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The Commoner
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JWe 1 ) P D 3 n Hi fcrl I L V
vod:15, nc. t
"Lot Her Voto"
If she really wants to vote,
Hero is hoping she will win It;
Look about you and tako note
Who'll ag'in' It:
Every low saloon and dive,
All tho vicious white-slave dealers,
Firms that on child-labor thrive,
And ward-healers.
"In tho homo is woman's place,"
And these forces there Would keep
her,
While graft's crop grows up apace,
For tho reaper.
Should she vote, crime still would
lurk
Jn tho nooks wo've left unlighted;
But she might do lots of work
We have slighted.
She might clean tho city hall,
And with soap and water might
wash
Spots where our committees all
Have used whitewash.
' "But," you cry, in great distress,
"All these tasks from homo might
win her!"
She'd bo back in time, I guess
To get the baby's dinner.
Walter G. Doty, in Farm Journal.
For the Now Year
I liavo been wondering what T shall
Bay to you, now, in the dawning of
the new year; but there seems so
littlo worth saying, when from every
quarter of the globe comes tho sound
of sobbing, the cry of tho hungry and
the moan of the desolate. In our
own land, comparatively free from
tho horrors of strife, there are thou
sands of hearts, aching, anxious,
sorely touched by tho afflictions
across the seas; for thousands of tho
brave men dead, or dying, wounded
or missing are more or less remotely
of our own kindred, with far too
many members of our own families
grown up among ub, but who left us
for somo reason, and can now never
return, or, returning, will never be
tho same maimed, broken, disabled,
or otherwise bearing the terrible
scars of tho awful battlefields.
It is useless, in many cases, to
wish for you a "happy New Year,"
because of tho sorrows of the world
which more or less keenly touch so
many of you; but we can wish for
you, most heartily, tho best that can
come to you, and may whatever is
best for you be yours, In good meas
ure, pressed down and running over.
It is seen that the terrible tragedies
now being enacted over the seas are
opening our hearts to a realization
that tho whole world is of kin, and
that the "brotherhood of man" is un
iversal. So, our sympathies are go
ing out unceasingly, pouring oil on
tho wounded, comforting the dis
tressed, feeding tho hungry, nursing
the sick, and in every way, seeking
to bring about the reign of peace
among the nations.
Many, closer to our own doors, are
drinking the bitter cup of loss and
torrQW, and there are sick and hun
gry and desolate, crying for the
crumbs of comfort we may be able
to bwtow. May the days bring you
the. jy of giving; of lifting the fall
en; of comforting tho discouraged.
The "blessing of, service is better than
'feasting, and tho Bharlng of even a
"cup of water" will leave you hap
pier, because of the happiness it has
brought you. ' We wish you a pros
perous New Year.
Preventing Dampness of Walls
Mr. Jos. Diehm, of Texas, general
contractor, kindly sends us the fol
lowing in answer to our request for
information along this line: "In the
first plae, will say the mortar used
is not to blame for the dampness, as
all brick, except vitrified, is very por
ous; hence, when rain is blown
against a brick wall by a strong wind,
the moisture will penetrate the wall
and spoil the plaster or paper on the
inside. This defect is only present
during continuous wet weather. An
other defect of brick or stone walls
is what is known as 'sweating'; this
is tho tendency of all solid walls to
collect moisture by remaining at a
lower temperature than the surround
ing atmosphere, just as an. toe-water
pitcher will 'sweat,' or collect mois
ture from the air; and this moisture
is as harmful to the paper and drap
ery as that which penetrates the wall
from the outside. The only way to
avoid both sources of moisture and
insure dry walls, is to 'furr' (strip)
tho walls and then lath and plaster,
tho furring being thick enough
(three-fourths inches), to insure an
air space between th$ plastering and
the outside wall. In now walls,
wooden brick can be laid in, and in
old walls, 'plugs' can be driven be
tween the brtek, to which the furring
can bo nailed. It costs more to build
a wall as above, but it is worth
more'
In olden days, this was the gen
eral practice in building; but the
majority of contractors in large cities
now build as cheaply as possible, and
the "monthy payment" people do not
know the difference, until too late.
We are very grateful to our friends
for tho responses, and hope they may
be of benefit to our "Querists." .
For tho Damp Walls
One of our kind friends sends us
the following for walls that refuse
to keep dry,' and ruin the papering
inside: '"This 'method consists in us
ing two washes or solutions for cov
ering the surface of the walls, one
composed of castllo soap and one of
alum and' water. The proportions
are three-quarters of a pound of soap
to one gallon of water, and the other,
half a pound of alum to four gallons
of water; 'both substances to be per-
fectly dissolved in water before us
ing. The' alls should be perfectly
clean and dry, -and the temperature
of the air not above 50 degrees Fah
renheit when, the compositions are
applied The first, or soap wash,
should be' laid on when boiling hot,
with a flat brush, taking care to form
a froth on the, brickwork. This wash
should, remain twenty-four hours, so
as to become dry and hard before the
second, 6 alum wash, is applied,
which; should bo done in the same
manner ap the first. The tempera
ture of this, wash when applied,
should be sixty to seventy degrees
Fahrenheit, and this wash should
also remain twenty-four hours be
fore a second coat of the soap wash
is put on. These coats are to be ap
plied alternately in this way, until
the walls are made impervious to
water. The alum and soap thus com
bined form an insoluble compound,
filling the pores of the masonry and
.entirely preventing the water from
entering tho walls. Architect and
Builder."
Another friend writes from Cal
ifornia but as he has the. preventive
for sale, we can not give it, Any one
wanting it can get the address by
sending a stamped, addressed en
velope to this department...
We are very grateful to the sev
eral friends who have kindly an
swered our call for such measures,
and wo hope when our friends try
the methods, they will let us hear
from them. It is very annoying to
go to the trouble of decorating walls,
only, to have the covering ruined by
tho dampness from the (JuCside.
U ':
Caring for Plants
To free house plants from, insects,
they should be kept growing vigor
ously. For scale, which' infests palms,
ivys, and other woody' plants, use a
soft todth brush and warm soapsuds;
make the suds of some good soap
and warm water, and. if the foliage
is delicate, tho sud3 should not be
overly strong. Brush each, leaf sep
arately, both sides, and go over the
stems in the same way. When the
scale is removed, rinse with tepid
clear water. For mealy bug, touch
eash bug with a drop of alcohol; ap
plying it with a tooth pick, or splint
er of broom straw, then, when all
are killed, wash off with clear water.
The common aphis, or green fly is
a terrible pest, not only in the gar
den, but on window grown plants; it
is especially destructive to green
house grown lettuce for the early
market. For this, tobacco is a sov
ereign remedy, if it is applied in time
to keep the iiicrease down, either as
a tea, or by smoking.
Upon indications of a very cola
night, plants should be removed to
the middle of the, room, or otherwise
protected from the cold of tho win
dow. If the house is very cold, the
pots may be set in a box large enough
to hold them, and covered with a
quilt, or other thick wrap., Many
plants will do well if wrapped in
paper,' and a thick layer, of news
papers put between them and tho
glass.
For using tobacco on house plants,
make tho tea by pouring boiling
water over cheap tobacco, or stems
of tobacco and let steep a short time;
then dilute until the color of weak
tea; lay the pots on the side, and
spray both sides of the leaves and
stems. Frequently drenching with
clear water will kill off the tiny red
spider that ruins so many plants, es
pecially rose plants.
If your plants should freeze, as
soon as you discover the damage, put
them in a dark room where the tern-;
perature is but little above freezing,
and shower them with cold water.
Keep them in this dark, cool place
untu you and they do. not wilt. If
taken in time before they thaw, quite
tender plants will usually come
through with but little injury. Keep
them away from light and heat for
several days. Any wilted tops or
stems should .be removed by cutting
below tho line affected by the frost,
safe not to' drink cpld waier. Various
things are suggested to counteract
an unpleasant breath. resulting from
had teeth, onion or 'garlic-scented
dishes, or disordered condition of the
stomach itself. But the very best
thing to do is to remove the cause, if
you can know what it is. Ten drops
of tincture of myrrh in a glass of
water used as a mouth wash, will
sweeten and refresh tho mouth; a
teaspoonful of spirits of camphor or
peppermint in tho same gargle arb
among the best antiseptics, and a few
drops of myrrh and camphor in the
water is recommended in cases of
colds, throat troubles, or any slight
indisposition that may affect the
breath.
Ice cream, ice water, frappe,
punches and hot soups, ho.t. teas and
coffee, do the teeth no good, while
the practico of taking a cold drink
iinmediately after a hot morsel is
very apt to crack the enamel of the
teeth. Do not allpw the children to
crack nuts, or crunch hard candies
with the teeth; they are almost sure
to -bo injured, if not at once broken
off. Teach the children early to care
for the teeth, and to use tthe brush.
Let each one have hjs or her own
brush. No two children ,sfiould use
the same brush, or handkerchief.
Teach them not, to exenange. chewing
gum, or to accept gum from another
child that has been already masticat
ed. Children should be taught clean
ly habits, and that using' anything
that has already beei in the ,mouth
of another child is not' only, a; dirty
habit, but may cause .. them .pain
through disease. ...
j The Ice Chest Problem
' Jn the summer time, under exist;
iingv modern conditions o'f life, the
jlce pheBt would seem' to be .a ! neces
sary requisite to . good housewifery.,
land the expense of it should be '-lessY
ened as much as possible hy judg
;ment in buying and prevention of
THREE REASONS
Each With Two LiCrh anil Ten FlngoM
To. Remind Yon
Don't expect to have clean teeth or
a sweet breath while there is a tinge
of white or yellow on the tongue.. It
is an unmistakable evidence of indi
gestion and a disordered stomach. It
is a question ror a Physician to de
cide whether you are in need of
acids or alkalis to correct the condi
tion, One of the safest and surest
remedies for all ordinary stomach
tioubles is plenty of water intern
ally and externally, and it is always
A Boston woman who is a. fond
mother "writes an amusjng .article
about' her experience' feeding her
boys. ' '
' Among other things she says:
"Three chubby, rosy-cheeked boys,
Bob, Jack, and Dick, respectively, are
three of our reasons for using and
recommending the food, Grape-Nuts,
for these youngsters have been fed
on Grape-tyuts since infancy, and oft
en between meals when other
children would have been given
candy.
"I gave a package of Grape-Nuts
to a neighbor whose 3-year-old child
was a weazened little thing, ill half
the time. The little tot ate the Grape
Nuts and cream greedily and the
mother continued the good work, and
it was not long before a truly won
derful change manifested itself in
the child's face and body. The results
were remarkable, even for Grape
Nuts. 'Both husband and I use Grape
Niits every day and keep strong and
well and have three- of the finest,
healthiest boys you can find in a
day's march."
Many mothers instead of destroy
ing the children's stomachs with
Candy and cake give the youngsters
a handful of Grape-Nuts when they
are begging for something in the way
of sweets. The result jis soon shown
in greatly increased health, strength
and mental activity. . .
Name given by Postum Co., Battle
Creek, Mich.
Look in pkgs. for the famous little
bpok, "The Road toWellville."
,. Ever read the-above letter? A new
one appears froratiirie to -time. They
are genuine, true, andi full of human
interest.
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