Evening Star Newspaper, January 11, 1896, Page 13

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, JANUARY 11 189¢—TWENTY-FOUR PAGES, 18 DAY WITH A SENATOR Something Else to Do Than to Look ; Dignified. A LABORIOUS AND EXACTING ROUND Duties to Constituents and to the General Public. THE PRIVATE SECRETARY HE UNITED States Senate is now entering upon its busy season. All the committees having been recrganized the work to come before them is being refer- red to special com- mittees, and shortlv there will be a deluge of reports for the full committees to fonsider and pass upon. Up to the present time the committees, with the exception of two or three of the more important ones, have dene little or nothing. Th democrats realizing that their lease of power was draving to a close did not care to start the wheels cf legislation which would shortly be under the control of the republicans. It has often and truly been assertel that the United States Is governed by committees, and with the great mass of legislation to be enacted by the natioaal legislature, it must always be so, but the only important act passed by the Senate during the present Congress, the resolution providing for the arpointment of the Venezuelan commission, was distinctly legislation by Congress, understood and ap- proved by every member of the Senate and House, rather than by a mere committee. While the importance of a Senator’s work is popularly gauged by the part he takes in debates on the floor of ihe Senate, his At Work. real duties are chiefly performed in con- nection with committees. The daily routine of a Senator involves attendance on com- mittee meetings, usually called to meet at 10 o’cleck in the morning, and lasting until nearly noon, when they are adjourned, and the members take their seats in the Senate. Each committee divides its work among subcommittees, consistiag of one or more Senators, and reports of facts bearing on the particular bill under consideration, to- gether with recommendations for its dis- Position, are made at meetings of the full committee. In nearly all minor matters these recommendations are approved by the committee, and in turn by the Senate. It is only in the consideration of tmport- ant political measures that a general dis- cussion is carried on, and even in such cases the subcommittee, being in accord with the cominant party, usually has its work ap- proved with litile or no amendment. A re- Publican subcommittee is given a bill to consider, its report is approved by a repub- lican committee and a <olid republican vote What the Public Sees. im the Senate is apt to pass the measure, though just at present, as the balance of wer resis with the populists, it's pretty cult to pass any Dill on a strict party vote. Besides the work in committee that is looked for from a Senator, he is expected to be within the call of the electric bells announcing that a vote is to be taken in the Senate, unless paired with some one of opposite political faith. For the Senators ‘Whose committee rooms open on the cor- ridors encircling the Senate chamber this requirement fs not attended by any great inconvenience, but only a small contin- gency are so favered. Senators who hap- pen to be engaged in committee rooms in the Maltby building and in the terrace don’t enjoy the tramp to the Senate in or- der to answer to their names when called. But even in the case of a Senator who at- tends closely on the business of the Senate it is seldom necessary for him to spend more than two hours at Fis desk. From 12 to 2 o'clock is what is known as the “morn- ing hour,” and within that time commit- tee reports are received and often acted on, and Senators frequently ask to have their pet measures considered. At 2 An Afiliction. o'clock “the regular order” is demanded, and, as a rule, that means that speeches are continued on the measure before the Senate, and unless the afternoon promises something of interest Senators retire to their committee rooms or go home. Much of a Senator's time is taken up in attendance on callers. Nearly every one who comes to Washington on a sight-see- ing journey wants to meet the Senators from his state. especially if the visitor 4s of the same political party as the mem- ber of the upper house. There is a stand- ing rule that Senators do not receive cards between 12 and 2 o'clock, and visitors wait until the latter hour before announcing their presence, and then are invited into the marble room. Some of the popular Senators find that the reception of visitors -who merely call to pay their respects. is an important part of their daily labor. Usually it doesn’t take much time to dis- pose of visitors, who are generally dis- missed after a brief interview, delighted with the attention shown in their receiv- ing a card admitting them to the private gallery of the Senate. Frequently the greatest part of a Sena- tor’s work is done in the evening, when the Senator and his private secretary get together, and either dispose of the accu- mulated mail or prepare a speech. It is a fortunate Senator whe knows the value of an efficient secretary, and is able to find one, for they are not abundant, and is wise enough to intrust such a one with respon- sibilities. It is the Senator who thinks he must dictate his Jetters and must open and read them all who is weighted down with routine and non-productive work. Those who have capable secretaries rely on them, and it is only in the case cf special com- munications ihat the employer is called on to suggest a reply. Many clerks do not €ven trouble their Senators to sign letters. but are given carte blanche to affix the name of the principal. The reading of newspapers is an im- portant part of the dgily labor of all the up-to-date Senators, who endeavor not only to glance over their local publications, but to read the leading periodicals, without re- gard to place of publication. ———___-e-___ THE KEY FITTED. And the Gentleman Got an Advance View of a Fine Piece of Statuary. From the New York Tribune. The narration of several experiences of travel Igd cone of the Americans in the smoking room of the steamer to tell this story: : “There is in Hanover, as some of you krew,” he began, “a beautiful garden, Her- renhausen, cn which the kings of Hanover, when there were kings of Hanover, lavish- ed much attention. Some years ago I visited Herrenheusen with my wife and children and some other persons whose acquaintance we had made on the steamer. It was a beautiful day in summer, and we all felt in the highest spirits. It happened that at the hotel some one had told me of the statue of a former Margravine of Han- over, which was soon to be unveiled in Herrenhausen. It was to stand in a shell- shaped structure, the whole of which was bearded over at that time. “When our parfy reached this shed-like affair I began to tell what it was there for, who the Margravine was, and so on, pretending a vast knowledge of the whole busir.ess. One of my children then wantel to know if we couldn't see the statue. In a joking way I said certainly, and, going up to the gate of the shed, drew a buncir ef keys from my pocket. I did as if I were going to open the lock, and actually put a key into it, taking the first that came to hand. I turned the key to carry out the joke, and was astonished beyond measure to find the lock yield and the door open. “My little daughter clapped her hands, and exclaimed: ‘Oh, papa’s opened the Gcor,’ and rushed in to see the statue. The others followed, while I for a moment was too dazed to say a word. I began to feel more or less alarm. I heard a great deal about the strictness of German en- forcement of law, and knew that techni- cally I had committed burglary. Tne question also arose in my mind whether I cculd not be hailed up for lese majesty and sent to prison for six months. At the same time it would Have been embarrassing and humiliating to confess to my children that a had made a mistake and had no right in there. “The statue was covered with cloth, and so I managed to hustle the party out of the shed after a short time. One of the laborers chanced to pass, and he was evi- dently surprised to see us in there. He must have taken me for the sculptor or scmething of the kind, and did not sum- mon a policeman. I was in the greatest trepidation, until I relocked the door and finaliy got away with my family and friends. There were probably a million chances to one that my key wouldn't fit that particular lock, but I haven't liked to be too practical in my jokes since that time.”” ———_+e+_____ FUTURE WAR SURGERY. A High Authority Writes About the Probabilities of Battles to Come. Sir William MacCormac in Nature. It would appear probable that in a future war many of the wounds produced by the new projectile will be surgically less severe and prove amenable to effective surgical treatment. Probably, also, the number of severe injuries will be very great, when we consider the enormous range of the new weapon and the penetrating power of the projectile, which erables it to traverse the bodies of two or three individuals in line, including bones, and to inflict serious or fatal wounds at a distance of 3,000 or 4,000 yards. It is impossible to say what the pro- Portion between these two is likely to be. At near ranges the explosive effects will be much the same as before; but at long range the narrow bullet track, the small external wounds, which often approach the subcutan- ecus in character, and the moderate degree of comminution and fissuring of the bone will be surgically advantageous. These will form the bulk of the gunshot injuries of the future, for it would seem impossible with Magazine quick-firing rifles to maintain a contest at close quarters without speedy mutual annihilation. We may take it for granted that the num- ber of wounded in proportion to the numbers engaged and actvelly under fire will be greater than before. The supply of ammu- nition will be larger, the facility for its dis- charge greater and smokeless powder will increase accuracy of aim. I think we are justified in believing, al- though there is high authority for a con- trary opinion, that the next great war will be more destructive to human life, “blood- jer,” in fact, than any of its predecessors, and that the number of injuries, and in many cases the severity of the injury, will be largely increased. But very many cases will remain less severe in character, more capable of successful treatment, and less likely to entail future disablement, while Improved sanitation and antiseptic methods will enormously increase the proportion of Tecoveries. WHEN PRAISE ISN’T MONEY. It is Quite a Different Thing to Be an Amateur and Then Make Sure. From the Philadelphia Press. r “If you wich to cure a girl of conceit,” ssid a woman who knew what she was talking about from experience, “let her try to earn her own living. As long as she does not ask tc be paid, everybody will praise her work, but let her try to sell her services and then see!” The speaker had been reared in luxury. She was 4 bright, accomplished girl, whose great failing was self-conceit. Her littie gifts had been so well cultivated in an amateurish way that she believed herself able to compete stccessfully with profes- sionals. Sh> was always ready to sing a song, cr recite a poem, or paint a picture, and as she was a society girl and had a rich, prominent father, her little doings were oftea favorably noticed in the local papers. Then the change of fortune came and she was thrown upon her own re- sources without a moment's warning. She had to carn her own living or starve. The scales fell—or were rudely pullec—from her eyes. No woman can become self-support- ing without some mortifying experiences, and the more conceited she is the more of these experiences she has, because she at- tempts things preposterously beyond her power. This poor girl who had held her head so high was snubbed and told the truth with brutal frankness, and in time learned her lesson. She went from the ex- treme of thinking she’d do anything to that of believing she'd do nothing of value, and finally did the one thing she could do well at the outset, which was to keep house. and then because she had a mod- erate talenj for drawing she learned slow- ly and through much tribuiation the en- graver’s art, and ten years later earned a competency by It. +o+—__ Cremation Growing in Favor. From the Westminster Gazette. The movement in favor of cremation as against earth burial is growing in England. ‘The other day Mr. Wililam Rathbone, ex- M. P., stated in public that he had made proision for cremation in his own case on principle and with a view to promoting the reform. At this moment a new crema- torium is almost ready for use at Liverpool. | tion of the committee. INVALID PENSIONS Duties of the Committee to Con- sider Those Cases. CHAIRMAN PICKLER’S TALK Evils Complained of and Bills to Remedy Them. A FRIEND OF THE VETERANS It will require more than $141,000,000 to pay the pensioners of this government for the coming fiscal year. This immense sum will be disbursed under laws passed by Congress from time to time, the majority of which originated in the committee on invalid pensions. This committee is one of the most important committe:s of ‘the House, one having much work before it a: this session, and there is present pros- pect of a great increase of the work over the last Congress. “This committee has jurisdiction over al! pension matters growing out of the civil war.” said Major Pickler, the chair- man, to a Star reporter, in answer to a request for a statement of ‘the committze’s duties. “It also has jurisdiction over gen- eral laws concerning pension legislation of that war, changes in the same, addition of new pensions to the roll, changes of rate allowed, and all matters of gen2ral Icgis- lation which in any way conc2ra th®sol- diers or sailors of fhe Union in the war of the rebeilion. In aidition to this the com- mittee has jurisdiction of all spezial bills for allowance of pension to soldiers of that war, their widows and dependeit relatives when they are deserving, and when they seem justly entitled to a pension, but which cannot, by reason of the law or some rul- ing of the department, be allowed by the pension office. Private Pension Bills. “Also of bills which for some particular- ly deserving reason seek to increase the rate of the pensioner above that which is aliowed by the general law. All bills ack- ing an increase of pension in excess of the allowance of the general law to the widows of officers of the army and navy of the @ go to this committee. has before it bills from every state in the Union, and every n‘em- ber of the House has a greater or less num- ber of constituents interested in the ac- There has been a strong feeling among many of the veteraas Chairman Pickler. of the country, that the pension office for the past two years has been too technical in the ruling and the administration of the pension laws, that many pensioners have had their pensions reduced under a too narrow construction, and many have been dropped from the rolls unjustly and without proper cause, and the feeling is widespread that a more liberal construc- tion should be given to the laws in the al- lowance of pensions, and applications for increase should have more speedy consider- ation and broader treatment Some Complaints, “It has also been contended that the law should provide fixed ratings, as far as pos- sible, for disabilities; that proof of mar- riage should be made less difficult; that the acceptance of a soldier or sailor at enlist- ment into the United States service should be proof conclusive of his soundness at that time; that there should be a more liberal statute as to the soldier being in line of duty when disabled or injury incurred; that the testimony of a comrade hould have equal weight with that of an officer; that all papers of whatever kind filed in a pension case should be open to inspection of the claimant or his attorney; that the rulings of the present commissioner in regard to ratings, under the Jaws of June 27, 18, by which many pensions have been’ reduced and many claims have failed of allowance, is unjust; that a pension should be treated as a vested right, and, when once allowed. should have the force and effect of a judg- ment ina court of recoz4, and should not be disturbed, reduced or suspended, except for fraud; that a number of the ratings under the law for the more serious injuries and disabilities should be extended to pension- ers under act of June 27, 1890, although the disabilities are not of serious origin. The committee will be called upon to act on these propositions. Bills Already Introduced. “Already many bills have been introduced and referred to the committee, seeking to remedy the most of the evils, which, it is contended, exist, as well as others not enumerated above. Bills to increase pen- sions for certain disabilities, to put widows of pensioners under act of June 27, 1890, on an equality with those under the general law, and to make more definite the amount of increase which shall debar a widow from pension, and service pension bills of differ- ent character and provisions will come be- fcre the committee for consideration. “T believe the veterans will receive liberal treatment as far as the administration of the law can be reached, and otherwise the most liberal that the conditions of the rev- enues and treasury will admit.” Censtruction of the Committec. The committee on invalid pensions of this Congress consists of John A. Pickler, chairman; Henry F. Thomas, Benson Wood, Cyrus A. Sulloway, Theodore L. Poole, 8. 8. Kirkpatrick, Winfield 8. Kerr, W. C. Ander- son, William E. Andrews, George C. Crow- ther, Constantine J. Erdman, Fernando C. Layton, George B. McClellan, Joshua W. Miles, and William Baker. Mr. L. H. Bailey is the clerk, and Mr. H. W. Blanchard has been detailed from the pension bureau to assist ig the multiplying duties of the clerk. The reports of the committee on invalid pensions, upon what is known as private pension bills, often contain reading as ro- mantic as a war novel. They are full of incident and adventure, relating the ex- periences of the beneficiaries of the bill. In former Congresses it was the custom to set aside one night in the week for the con- sideration in the House of bills for the re- lief cf pensioners reported from this com- mittee. At one time it was a favorite sport for certain men to be on hand at these ses- sions, and bring their names into notoriety and public print by interposing more or less facetious debate and objections into the consideration of bills to pension some poor old wrecks of coldiers. In course of time, however, this species of humor grad- ually palled upon the country, and men who indulged in .it were quietly, but ¢f- fectually, suppressed. The Present Chairman. The present chairman of the committee has, during his entire service in the House, been a friend of private pension bills. He is of a very earnest nature, and his sense of humor has,never been cultivated to the point of appreciation of these jokes on the veteran applicants. A proposition to ‘Let's have some fun with Pickler” was always productive of incident if put into operation by badgering him on a private pension bill. He was up in arms in a moment, and as he was never very chary of either invec- tive or gesture on such occasions, he got the nam of “the South Dakota Cyclone.” Maj. Pickler is a great big, raw-boned ‘westerner, with a voice like the proverbial Bull of Bashan, when fired by a sense of injustice to his soldiér preteges, and when he would come thrashing. down the aisle, seemingly on the pqint. pf, annihilating his adversary, there wagja resemblance to the gentle zephyr of the plains in his manner that gave bim his stbriquet. In other re- spects, however, MaJ. Pickler is one of the gentlest of men, andchas:an attentive ear for any tale of woe. ,e ig quick in debate, with a fund of reparjee that has more than once sankled in the Si rFatic bosom. AMERICAN srecéH Forms. a Some Words Colldéte@ by the Dialect Soetety; From the New York Times, {vw In the word lists fqund in the last report of the American Diaject Society are many used in Tennessee, and some of these are original, others in same cases with deriva- tive meanings, and others of pure invention. “Ambuscade” may mean in Tennessee dis- agreement. “Battling stick” is a stick washerwomen use to beat clothes, and is common in England. “Blinky” for sour is novel. “Bussy,” for sweetheart, must come from buss—a kiss. For a girl to get a “chaw” on a fellow ought to-be that feline attribute—“‘a claw.” “Gawmed up,” “This yere floor’s a gettin’ ‘gawmed up, is common to negrces all through the south. A child eating bread and molasses, the nurse will say, “has its face gawmed up.” When @ year or so ago the Athenaeum used this word, describing parts of Westminster Ab- bey as having been gawmed—or gaumed—all England was in*linguistic spasms. “Fist,” for a dog, is merely the dropping of the “e” in “feist” for a dog, which is-| old English. The table is “givey,” meaning unstable, is a fair word. The derivation of “‘givey” might be “give way,” as “the scaffold gave “way.” “Head,” for the best, may be Indian or negro. “Lasty,” for en- during, as “‘they’s the lastiest blossoms in the garden,” is full of meaning. “Long sweetening,” for molasses, in contradistinc- tion with sugar, which must be a “short sweetening,” is a neat distinction. In “a main big rabbit’ the qualifying character of the “main” is excellent. “A poke of pea- ruts” mea of course, a poche or pocket or bag, and pig a@ poke” is a common well-known adage. “Prong,” applied to the branch of a creek, is novel. It comes, how- ever, from a good source—only a change of application—and Is no more out of the way than the prong of a fork, for the “prong of the creek” is in fact a fork of the creek. Any boy in a New York public school would say, just as they do in Tennessee, “stop your scrovging.” “Snack house,” for a restaurant, must be old English, and it says exactly what it means. Sweltersome. “What « sweltersome day!” describes nine- ty-eight degrees in the shade quite as per- fectly es does “sweltering. Some of the Jerseyisms have their nice qualities. “Heckel to tease, Is novel. It is a metaphor, as the dialect notes tell us, and is derived from the heckling of flax. “Slummock,” for an untidy woman, is only “lummocl " added, slummock being applied to the “gentler” sex. “Strull- ing,” a female tramp, is again novel. It is applied, not in its worse sense, to a gadding woman, If its derivation were known, New Jersey peopie would not be so prone to use Among general words, “I bonas it,” meaning “I claim { must be a variation of “I bone it; but whence “bone it?” “Brash,” meaning sickly, must be local, because “brash” generally stands for “courageous.” It might come from “rash,” with “b” for a pretix. “Bud” or “buddy, for brother, would begin in Virginia an end in Louisiana. It is a pet shortening for brother or brudder. “Chouse’’ is hard- ly peculiar to Ohio. It S*used all over the country In the sense rathér of being cheat. ed than of a forcible expulsion. “Cll for cloyd, is a curious dipping of a word. “Day down,” for sunset{ sed on the Vir- ginia coast, is pretty enough to be used verse. “Diked out,” for rigged up o! dressed up, is by no means peculiar to South Carclina poor whites. ‘“Fantal,” for a stern paddlewheel, is exclusively west- ern, and is a_ shortening of faptail. “Frouch,” meaning to hotch, is a defight- ful word. “Hogo” of New Hampshire, used as indicative of a bad smell, is the same as “fog oth supposedly derived from “haut-gout,” hence “fogy.” ‘“Mana- velins” sounds good, and 1s said to be used exclusively on Long Island, meaning the toothsome hits of any dish at tabie. It is unquestionably of ‘seagoing origin. There are many suggestions in regard to this word. “Matrosses,” used in Glouces- i French for sailors. less horse, is of wide not peculiar to Massa- ts, Connecticut or New York. Its ation might he semething of this kind, that a horse would not be worth a plug of tobacco. Yet “plug” is used a verb, meaning to drive, as boys “plug” tops. “Rattled,” the dialect notes tell us, is Call- fornian. “Horses get sick from eating rat- tle we It is, as we all know, of uni- versal application. Nerves are supposed to be unhinged, and the individual rattles, or is “rattled.” “Shim,” meaning a flat stone in Massachusetts, !s brand new, and in- ensible. s,""_ meaning smart-per! used York and the west, is a fine word. The derivation is the German “schnipp'sh.”” “Tacky,” for sticky, Is used in New York. It serves mothers in baby talk to children, in lieu of “nasty.” “Dingswizzled,” ex- pressing surprise, comes from New York. It must be a newly invented word—and not good enough to be lasting. The word “hike,” meaning ever so many things, as to throw, or chase, or to hurry, wants a single definition. It is a prime word, and you will hear it associated with base ball play. ‘The oeth “Jeswax,” or “Holy Jes- wax,” is uncommon today. “And he went lickety switch,” we all know. It means a regular motion, such as a machine would take. No; we do not like “scamuljugated” in the sense of two young people being fond. of one another--as “John and Jane seem guite scamuljugated.” It 1s an ec- centric, and nothing like as expressive as “nashed.” “Stunt” is a fair word, but the trouble is that it has so many ‘different meanings. “Doing stunts” is used by New York boys in the sense of performing some feat of rivalry, and that is the proper em- ployment of the word. ——_—_~<ee__.. A NEW IDEA FOR YACHTS. a An American Inventor Comes to the Front With 2 Novel Device. From the Rochester Post-Express. A resident of this city is confident that he has invented an appliance for yachts which will enable shipbuilders to construct @ boat that, other things being equai, will ran away from the best yachts now in ex- istence, safling in ary direction, in ight or high winds. The invention ts designed to impart sta- bility and sall-carrying power to a yacht without the employment of the centerboard or fin keel. The principle involved in the apparatus Is simply the use of water in a suitable receptacle, acting on a lever to re- sist the tendency of the craft when the wind rises to either careen or run its bow under water. If a boat can be made by it to sail on even keel under all conditions of wind and water It will have little tendency to fall off its course, thus removing the only reason for the employment of.,the,,centerboard. And If the stability imparted ky the fin and its leaden bulb is secured without the bot- tom-scraping projection; a Superior boat should be the result. PEt In the new Invention +a tuhular arm is provided to extend from the middle of the deck out over the rail, being adjustable on either side. The deck emd of.the tube is attached by a joint to a pump from which water can be sent through a tube to a tank or sack on the outéf ena of the tube. ‘The tube is under control of guys, by which it can be hauled fore or aft and fixed at any point. The tank is provided with a valve by which the. water can_be let out. - It ‘s claimed that the tube/“acting as a lever, will, with a few hyndred pounds of water in the tank, exeft a ‘Teverage, on whichever side of the vegsel tf may be ex- tended, equal to many téns of weight sus- pended from the keel, for the tube-lever may be as tong as a boom. As the tank does not touch the water in which the boat is sailing it offers no resistance to the progress of the craft, a very palpable ad- vantage over the fir. keel, which has to be+ driven through the water at a depth vary- ing with the draught of the craft and-of course retards its progress, . Yachtsmen who have seen the apparatus say utility, which has‘still to be proved, it would not be allowed on a yacht in a race com- ducted under the. rules now generally pi vailing. which prohibit shifting of balla: The objection may be good, but as the ru was made with reference to solid ballas! and when no such idea as this was known to adepts in. nautical affairs, it is thought that if the contrivance proves in practice to be of value, paper rules will have given way to its introduction, that, apart from the question of its | DOMESTIC ECONOMICS Pauline Pry’s Plan for the Elevation of Mary Ann in Her Sphere. THE SCIENCE OF ‘THE KITCHEN A Housewife’s Diary of Work and Expenses. OFFICIAL INVESTIGATIONS ARADOXICAL though it may seem to some, yet per- fectly plain to me,” I have discovered a new cook—a cook in the generic sense of the word, who has put off the corrup- tion of the old hired girl, and ts rising in our midst clothed in the immortality of truth as revealed by science and applied by the best of human understanding. That this is no prophetic vagary, born of an imagination fevered By the ambition of the new woman, and festering with the carping cares of a housekeeper, I mean to convince you by a series of stories setting forth all the facts and relations of the metempsychosis of Mary Ann, and, as a beginning, I want to tell you how house- work is looking up. Extended in scope to make place for the inevitable mental activity of the fin-de- siecle woman, and elevated in tone by the high-sounding title, domestic science, or household economics, housework has ad- vanced to the dignity of a university course. The University of Wiscorsin, that of Indiana, the Leland Stanford Univer- sity, the University of Chicago, and, more recently, the University of New York, have all adopted a course in domestic science, which receives credits—in other words, which places the study of housework on a par educationally with civil engineering and Greek. Similar recognition is ac- corded the heretofore despised work of woman in Drexel Institute, Pratt Insti- tute, the Boston Normal School of Cook- ery, and in St. Louis is a flourishing do- mestic science school, which was founded and brought to a state of assured success by Mrs. John B. Henderson. At Buffalo, Y., is still another school, and how many more there may be modestly oper- ating in various parts of the country I do not know. Happy Thongh a Housekeeper. But the academic attention now accorded housework is not all. There is a national association of women organized for the purpose of securing te housekeepers past the age and opportunity for going to school means of advancing science in the kitchen. This is the National Household Economic Association, which was born at Chicago during the world’s fair, when a number of prominent women banded together under the name “The Columbian Housekeepers,” to compare notes and make suggestions concerning the solution of the eternal wo- man's problem, ‘How to be happy, though a housekeeper This National Household Economic As- sociation is divided into state and county committees, that operate chiefly through the medium of already established wo- man’s clubs, aiming to direct the higher education of the club woman to serve her lower aims at home. The association has an official organ—the American Kitchen Magazine—published in Boston by Mrs. Estelle M. H. Merrill, a practical news- paper woman, formerly for eight years on the staff of the Boston Globe. Mrs. Mer- rill lately instituted an. inquiry among one hundred womans’ clubs in various parts of the country concerning their activity in the domestic sphere, and found every one striving through different channels to re- duce housework to a science. “Trying It on the Dog.” Now, of coursc, every mother’s son who reads of such a thing groans in despair over the nonsense of the new woman, and fails utterly to see how on earth it is pos- sible to introduce science among pots and kettles, or what possible use there is in putting Mary Ann through a university course. ‘truth to tell, I have been just as skeptical 4s a man in the matter myself, for I have been extremely conservative in my kitchen views ever since—as possibly you recal!—I set out with a war whoop and wild dash for success last winter to transform the darkest Africa of scullery into a gl rious America of perpetual de- light. I expected to do this by going into the kitchen 1 yself for a week and merely letting the light of my trained intellect play upon the problem that three meals a day and ‘he attendant work propose. At the end of the first day I was sick abed and at the end of a second day I shook the dust of the kitchen from my feet, con- vinced that there are heights and depths and breadths and even a fourth dimension to the kitchen problem which only the blood of martyrs, commonly called hired girls, can ever hope to fathom. Thus when the advantage of studying housework in books and in the laboratory of the chemist was first suggested to me I scorned the idea as fit for the subject of an essay to be read before a woman’s club, but adapted to no mcre serious reed of woman. But somehow domestic science seemed to have marked me for its own. At all events dur- ing the past six months I have been unable either to quit studying the subject or to escape the missionary endeavors of persons who are masters of it, the result being that several months ago I began trying it on the dog—trying it in my own home, that is, with a meascre cf success that alone would warrant the intention I have formed of seeking tc. induce other women to try it, did not ai authority superior to any pos- sible to emanate from me—the authority of men I have found, work out with mathe- matical exactness the fact that scientific methods must be adopted in the kitchen. This conclusion is demonstrated with reference to something that comes, next to his stomach, near the heart of man—his pocketbook. How to Spend Money. That eminent practical economist, Ed- ward Atkinson, has written down: “The great need of this country is not to know how to earn money, but how to spend an inco ne, especially a small one.” In conversation with Mr. Atkinson re- cently he supplemented this statement, saying: “I find the most hopeless poverty of the American people to be poverty of ideas. They seem to be born with just one, and, by living to acquire just one more— the first to make morey, and the last to get rid of it. As a result their lives are seldom rich unless their pocketbooks are inordinately so; they lack the wealth of enjoyment to be had in lives economically adjusted to the greztest variety of uses, and this leck in the experience of men of small incomes beccmes practical poverty, telling chiefly in pooriy fed and badly sus- tained bodies. I think the greatest charity of ‘the day is to be accomplished in en- abling men whose income is, say, $1,000 a year, to know how to spend their earnings wisely, and this charity I can conceive to be one especially dependent for its success upon the efforts of individual women, stucying the subject and applying the fruits of their study in individual homes.” Although Edward Atkinson is recognized at home and abroad as having done more than any other American to establish liv- ing in this country on an economic basis, and any view he holds is therefore not visionary, but truth worked out from his experience, it 1s not necessary to accept his idea on the warrant of his assertion, for I have secured facts and figures to sus- tain it. Frem Commissioner Wright I have learned just how the expenditures of our incomes sre made. “Dr. Engel, for some years the chief of the royal bureau of statistics of Prussia. ropounded what he called an economic law relative to the proportional expenses of the people of Prussia. Dr. Engel’s dis- tinct propositions were: “Ist. That the greater the income the smaler the relative percentage of outlay for subsistence. 2d. That the percentage of cutlay for clothing is approximately the same what- ever the income. “8d. That the percentage of outlay for lodging, or rent, and for fuel and light is invariably the same whatever the income. one — as the income ese in amount the percentage of outlay for sun- dries becomes greater. “Dr. Engel illustrated his law by the fol- lowing statistical exhibit derived from the consideration of expenditures in Prussian families: Percentages of Expendittre in Prus- 4 sia. Percentage of the expenditure ‘of the family ot gs &: g i eg (fe ee | ar Items of expendi-| "£ fg ture. ge. 2s EsE $e Ze Ses | ge Fee | FE < < 1. Subsistence €2.0 2 Chothing 16.0 3. Lodging 22201] 120 4. Firing and lighting .,-. 5.0 95.0 5. Education, pab-| 7 = Hie woreh ete. - 20 85 55 Bias A 1.0 20 3.0 7. Care of’ bealth 5) 20 30 Stal and bodily ny recreation .. 1.0 15 35 Total .. -] 2 | 100.0 | “The seventh annual report of the depart- ment of labor, acaling with facts of the cost of living obtained from 2,562 families in the United States and 703 families in Europ, »s they relate to expenditures of incomes grading from $200 to 31,200, con- firms the rule of percentages laid down by Dr. Eagel.” ‘Woman’s Duty. ‘The two pertinent facts of this rule bear- ing on domestic science and the duty of woman in the home are these: Half the struggle for life is a mere strug- gle for food. The excessive expenditure for food is made at the secrifice of the “sundries” of living, which tend to raise us above the animal, ard irsure our greatest happiness. ‘The fixed percentage of outlay for rent, fvel and light, a1.d the approximately fixed percentage of outlay in the clothing, neces- sitates that, in the instance of a small in- come, the grind cf “making ends meet,” or in the instance cf a greater income, of “getting something ahead,” come in the kitchen, and on the housewife in the strug- gle of selecting and preparing food and of providing for all thos: details of do- mestic labor ircidental to this—cleaning, washing, nursing—at the least possible cost. Edward Atkinson has pointed out that if this work of woman were taken into account in estimatirg the cost of living, it would be found that a very much greater part of life is devoted to the production and the preparation of food than is repre- sented by the measure even of one-half. Actual Experience. Illustrative of how a woman actually pro+ ceeds in this struggle, I have the letter from the wife of a wcrkingmin addressed to an agent of the department of labor. Expenses for One Year. She gives a tabulated statement of the ex- penses for one year, which includes the number of pounds used of each item in the grocery account, and the cost per pound. The total sum expended for groceries is put down at $220.62; house rent, at $7 per month, amounting to $84; fuel, at $2 per ton, $24; shoes (four pairs at $3, six pairs at $1.50, six pairs at $1), cost $27. For the item of bar- bering, which, including hair cutting once a month, at twenty-five cents; shaving, once a week, at ten cents, and twice a week half the time, with an occasional shampoo, $10, represents the annual expenditure. Seven dollars and eighty cents was paid for tobac- co, a five-cent package and two cigars a week. For reading, $7.80, which includes the cost of a daily paper. The total of these different items, which represented the ex- penses of the family for one year, was $381.22. ‘The income, represented by wages averag- ing #48 per month, was $576, leaving a sur- plus, after deducting the expenses as above given, of $194. ‘he number in this family was seven, and the number of children four, their ages being two, four, six and seven. Seme Economies. The writer further explained that four pounds a week of white flour was saved by using graham, “and that the flour, lard, baking powder and sugar on my list are sufficient, if we keep light bread most of the time, and make the pies and cakes few and very far between. I use ‘A’ sugar because there is less shrinkage than in other brands. I make fresh coffee once a day. Butter and eggs are more frequently used as substitutes for meat than otherwise. Crackers, milk, rice, wheat, cheese, pickles and spices are substitutes for articles of kindred value. All prepared meats, prepared and tropical fruits are bits of extravagance in which we may indulge to the cost of something more indis- pensable.”” The writer further states that the ex- perience is not uncommon which she faced one Monday morning when she found that she had just $3.35 with which to feed seven until Saturday night. In an emergency of this kind she says that she always uses | coarser meats, and so she arranged to have a meat once a day. Continuing, she adds: How It Was Done. “I bought a dime’s worth of flank steak twice, at 6% cents per pound; a soup bone, at 10 cents; a 15-cent ‘boil,’ at 8 cents per pound; a 15-cent roast, at 10 cents per Found, and two pounds of bacon, all of which cost me 85 cents. Then I bought as follows: Sugar, 25 cents; tea, 10; coffee, 30; baking powder, 15; soap, 10; coal oil, 15; cabbage, 10; potatoes, 35; pickles, 10; onions, 10; dried peaches, 15; crackers, 10; Leans, 10; eggs, 15, and butter, 20. I have teen asked ‘Why buy pickles and onions when the same amount of money would buy rice and wheat, which surely is cheap- er because so wholesome?’ My experience with my children is that rice and wheat re- quire butter ar sugar, or both, to make them palatable, and as butter and sugar are luxuries with us we must use them sparingly. “With a dime’s worth of onions a peck of Potatoes will last us a week, at a cost of 45 cents. Without them a half bushel of potatoes are used, at 65 cents, a difference, you see, of enough money to buy beefsteak twice. As for pickles, a dozen at a cost of 10 cents will last us a week, and make salt meat endurable, and they last longer than a peck of apples at 25 or 30 cents a peck. If you wish a demonstration of this fact, just place a peck of apples, no matter how hard and green, where four or five children have access to them. In addition to all this why and wherewith a visitor adds to the expense $2 per week, and the living is no better than before. This, I think, is due to the disadvantage of buying in small quan- tities. If I count the cost for a single meal, ro more than 5 cents extra for meat, and the same for vegetables (the smallest quan- tity I could buy), the cost In one week is $2.10. Two visitors a single meal, at dif- ferent times, cost more than both at the same meal.” The Incidentals. The writer, in discussing the disposition of the $194.78, which, as shown above, is a surplus, states that amount is left to buy clothing and for household incidental, She says that these items are hosts in them- selves. If the amount named is divided among seven persons for clothing alone it averages but $2.32 each per month. She adds that ‘f it were possible to use a year’s earnings as she has divided them it might be possible to get through, but bilis made when the children were sick or the hus- band out of employment the year previous cut into the present year’s earnings. In conclusion, the writer says: “An item- ized account of the expenditures of the $194.78 comparcd with an itemized account of what we must and do have on credit, I suppose, will reveal the frustration of our efforts. I think sometimes in our efforts to make both ends meet we are like a kitten I once had who tried with all his little might to atch his tail. He kept twirling round and round, always with the end he so much wanted to view, but never quite catching it.” I might point out in the foregoing that the struggle of this woman to make ends meet. in spite of her heroic effort, betrays a false economy, her aim taking no cog- nizance of anything but the pennies saved and spent in providing food for her fam- ily, and thus figuring, she fails to foresee that saving twenty-five cents substituting | pickies for apples she is possibly losing an amount of health in her family that will eventually be represented in dollers Spent for a doctor. How a knowledge of Gomestic science would perfect her econ- omy I shall be able to show later on. Need of Instruction. The account of this woman's struggle contains no reference to a reason for Go- mestic science being targht in the schools, which I have proved in my own experience, Like myself, there 4s a constantly increas- ing number of women. who are trained for a professional career, which is subsequent- ly followed to the exclusion of any knowl- edge or training in Gomestic matters, and when such a woman takes upon herself the management of a home she neither knows her business nor tan find anybody to teach it her. In seeking myself to evolve from a prodigal newspaper woman a thrifty housekeeper, I was absolutely with- cut any mears of learning my new profes- sion as I am accusto to learning things—that is, by the application of my mind to a systematic course of study. To be sure, good housekeepers galore set m3 examples which I might imitate, Hke a monkey, but none of them being able to present to me the principles on which their housekeeping was made a success, I have had to perfect a system of housekeeping of my own by digging in the dark throuch a mountain of mistakes that simply make my hair stand on end and my blood run cold to think about them, and it is only since I began studying the a b c of do- mestic science that I have»sbeen to regard my future as a housekeeper as like ly_to escape one of the horrible ends—sul- cide or boarding. A Proposed Domestic Science Club. It has occurred to me that women who read The Star might assist in hastening the advent of the coming Mary Ann by uniting with me in the organization of a domestic science club, to be the only wor- an’s club of its kind on record. We will have here no Madame President; no parlia- mentary free - for - all, go - as - you-please squabbles; we will have no speeches be- traying the squeak of woman's voices and the sophomoric character of their learning; we will have no meetings, and the singie plank of our solid platform will be the home. We will organize on the plan of Speaker Reed's rules—to do business, and this business will be done by each in her home, and will consist first in each wo- man’s getting her dom»stic economy into statistical shape, in orGer that compari- sons and corrections may thus be mace possible. To secure the data necessary for this she need employ but a few minutes every day making memoranda on the fol- lowing points, some of which require only a single statement, and at the end, say, of two months, if she will send her report to me, I will do the rest: The Housewife's Diary. How is your house located? How heat- ed? How lighted? How ventilated? How drained? In what condition is the plumb- ing? How much is paid out for rent, fuel and lighting? How is your cooking done—by gas, coal, etc.? How much fuel is thus consumed each day? How is your merketing done? Specify how much is spent and for what food materials per week. Record the menu of each day; the quan- tity of each dish prepared; what dishes were most heartily eaten of, and why, ani what disposal was made of the remnants. What are the beverages used at meals? How is your coffee made? How is your tea made? Do the children drink either? What do you know of the source and pur- ity_of the milk you use? How is your laundering done? If put out of the house, how much do you pay? How much extra fuel is used if done at home, and what do you know of the soap and any washing fluids used? Is your bread baked at home? How is your garbage of? Have you a cellar? How often do you overhaul it? What is the amount of your doctor's bill? How many and who are the members of your family? Any particulars of the condi- tions of each; health, occupation, etc.? What is your husband's income? Do you or any other member of the family con- tribute to it, and how much? How many servants are kept? How of- ten do you change? What wages are paid? How is your work done? What, if any, por- tion is done by children? Give the program of each day, including the servants’ occu- pation-and how your own time is disposed of. Do you run your house wn an allowance? Do you pay cash? Do you make ends meet? What do you find the most difficult prob- lem of good housekeeping? To such women as send me their names, expressing an intenest In .he foregoing, I will pest a list of books to read which will give a new interest to housework. There is no escaping the daily tasks that have to be done over and over by a woman to keep her home in order, and I have found that possessed of knowledge relating to these tasks, so that my mind may be occupied in them, as well as my hands, not only simplifies housework, but oe it as interesting as anything I can jo. Profitable Effort. Keeping the housewife’s diary I have outlined tends, furthermore, to relieve the monotony of the daily grind, and in the in- stance of women who are mugwumps—that is, “educated beyond their intellects” in the matter of what constitutes their “higher aims,” by training the great guns of their intellect on the details of their housckeep- ing, they will find that the mere fact of a “ledy” deeming the housework worthr her careful attention wonderfully stimu- lates servants in doing their best. You see then how thoroughly practical and profitable intellectual effort in the kitchen may be made. Besides, it is in- evitable. Already Congress has made con- siderable appropriations to this end, and a large government force is at work ascer- taining the nutritive value of foods that housekeepers may learn to market scien- t:fically. Moreover, Commissioner Wright has assured me that it is only a question of time—that the near future probably— when Uncle Sam, in the person of agents of the department of labor, will go into the kitchens of the people to inquire how women condition the nutritive properties of food, and consequently the efficiency of labor, by their methods of preparing and applying heat to food. All of which shows, as you really per- ceive, that in advancing the interests of domestic science, the federal government is behind—not far behind. PAULINE PRY. —$—$— The Happy Home. ‘The Rev. Dr. Ouyler tm the New York Ledger. Where lies the sorest sorrow that disturbs the heart-peace and spoils all the luster of worldy gains or honors? It is in the worm that lies at the root of the home-life. It is of little account to a man to be prosperous in his store or his office or his pulpit if he be wretched at his own hearthstone. On the . other hand, a wife can bear any social neg- lect, any stroke of adversity, and even to be ignored by “society,” if her husband is leving and her children affectionate and obedient. But a husband's unkindness is e dry sorrow that drinks her heart’s blood. Our severest and most cruel wounds are those inflicted by the hands that ought to clesp our own most closely. Wedlock, as many of us can testify, means the sweetest joy that earth can know; but woe be to that home whose worst enemies are they of one’s own household! Good Philip Henry said that he and his wife adopted a rule that only one of them would get angry at the same time. That “‘scotched” the serpent of con- jugal quarrels. Another equally rule is to allow fifteen minutes before any reply is made to an irritating utterance. All this sort of little vipers in the home-nest that are fatal to domestic happiness can only be exterminated by persistent, devoted, unself- ish, forbearing, all-conquering love. ———— -see The Length of Conts. From the Clothier and Furnisher. It is quite a remarkable fact that by the rule of contraries the fashions in length of coats vary inversely, according to the condl- tion of times. In other words, when times are worse the stern rulers of fashion have insisted upon long coats, which take most cloth and cost most, whereas when times are good and people can better afford ex- pense, the shortest coats have.been stylish. As times are gradually recovering, the length of coats seem to be diminishing, and when we see twenty-nine-inch sacks worn again we will Know that prosperity has re- turned to the land. A wag has suggested that the desire to cover up patches in the seat of pantaloons has made long coats pop- ular in hard times, but we can hardly be- leve the fashion kings to be so considerate. Suffice it to say for the present that we ex- pect moderately prosperous times and mod- erately shorter coats.