, enduring souls will yet
find tho door, and shall open the
way for the world that follows. Light
1b breaking through the gloom on all
hands faint, far specks of radiance
In most cases; but every year we are
getting closer to the Living Sun, and
realizing more and more that wo are
"our brother's keeper," in more than
a: material sense. So, dear readers,
the best that I can wish for you is
to go on, with strength to endure,
growing nearer and nearer every
hour to the blessed "Well done!"
that will be spoken, and that you
shall hear, If only you shall "endure
to the end." Faithful in little things,
day by day becoming conquerors over
the evils of the world, even though
your feet may falter, and your mis
Modern Facilities
Housekeeping is getting to be an
easy matter for those who can afford
it; the expert knowledge of house
hold affairs which the grand-mdthers
of the present generation of house
wives deemed an essential part of
a woman's education has become,
under existing circumstances, almost
obsolete. It is now possible for a
man and wife to begin tomorrow
morning, with only the clothes on
their backs, and inside of twenty
four hours find themselves housed in
a suitable apartment, furnished with
every convenience to order, with all
the machinery of domestic life in
perfect order, without having made
so much as a purchase of even a
feather duster. All this is made pos
sible by the existence of a large
number of firms whose business it
is to do on a large scale work that
was formerly done within the four
walls of the intended home. These
firms do business, not only in large
cities, but in every place where liv
ing space is valuable, and where the
routine of housekeeping is involved.
Not only will the furnishing be done,
but a line to an employment agency
will bring a servant to the apart
ment, to work by the hour, the morn
ing, or as it may suit your conven
ience and your purse. There are
laundries that will do the family
washing and mending by the pound,
or by the dozen or piece, the ironing
as well, calling for the bundles and
returning the beautifully laundered
clothing. A woman will come in
once or twice a' week to do the dust
ing and cleaning, or you can 'have
the' vacuum cleaner at your service,
and curtains, draperies, c&rpets and
furniture cleaned of every particle of
dust or dirt. If you intend doing
your own cooking, the kitchenette
may be supplied with every kind of
electrical device, which does away
with the dirt and every kind of dis
agreeable kitchen work. Indeed,
there seems no end to the devices
and machinery for housekeeping.
These things cost money, and if one
wants to keep house without work
and worry, the price must be paid;
but it is predicted that within a few
years it will como about that all
work shall be farmed out for others
to do, and every work will have its
own department.
warm water and use as you would
soapsuds. Rinse all the egg well out
of the hair before drying.
To remove dandruff, use the fol
lowing on a child's head: Alcohol,
two ounces; witch hazel, two ounces;
resorcine, fifteen grains; mix well
and apply to the affected places with
a medicine dropper, rubbing it
gently into the scalp with tho finger
tips. This will cleanse the hair and
make it soft and silky.
Poems Wanted
Mrs, F. C. H., Spokane, Wash.,
would like the poem beginning thus:
"The brown birds are flying
Like leaves through the sky."
"A. B. W." Everett, Wash., would
like words of two old songs, one be
ginning, "Nay, speak no ill a kindly word
Can never leave a sting behind."
Another, beginning,
"Mine be a cot besido the hill,
The beehive's hum shall greet
mine eaT,
The willowy brook that turns the
mill,
While many waterfalls are near."
Mrs. C. S., Des Moines, la., wishes
the poem,
"Little one sweet, with eyes so blue,
Do you know who loves you; so
true, so true,
Who holds you close to her shelter
ing breast,
Who croons to you, cuddles, and
soothes you to Test?"
after drying, rub the meal well over
the hands after each wotting Or
while still damp from drying,' pour
into the palms a few drops of a lo
tion made of two parts glycerine and
one part of lemon juice, in three
parts rose water, and rub well into
the hands as you would "soap.
Easy Washing
Mrs. M. F. sends in the following,
iciumcuuiuB it ior nana or ma
chine: Dissolve a pound bar of
laundry soap in a gallon of water
by cutting up the soap and put in
the water over the' fire until dis
solved, then add enough hot water
to well cover the clothes you intend
to wash. Add to this one table
spoonful of turpentine and three
tablespoonfuls of liquid ammonia
(household), stirring well; then put
the clothes to be washed in the tub
and pour the mixture over them.
covering the tub as closely a3 pos
sible. Let stand two or three hours,
then wash in the usual way, and
rinse well when clean. The dirt will
slip out of the clothes with very
little rubbing. If another tubful of
clothes are to be washed in tho
water, reheat and add another table
spoonful each of turpentine and am
monia and proceed as before. Tho
ammonia and turpentine have a
purifying effect, but do not injure
the fabric, and the smell of the tur
pentine passes off in drying. The
clothes will be beautifully white
done by this method.
The words to "By-lo-Land" have
been furnished us since our last
issue by "A.- B. W.," of Washing
ton, Mrs. F. C. H., of Spokane,
Wash., and MaTion L. M., of North
Dakota. Many thanks for tho kindness.
Caring for the Child's Hair
As a rule, the hair of a child
should be kept just long enough to
curl prettily if so inclined; or, if
straight, may be made to curl by
rolling on kid curlers after wetting
tho hair with a lotion made by soak
ing quince seeds in water. Some
contend that the ends should be
clipped about once a month, the
tiniest bit. It- is a mistake to
shampoo too often; but where a
child plays out of doors, or where
much sweeping and dusting is done,
the scalp becomes covered with dust,
which sometimes develpps in a bad
case of dandruff, To remove the
scurf, or crust which forms some
times, grease the scalp well with
lard, leave on for a short time, and
then wash in quite warm water
with a pure olive-oil soap, rinse well
and dry well. About once. a fort
night, an egg Bhampoo may be used,
and this should keep the hair and
your leoi, luuy ituLai, uuu juui iuib- Huuip umuu. immomuoj w wot, m
takes may be many, the way shall hair before applying the shampoo,
be open bye and bye, and you shall ' Beat tho egg well in a pint of soft
For Stout Figures
A figure that is stout and short
waisted will need to be fitted dif
ferently from the one whose propor
tions are more symmetrical. The
skirt should be pinned around the
hips of the short figure after allow
ing it to drop down at the front until
the center gore hangs absolutely
straight. In order that this position
may be retained at the front, the
back and sides of the skirt are
raised and the inverted plaits or
placket-edges are made to come
closely together at the exact center
of. the back. Secure these correct
positions carefully by pins. The
darts and seams from the hip line
to tho waist are then fitted to the
figure. The belt should be passed
around the waist and pinned in
place before cutting off any surplus
or uneven goods at the top of tho
skirt. Always put on the belt be
fore finishing the skirt at the bot
tom, tp avoid "sagging," or irregular
hanging of gores.
Need of Fresh Air
Too much attention can not be
paid to the effective ventilation of
sleeping rooms; in too many cases,
this important matter is entirely
neglected; the sleeper retires to a
room from which every' effort has
apparently been made to exclude the
outer air, and the effect is a dull
headache, irritable , nerves and an
unrefreshed sensation all' over. To
still further ppison the atmosphere,
many people keep the light, oil or
gas, burning all night in the room,
and this further vitiates the air. In
airing a roorn, there are two things
to remember first, that the impure
air must go out, while the fresh air
must come in, and second, that the
impure air in a room is always
warm, rising to the top of the room,
while the cold, fresh air comes in at
the bottom. Thus, the top sash
should be lowered to allow the im
pure air to escape, and the lower
sash raised to admit the fresh air.
For tho Hands
Tho hands suffer, particularly in
cold weather, from frequent changes
of weather, strong soap suds and
careless drying. There is no com
fort in rough, chapped, red hands,
and it is a real duty to care for them
and prevent this. When the hands
become much soiled, rub thoroughly
with cold cream, or even unsalted
lard, letting it soak Into the skin for
a few minutes, then wash In soft
warm water, using only a vegetable
oil soap, and dry thoroughly. A
dish of bran, cdn meal, or almond
meal should be on the stand and
"Weights and Measures"
A woman's city club sends out the
following table for housewives, and
asks them to cut out and paste the
table where it can be had when
wanted. It also urges them to buy
by weight, rather than measure.
One peck of spinach weighs three
(3) 'pounds; one peck of apples
weighs twelve and one-half pounds;
one peck of carrots, turnips, parsnips
or sweet potatoes weighs thirteen
and three-fourths pounds; one peck
of onions weighs fourteen and one
half pounds; one peck of potatoes
or beets weighs fifteen pounds; one
quart of string-beans weighs three
fourths pound; one quart of cran
berries weighs one pound and half
ounce; one quart of dried apples
weighs three-fourths pound; same of
dried peaches, Qne pound one-half
ounce; one quart dried peas weighs
one and seven-eighths pound. Justi
fy your measure.
Cleaning Icather Gloves
This is said to be the process the
professional cleaner uses in cleaning
leather gloves: Common benzine is
claimed to bo tho best substance to
take the dirt out of leather, as It
does not attack' tho leather like most
of the other substances sometimes
used for tho purpose do. Put the
gloves, one or more pair, Into a