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The Commoner.
VOLUME 13, NUMBER 20
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After Years
"Givo mo back my child!" I plead
that day,
My face against the coflln-lid.
Hero Is the place, upon my breast;
Not there, In cold and darkness hid.
Why, ho had just begun to live
To know my face, to laugh, to reach
His hands to meet my lips, and mako
Sweet essays at some unknown
speech!
"Untrodden round his baby feet
Tho whole fair realm of childhood
lny;
Nor stones nor thorns to make them
bleed
My hand had smoothed them all
away.
No wind of Heaven had buffeted
His sunny head with cruel breath
My arms had safely sheltered him.
Givo him to me, 0 Death!"
Now, standing by that littlo grave
Where in and out the passing years
Weave tapestries of green and gold,
I smile, remembering my tears.
I lay my gray head on the mound
That drank my tears, and 'neath my
breath
I whisper: "It is better so!
Keep him, 0 gontlo Death!"
Julia Schayor, in Century.
to respectable gathering places, and
furnished not only with companion
ship, but with books, music and
reading, or with simple warmth and
light and tho pleasure of watching
others, the questionable gardens and
resorts would not bo so largely
patronized. Men and women are
gregarious, and the social instinct
is strong in them, from tho youngest
to the oldest; the hunger for com
panionship is little less imperative
in its demands than those of physi
cal hunger. If country towns and
villages would furnish meeting
places for tho lonely ones, there
would bo less of the crazy rush
toward tho city. Many men and wo
men, as well as boys and girls, are
literally starved for social inter
change of ideas. Not alono tho un
married, but many married couples
would welcome tho opportunity to
spend together with their friends,
tho spare hours of the day. Combat
tho evil with tho good, and teach
peoplo to respect themselves and
each other.
rooms Wanted
Our friend, Mr. Dan Sweeney, who
tells us he is fifteen years old,
wishes the words to a poem, "The
Dream of Eugene Aram," by Thomas
Hood. As wo have furnishod the
"Dreamer," some ono who has the
second poem wanted, may please
send it to him at Center Point,
W. Va.
J. S. McC, of California, wishes
the words of a poem, tho chorus of
which is
"Save tho boy, save tho boy,
Heaven will ring with joy,
Loving hearts aro pleading now,
Savo, 0, savo tho boy."
Another reader wishes tho words
to the old song, "Put mo in my littlo
bed."
Combating tho Saloon Influence
It is claimed that in most places
tho saloon is tho poor man's club,
and is tho only place whero men and
boys may gather to pass tho evening
hour; as long as tho working man
iinas congenial companionship,
warmth and cheer only in these
places, ho will go there, and tho boy
will go with him. In order to com
bat this influence, thero should bo
provided a counter attraction, one
equally as strong, whero tho moral
uplift would influonco to a better use
of time. Morality must comrmtn
with tho saloon for tho poor man's
patronage, and wherever a saloon is
established, ono of theso counter
attractions should find a place be
side it. ''.Thero aro many good men
and women who aro anxious to work
for tho betterment of society, and
there is nothing more needed than
tho opening of rospoctablo places,
properly chaperoned and guarded,
where mon and boys may moot wo
men and girls for a social hour. Ono
woman, or one man can not estab
lish such places, but societies of
men and women could, do it, and
should. In large towns and cities
there are hundreds of homeloss men
and boys, as well as women and
girls, with nowhere to spend the
evening hour except at tho pleasure
cesorts, or on tho streets, If theso
lomeless, people could bo welcomed
Teaching Children to Think
Judging from the effects of much
thoughtlessness in this life, ono is
tempted to believe that the habit of
not thinking is as much a crime as
the deliberate doing indeed, it is
often tho foundation on which many
crimes are based. The capacity for
solving the problems of life are born
with tho problem, and, as experi
ences multiply, the capacity in
creases until wo are able to over
come tho obstacles that arise, if we
only exercise our thinking powers.
The exercising of the faculty of
judgment should begin at the cjadle.
Let them learn from the very start
to reason out tho difficulties that
confront them. Let them manage
their own affairs. Their life is their
business; not yours. You might as
well think to have them walk with
out exorcising their limbs, as to have
them face life's problems without
exercise of mentalities. The babv In
the cradle will entertain itself most
industriously, if allowed to do so,
and mothers mako a mistake in rob
bing them of the pleasure. The coo
ing baby will have to experiment
with its freedom and liberty some
time, and it is just as well to let it
begin now. Let the child lnnm t
decide for itself, and take the con
sequences of its own decisions; their
experience of self-reliance will give
them the Btrength of mind needed to
enable them to bear the burden
later, as they crawl out of the cradle.
Lifo is all a battle ground, and we
must each fight for our own; depen-
uuuuu upon anotner makes cowards
and weaklings of us. It is the arm
that strikes in which the muscles de
velopthe still arm stiffens. A
supervising caro and an unobtrusive
guidance- of tho hesitating steps are
all right; but let tho littlo one think
out its own ways. Remember that
you can not alw.ays stand by your
child's side, ready to stay the
stumbling feet, or pick It up if it
falls. There must be will, grit, self
poise, a careful weighing of pros and
cons, and a sturdy self-rollanco In
order to successfully meet tho thous
ands of difficulties that crowd its
pathways. Teach it to think.
deemed their "sphere," and proved
their fitness for the larger measures.
Such exceptional women have, in all
times, encountered obloquy and ridi
cule; but each one of the brave
heroines conquered somewhat for
the women of the future. When the
matrons of Rome were oppressively
taxed, they remonstrated against the
injustice; but finding petitions un
availing, they selected the gifted
Hortensia to plead their cause in
person before the triumviri, and for
that purpose they accompanied
her in procession to the forum.
The speech she delivered is de
clared by Appian to have been
worthy of Cicero. Tho triumviri
were inclined to treat her and her
companions with contempt; but the
assembled populace were carried
away by her eloquence, and mani
fested so much sympathy with her
cause, that the vexed magistrates
deemed it prudent to modify their
system of taxation. The conserva
tives of Rome cried shame upon wo
men who thus overstepped the boun
daries of their sex, and the nick
name, "Androgyne" was -applied to
them (meaning lie.-woman), a term
used by wits of that day in much the
same way that "strong-minded," or
"New woman" is applied today. In
former times, if a woman had a little
extra education, she was called a
"blue-stocking,"' until women were
afraid to acknowledge that they
knew anything of books. But a few
years ago, a professor of one of our
colleges, advised men to "set their
faces as flint" against the educated
woman but stultified himself later by
marrying a talented woman.
Every advancing step taken by
women disturbs the minds of a large
class of men, and at every innovation
they contend that the basis of so
ciety is sliding from under them, and
that we shall fall through. Asiatic
men believe that chaos would come
if women were allowed to go about
with uncovered faces, while even in
our own country it was, and still is,
in some parts, thought that public
speaking would be fatal to the
modesty and home usefulness of our
women.
"In Olden Times"
Ever since Intellect began to as
sert its superiority over brute force
there have been individual women
who stepped beyond -what was
Tho Overworked IlousPwifo
In talking over the troubles of the
overworked, housewife and mother,
one of our magazine writers offers'
as a remedy, that instead of plead
ing with her husband to right the
wrong, tho woman should tako the
matter in her own hands, and lessen
the labor in every way possible, and
especially by supplying herself with
labor saving household machinery
It is all very well to talk, and in
many InstanonH nnrii owi , .
successfully acted upon and the work
done according to rule." But where
the woman is the wife of a man of
small wages or salary, with several
babies yet, under her feet in tho
homo, it is not so easy to- do. Even
where money is not tho main ques
tion, the question of securing avail-
vnl,,heVS ft0n fcoPalessly in
volved. No amount of mechanioni
machinery will look after and attend
to the end pro TOn0 , - "ma
babies and the woman who attempt
to not only do this, but do all he?
housework, sewing, laundry work
SEW iraProv machinLy7w j
And her burdens too great inthZ
saw rjsf
mako the matter still harder S
thousands of these homes, thn ,.
band and father seems blind toff
demands of the home and family on
the strength of the house-mother
and increases the burden ten foil'
by fretting and finding fault because
things are not in apple-pie order, and
every comfort at his command in
?iea? fcfuta?i.?g int0 consileratioa
the fact that the mother gets no re
lease from the care of the babies
day or night, he resents being ex
pected to spend his evenings at
home, helping with the children dur
ing his spare hours, and says ho
never gets any rest, after working
all day. The ageing faces of too
many of our young wives speak
volumes on the subject. If only
some provisions could bo made for
the care of the babies for a few
hours each day, that the mother
might rest!
Homo Sanitation
Throughout the summer season,
the housewife must exercise a per
sonal supervision over drains and
bathroom, as well as the refrigera
tor. Boiling water and washing
soda must be used for tho sink
drains, in order to remove all greasy
deposits and kill odors. Tho soda is
cheap about one cent a pound, and
a large' handful will bo sufficient for
a gallon of water.
In tho bath room, all pipes should
be flushed each morning with boil
ing water, and at night a large
spoonful of chloride of lime should
be sprinkled into each pipe. A can
of the lime should be kept on a high
shelf in the bath room, out of reach
of the children.
For cleaning the bath tub, soap
does not always avail; but if a largo
handful of washing soda bo dis
solved in a gallon of boiling water,
and the sides of the tub swabbed
with this, boiling hot, the enamel
would bo clean.. The tub may then
be washed out with hot soapy water,
ready for use.
Another way to clean the bath tub
is with a hot solution of vinegar and
salt all the salt tho vinegar will
dissolve. If the stains are stubborn,
let the mixture remain on the enamel
a little while, then wash off with
clean, hot water. This is fine.
For ordinary, the bath tub and
wash bowl are easily kept clean with
a cloth saturated with either gaso
line, naptha, or coal oil.
If you. are so fortunate as to havo
your house plumbed, be sure to look
after the pipes. Do not allow any
thing poured into the drain pipes but
what will go through without clog
ging. Hair, lint, old rags, burnt
matches, newspaper, fruit parings,
stririgs, should not bo allowed to go
into the drains, as the stoppage win
cause trouble.
For the kitchen drain pipes, re
move grease with hot water and sal
soda, have the solution strong ana
boiling hot, about one pound of soda
to two quarts of boiling water. Flusn
afterwards with clear water.
For tho Toilet
For sensitive skin which finds
soap too strong, use almond meai,
this can be bought ready prepared 01
the druggist, and will cleanso tuo
hands as well as soap without rougu
ing them. . , n
After a long walk or ride, the face
is often very dusty, and if very
much heated, should not be asD?"
with cold water. Instead, givo tw
skin a good coating of any good com
cream, and after letting stay on t
face a few minutes, rub tho creaui
off with a bit of soft cloth. You w u
be astonished at the dirt tho ciota
brings away.
Tho girl or woman who goes
about
in the hot sunshine with bare arms,
shoulders, and without a bat, w
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