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A comfortable) Christmas
and a Prosperous New Year
to all The Commoner family.
May the coming year oeo the
blessing of peace covering all
the countries of tho world.
000
Tho Window Wishers
Tho little window-wishers, don't they
touch tho heart of you?
Standing thero Ifefore tho toy-shops,
with their tondor oyes of blue?
Don't you almost shiver with- them,
as their garments thin you see
Tim rntrend little Urchins. With a
patch on either knee?
Can you sec thorn longing, yearning,
in sweet childhood's wistful way,
And forgot them in your planning for
a merry Christmas day?
Oli, tho littlo wlndow-wlshers, baby
hearts and baby oyes,
With their trusting faith in Santa,
gazing thero in glad surprise
At the dollies and the soldiers, and
the lovely toys, believing
That they will not bo forgotten. Can
you"seo them without grieving?
Can you think of them on Christmas
untold comfort and good will, and
create a heart-warmth second to none
other. The children should remem
ber tho lonely old folks with the let
ter, no matter what else goes with it.
Tho parents should send letters to
tho far-away young people,, because
inevitably they will have a touch of
homesickness with tho day.
And now, while wo are talking of
"gifts," I want to ask every ono of-
Question Box
Mrs. M. C. No family dishwasher,
It is said, has yet proved itself a labor-saving
device in every particular.
All so far tested are more difficult to
clean and care for than are the dish,
es, and none can properly clean the
hardest things to wash the utensils
in which wo cook.
M. R. To "set" lavender color,
use one tablesnoonful of sugar of
you to send a postal card to me. I lead to one gallon of water;for blue,
have been with you a long time, and nnnnU rilfni nf virmr t n i-
lon of water; for black or pink, two
..' VOk. 16, N012
the pan in which tho fowl lav n
af ,? i!' th6, yster sauce wh, u
should be made ready while the fowl
is cooking, like stewed oysters 1a
thicken with butter and flour t j
mnnV1? and add' If you "ke, a
little boiled cream; pour this over
the steamed turkey and servo hot
If preferred, the fowl may be stuffed
as for baking, or it may be stuffed
with pounded chestnuts.
many of you are warm, personal
friends, though1 we have never met.
"Just a few words" from, the old
friends as woll as the new, giving
narao and address, so' I will know
who to thank for the kindness. Many
of our old time readers, who were
with us when I took my place among
you have gone home; but new ones
have joined us. Meantime. I wish
each and every ono of you a heart
some, wholesome Christmas and a
prosperous New Year, with the hope
that tho "peace" we all pray for may
soon still the troubled waters of the
world.
The Holiday Season
This Is the time of year when the
appetite calls for warmth-giving
foodSk and especially at the Christ-
whon the merry morning starts mas season, one hardly feels satisfied
DiHlUuBionou, waiting up to empty
stockings broken hearts?
Oh, the littje window wishers, look
ing longingly today
At tho wonders in tho toyshops in
sweet childhood's wistful way;
Dreaming dreams of Christmas stock-
ings filled with candy and with
toys,
Just as full of faith and fancy as your
own dear girls and boys;
When you see their big eyes glisten
as those splondld things they view,
Can you rush by and forgot them?
Don't they touch tho heart of you?
Dotroit Freo Press.
For tho Christmas Giving
Wo are told there is plenty of
work for all. and tho wages are
reasonable; but all tho necessities of
life have risen so highly in cost that
tho pinch is felt even among the
best paid. So, tho Christmas giving
must be carefully balanced. One of
the most welcome of tho inexpen
sive gifts, and ono which carries no
touch of ba'rter and exchange, Is the
picture postal card. They como at
all prices, and many of the cheap
est are beautiful, and will Carry a
tender message from friend to friend.
Of tho plain postal cards, ready
stamped, twenty-five cents will carry
twenty-five messages; a few kindly
words, namo and address, will be all
that is necessary. Each, card, of
- course, among the picture cards
mu3t be stamped with a one cent
stamp; but some of tho least expen
sive aro beautiful. Many of these
cards are humorous without being
coarse, and will carry a laugh with
them to tho heart of your friend.
Common, suggestive pictures should
Tie tabooed, even among men; and
there arc so many of tho better class
: that one can hardly fail to be satis
fied. Tho recipient will feel glad to
return ttio compliment, with no sense
- of money obligation.
A good, cheery letter will carry
to do without mteata, game, eggs and
butter; but tho prices now asked for
all of these commodities are so much
out of the ordinary, that most people
are seeking some suitable substitute
within their means. There really are
no "cheap" foods, now, and where
there are growing children, the house
mother is hard put to it to keep' her
table, supplied with even tho neces
sities. Bread has outdonq itself in
"rising," and in order to keep the
loaves as large as possible, too much
yeast is used, and the loaf is like so
much sawdust. Tho price of flour,
lard, and milk, also is almost pro
hibitive, and -to add to the cost of
homo cookery, fuel has followed the
lead of other things, and tho man of
small wages can hardly keep his
family in the bare necessities. Among
fuels other than coal or wood, are
gas, gasoline and kerosene, and
where gad can not be had, or gasoline
not favored, the oil heater and
cooker Is coming into favor.
For heating purposes the oil
stove is very much liked, the
fuel costs less than coal or gas, and
tho stove can bo carried from room
to room, as. needs be; without any
trouble. For the cold months, there
is nothing better for the guest cham
ber, or, in fact, any room not having
furnaco heat or stove, than the oil
burner that consumes a gallon of oil
a day; it is an excellent convenience.
In large cities, many small families
use the oil heater in preference to
caal stoves, because of the ease of
handling, the cleanliness, and the
steady and even heat tho oil gives
forth, as well as the convenience of
carrying it about. In considering
"Christmas gifts," one of these oil
heaters, a vacuum cleaner and sweep
er in one, one of the good oil mops,
and like household labor-saving in
ventions, may well be investigated.
These are so much improved" during
the last few years that they are well
nigh "perfection," indeed. Visit the
household departments of your local
I stores and interview Santa Claus.
cupfuls of salt to one gallon of
water.
D. E. Take one-quarter cupful of
granulated sugar and dissolve In two
quarts of hot water, and wash the
thin little collars and cuffs in this,
shako out and roll In a dry cloth for
fifteen, minutes, the,n iron with a good
hot iron, and they will be "like new."
Laces washed in the same, way will
be crisp and new looking. ' Do not
use any soap, starch or -bluing in this
process.
Ella S. To mark the correct place
for 4iooks and eyes or snap-fasteners
so they will close right and even
ly, lay the edges of the closing on a
table with the eye side a quarter of
an inch back from the. edge of the
hook side (which is the wrongside
of the garment) i ,and ma.rk across
both edges with tailor's chalk.
Mrs. H. A.- To remove cream
stain, apply carbo.nated soda to the
spot, leave for ten minutes, then
rinse out carefully: this should
loosen the stain.- -Lay-ihe cloth while
still damp in the- sunshine, and wet
hourly with lemon 'Juice after rinsing
out the soda. Should the stain re
main after the first day's sunning,
repeat for another day. This is only
for white goods.
Housewife Cretonne andk chintzes
should be washed in bran water,'
using no soap, in proportion of four
cups of bran to one gallon of water,
boiled twenty minutes, then strained;
put half this mixture into the wash
water, and the rest in tthe rinse
water. Iron while half dry; use no
starch.
Cooking tho Christmas Gooso
For goose stuffed with sauerkraut
first draw and singe tho goose, wipe
inside and out with a damp cloth
and fill with the kraut; sew the open
ing up, tie in shape and put into a
large kettle; cover it with about two
quarts of sauerkraut, cover the whole
with boiling water, and simmer for
three hours. At the end of that time
take out the goose, place it in a bak
ing pan, baste it with melted butter,
dredge the breast thickly with flour!
put into a quick oven until a nice
brown, which will require about un
hour. Serve the kraut with the fowl.
For tho Christmas Dinner
If one finds the cost of turkey or
goose beyond the reach of their
purse, here is something that is said
to be "just as good," and can bo had
reasonably: If your local butcher
does not carry fresh hams, order one
a few days before you will want it,
weighing seven or eight pounds, and
even if one of this weight is too much
for one meal, it can be served in va
rious ways for several other meals.
Have the bone removed from the
ham, and fill the cavity thus made
with bread ,crumbs, butter,' and pep
per, salt and sage as seasoning, add
ing a little chopped onion, if liked.
Score tho skin several times, and
bake with frequent bastings of salty
water with a little vinegar added.
Bake twenty minutes to the pound,
or, if the ham is from young stock,
until tender. Dust over the surface
finely powdered bread crumbs, after
basting, and let brown in the oven.
This should be served with apple
sauce, apple jelly or cider
sauce. Any part that is left may
be used cold, or made Into a meat
Ways of Cooking the Christmas Fowl
Steamed Turkey All poultry
should remain in cold water from
twenty minutes to half an hour, to
extract the blood; then hang in a
gooI place for twenty-four hours, or
longer will not hurt if the weather is
cold. Hen turkeys are much nicer
than toms. See that everyx pin
feather is removed, the inskle and
outside well rinsed and wiped crry,
then rubbed with pepper and salt in
side. Singe the turkey well to re
move all hairs. Fill the turkey with
oysters washed in their own liquor,
removing all bits of shell or grains
of sand; sew up the openings, skewer
the wings and legs close to the body,
set in a large dish or panand set the
pan in a steamer over boiling water.
laying a thick cloth over the steamer
and shutting "the cover, down tight;
then steam until tender, keeping the
water under the steamer boilinR
steadily; time required will be two
to three hours, according to age and
size of fowl. To test, run a fork into
the breast, and if it seems tender, and
no reddish juice flows out, it is ready
to take up. Strain the ifippings in
The cheerful feeling you possess
after a drink of something hot and
flavory should he only the begin
ning of your satisfaction.
For this very reason more and
more people are turning from
coffee to
Instant Postern
A lessened tendency to such an
noyances as nervousness and sleep
lessness repays them
A ten-day trial of this delightful,
flavory ,hot drink has assisted so
many to health- and comfort that
your friend, the Postiun drinker,
will tell you it's well worth while.
"There's a Reason'
