Evening Star Newspaper, March 20, 1921, Page 63

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, "OWN YOUR OWN HOME Chicago, Muy 3 ROTHER CHARLEY. 1 bet when you h what 1 & ace has made up our minds you & Mary will] wisht you was doing the same thing or may be you will follow our ex- ampel & do the same thing & [ hope you will because its the only 10 live when got children. Charley we made up our minds to buy a place in the way you some wheres out subburbs & build a house not a grate | big house of corse but a house wh a4 man can move around in With out bumping in te the walls all the wile| and have enough ground so the chil- ren won't half to he cooped up all the day like flat around & get some exxersise The other day the Walters came to see us & stayed all pm. & little Ed & the baby both of them hollered »1l the wile they was there & when the Walters had went 1 says fo Grace #ts a bout time you lerned them babys to shut there mouth when we in a but can &1 SEEN ONE OF THE N ite 0 k so T don’t half to do no wor-| [ | ring_a bout that. | | well theys 1 good thing Charley 11 wont haif to lay aside no $60 per | wk. but will only half to lay a sidel | per re | run | |t 1 all cleaned up till | a bout $80 D provideing. dont_want to & T half to which i8 5 y¥rs. from now but if 1 want to get all cleaned up as soon as 1 can which is yrs. | 1 will half to lay & side a bout $160 mo. & 1 guess thacs what I will do. we dont half to worry = bout the $K60 Grace borryed off her | Jd man because he sends her $200 | vry berth day & he wont half to, send her nothing for 3 yrs. & we will be all square. er mo. Fred A. Gross. ¥ ox ok ok Chicago. Nov. 29— [ DEAR chartex. well Charley they started work on the house &| what do you think they done right off the real they dug the founda- shun the rons way of the lot & now | they ot to do it all over again but wont cost me nothing becausc its | theer own fault & they dug the foun- | dushun like as if the long way of the | house was £0INg to run the way of the st. & it dont run that in the plans & they got to ll in part| got Co. & Grace savs [ can't do roth- ! ing with them because there cooped up in the flat all day & dont never zet out & how can You expect them to be nothing but cross & mean ail the wile. She says you are makeing £00d money now & I dont see why is it we cant find a place out in the country some wheres & live there & it wouldent take you no longer to get to work then it does now with this rotten servus. So I says well when our lease runs out in Oct. 1 will look a round in some of them subburbs & see can we rent a_house reasonible or may be we can buy a little 1 on payments. Then Grace says lets buy a lot some wheres & build our own house & [ says what do you think I am rocke- fellow & she says no but vou dont half to be rockefellow to build a house now days because you can borry the money & pay it back a lit- tle to a time & just like paying rent only your getting more for money. L got $1000 in the bank that you can take & how much you got in the | bank your self. So I got out my bank book & seen where 1 had a bout $600 & with her $1000 that makes a bout §1600 & we can get 4l pyp Jiveing in a house is the only nice lot Some wheres for that amt. & then pay for the house by the mo. & build a bungelio say costing $2400 and have it all payed for in 1 yr. by paying $350 per wk. & meen time we can live on $50 per wk. & cut down on cloths & movies & groserys. I am going to get off tomorrow P m and Annies comeing over to look out for the babys while I & Grace gos to 1 of the subburbs & we. are going to look them all over 1 at a time before we chose the 1 we want so it may be 2 or 3 mos. b ®oing to locat at but now 1 cant hardly wait till we got our lot & started to build our bungello because a man aint realy liveing when he is | sending liveing in a flat & espeshaly when youve got childern. busy Charley & get in to the game. Kindest to Aary. Fred A. Cro * % % ¥ Chicago. May Bl‘.l)THl-;P. Charley. 1T didn't think 1 would be writeing you news so quick but we got our lot all ready & its out to Allison 16 mi. west of the Loop on the ¢ d & x & it dont only take 40 min. come in to town & it takes me 35 min. now to go in on the L. We was oing to look over all the subburbs |, .4 1o do the gradeing with the dirt gn' Allison was the 1st 1 on the list & Grace got stuck on It Tight away | pere the foundashon is at & I told & %0 did 1 & we went a round with the real estate man & he showed us some swell lots & 1 that you could- ent get a way from because it was Wiz ZFoomy & 3 big trees on it that the real estate man says is maple & @ real bargun because its 100 ft. frontidge & 150 ft. deep & only $1500 & we can pay for it when ever w ®et ready provideing its in side of 2 ¥rs. & thats casy. 1 had $100 a long with we went out & when I see bargun we was gettin & the real es- ¥ate man says we better hurry if we wanted it ause some body else was libel to sce it & cop it out so I give the real estate man the £100 to bind the bargun & he is going to get tite papers fixed up today & then T wiHegive him the other $1400 we got saved in the bank & then we can barry the money to build the bun- gcu«: & pay that back a mo. at a in ha we figure that will be all eleaned up & “own © & not be Worring a 16 rent onct a mo. & they'll be room for the kids to play a round all day with out no danger of them being PUm over by a St. car or som thing. T got a date with the real estate man to get the papers fixed up & must hurry down town. you better ®et busy Charley & et in to the game. Kindest to Mary. Fred A. * ¥ ¥ ¥ Chicago, Nov. 20— PROTHER Charley, wear started at last & Grace borryed $660 off of her old man & Ive gave it to the bank & now they got it all tho there sup- osed to be lomeing it to me & I pay the int. & the comishon & all that & dont mever even see the money or dont know weather they is any or not, but what do you think Charley the bank wont even let me pay it back when L get it but 1 got to wait 2 Vrs. & 13 pay int. all that time before 1 can pay it all up even if I xnould pick up & million dollars on the st. tomorrow & 1 cant pay so much per wk. but T got 1o pay it this Way. 6 int. twict a yr. besides pay ing back on the prinsipal evry yr. for 5 yrs. unless I want to pay it all up in t & if T dont it will he 800 for & yrs. besides &hoe. & finnish up paying for the lot d?.y words ¥rs, Cross. rs Keeps after us out of us because up men & round fo 'k t had to bring the contrackter to the bark with me & him & the mar in the bank went over the contrac g =ther & fixed up how I Fotnz to met BaveA ¥ be zets o lit- | Tle at a time & the sub contrackters | hes hired fc diffrent parts of | the House gets there money when ever the contracktes teils the archa- teck they got zome e€omeinz & then the archateck signs & order on the bank & I in dors the order but he- fore the archateck sigms the order your Then she says and besides | cfore | not sending nothing to you & Mary 1 can write & tell you where are we | tpjs yr. but this house building has you better get|may this | we should ought to do some grade- for the trains to|busy right a way me when | what al of what they dug out & do some more diging & it dont matter but it takes time & if they dont hurry up & get the foundashun layed the ground will be froze stiff & they cant get started before winter. 1 told Grace to let them go a head & build the house the way they started but her and the archateck give me the laugh & o there going to have it did |its aln | glad it be not till the middle of march & I & Grace all ready had the flat sub letted to a family from the 1 of march to the 1 of May & they was &oing to keep it after words for them sclf so now 1 & Grace will haf to stay at some hotel or some wheres from the 1 of march till the house is finnished & it will cost us some more money besides storeing our furnitur for a couple wkes. But may be by the 1 of March the house wil be So as we can stick the furniture im it but I dont know & they got me worred & the archateck aint worrying at all tho thats what he gets paved for. I give him to worry for me & then I take job a way from him. if it would do me any £ood to ®o out to that con- trackiers house & brake his jaw I would do it but what would that get me. nothing. I hope the archateck can get a hold of a good carpenter right a way & rush the job threw but theys no tel- ing how long it will be & I lerned all_ready not to look for no xood luck. Kindest want this or that & what do 1 know A bout it & he is getting payed for deing the worrying but in sted of him Going It he lavs it all off on to me. Come times he wants to know do we Wwant a tin or ivery bath tub & fts in the contrack for us to have a ivery bath tub but when I tell him that he savs | thot you might of wanted tin because ivery's going to cost more money & when I say what do 1 care What it costs because all I half to pay is what the contrack calls for! then he says the price of iverys went | up — we cant put it in for the money | I thot we could so I & Grace argu it out & then tell him to go ahcad & its $50 or $60 more or what ever it is. Then he keeps wanting me to tell him if we want this or that & how do 1 know what is it we wunt when in the contrack & he should to know with out. bothering & hesides that the real estate told me that taxes was pretty nothing in Allison but 1 got to day that [ owe $60 taxes thats preity near nothinz Im aint no big amt Then nother thing n the archateck drawed the plans he made a misstake a bout putting in the radi- ators for the hot water heat & hes nt got enough of them in & hes Roing to put in 2 extra 1s and he aint ought me. man near notise & if to Mary, Fred A ok % ok Chicago. Feb. DEAR Charl what do you pose has came off now. the archa- teck is sick & cant be on the job no wi Gross. su- more & left the work to his cousin & how do I know weather the cousin knows a house from a box car but what can 1 do. 1 asked the cousin what was the matter with the arc teck & he it was a nervous brake down & he thot he ot sick worrying & bout my house because evry thing had went rong. | he aint did no more worring then me & 1 dont even | get payed for worrin Well the cousin is worse then m,»[ archieck a bout asking questions that | 1 dont know nothing a bout what to anser & if asking questions made the archateck sick his cousins wont live a wk. According to the contrack the house should ou to be finished a wk. from now Lut it aint no further 4 long | then it was in januery as far as | an see & fthis here boss carpenter they got ~working wouldent never be pinched for sneed. 1 was out there to- day & asked him how much longer he would be working & he says I cant go very fast now because Im waiting for them to Liing the mill work. %o I got to call up the mill work people fo- morrow. the longer they dont deliver the mill work the longer it will take them to be threw with the house & | Im paying this here carpenter by the day and besides that we got to go & D. C, MARCH 20, 1921—PART 4 J A Siory by Ring W. Lardner| Dr. Steinmetz Predicts Future Electrical Cities grass seeds & fixing up the yard; & he says it must got to be graded | 1 says what do you mean graded & he says its all ups & downs & the grounds a round the house is lower all ready then the ground out | by the st. I says it was in my con- track for the contrackter to grade the “THE ROOF OF TH lot. but he dident do it so 1 got an} other man to grade it for $1z0. He | well then you got stung for $120. | be use they hasent been no gradeing did that 1 can s 1 argude with him bout it but he says he wouldent so no grass s or have anything to do with it unlest it was graded & he said he would grade it & put black dirt on it so as the grass Would grow & all so put in a drive y ot cement and gravvle all for $200 Well Charley they for me to do but h cver here any thing like wasent nothing him & did you it the, bord some wheresx after the 1 of March because the real estate people ! took our flat off of our hands when!| we told them we wanted to get a way | : o 4t will amt. to but|the i of march & they all ready sined | ;ffl\ful,lntm";lvn“:: that will a gplw\lll})' llhr'm people that we had the | v to lay 4 side|flat sub letted to & we will half to] here 1 was going to lay a move out on or before next tues.| $160 per mo. 1 aint laying nothing a side & they dont seem to be no chance of ever saveing a nickel unlest we dont cat nothing & you know Charley 1 wasent never the man to starv my self to death. I told the man down to the bank a bout the radiators & the bath tub & he says I should ought where wear going to I dont know &, I guess we might as well burn up the| furnitur & go & throw our self in the | lake. Your lucky Charley that no jam like this & If a pulls this home stuff on ou aint in | <»w-rl them over. u pUlisie e SO Gwed alittle thid @ butithe|to of had soms sort of writen con=y " (i€ 3& s oss. archateok says that dont make nojtrack with the archateck 8o he Tk e i s %" 'dont frecz lcouldent keep hanging them things Chicago, Feb, Rard & “the ground kels frose. vou on me all the wile but its lo latr noW | DROTHER Charley. well Charley Seethe foundashun ia concreei & if [& any way I guess they wont be no o it should get froze it might maybe grack some time & brake & give a & the house might may be fall finely ot the mill work peo- | ple a couple of swedes to bring there Stuff a round but before they brung it} more trouble tho I wisht they would g0 a head & not worry me to death asking them questions. way down on our head. rgds. to Mary. B} s e Well Charley 1 guess things will F. A Gross. || ¥ own to the bank 4 g0 a long o k now & Im glad wear * % ok x imes argueing & they was scared! arted & if 1 was you | would get BN i s ilio) wasent zoing to get therc men s - i Chicago. Feb. 2 ; in to the game because liveing in a A - bechuse ther hud ained 2 contoncr| house o the only way to I've when! DROTHER Charley. %ell Charley |with the contrackter that blowed up you got childern & 1 guess its all Im up against it now right. we|On me & thot because they dident the bank to have all my [ el ¢ | have no contrack with me T was Eoing :g:;ywi R Al ipers a bout the |¥as 8o busy down to the station & i heat them out of there stuff. orey & 1ot because this 15 u old!a round town that I dident get out| The man at the bank kept teiling bank & no chance of blowing up but [to Allison for 2 wks. & I went out |them that the money was right there It meems kind of funny that L eantiyye . oot "o went to the house & keep the papers or nothing to show that 1 own a lot or own any thing thing when you got childern & speak- ing of childern how is little May & both Ed & the -baby is geting a long o k. Kindest rgds. from 1_& Grace. A. Gross. * % ® % Chicago, Dec. 23— ROTHER Charley. this is to wish you a mary xmas & Charley I know you will exxcus 1 & Grace from got me on the jump & 1 cant spend a nickel on nothing this yr. Grace i8 littie May a box of candy that she made her self & next xmas be we will be better fixed & can send you some thing as usul but you can see where wear up against it this yr. & cant send nothing because things cost a hole lot more than 1 thot or I wouldent never of started to build. the latest is the archateck told me ing on the lot a round the house be- cause the weather was so good & then we “ouldentlha\l'fllo d‘s nclv ng in the spring but coul ge Siae & fix up the lawn & plant the grass seeds. well I told Grace & bout it & she says it was in the contrack that the contrackter that was dug out of the ground the archateck a bout that & he says on acct of there diging the founda- shon the rong way at the start there wasent no dirt left over because they had to fill in where they dug out and shouldent of dug so 1 had to go & get a hold of a man to come & do =ome gradeing a round the house & he stuck me up for 360 but thats all over now & out of the way. Then ce found out that they was only 2 of the rms. up stares that theys a place for closets in them & 1 say= 2 closcts was enough but she says no they got to be closets in all 4 of the rms. up stares & I askd the archateck a bout it & he mays it was foolish, but Grace kicked like a mule & the archateck says he could put in the closets but it would make them 2 rms. smaller. I asked him if it would cost more money & he suys no he dident think so so we had him go a head & make plans for 2 more closcts & yest. he come & {old me it would cost $30 more & I says 1 thot you told me it wouldent cost nothing more & he says I thot " r so my self but T was miss taken. ao| what could a man do but pay the extra $50 only 1 aint payed it yet but will half to. but the house is geting long fine & the out side is most all up & they are in a hurry to get the roof finnished before the real bad snow comes oon as they get the roof on {they wont care if the weather is {rotten or o k. | best wishes for a mary xmas to vou & Mary & little Mary & kind rgds. & | know youll sce how it is. | Fred A Goss. | * ¥ ¥ ¥ i Chicago, Jan. 21— | [ [YEAR Charlex. they got me all most < drove crazy & if any body ever says to you build a house bust them in the jaw. The archateck keeps ring- ing me up on the phone all the while he over looks the work & sees that a bout 5 times & da & asking do I “WE WENT AROUND WITH THE REAL ESTATE MAN AND HE on | the carpenter now evry wk. for & US SOME SWELL LOTS.” REISHOWED | could do that but you couldent make iBet a boss carpenter to finnish the body working & I they savs they wasent no seen 1 of the nayhers & they hasent been no body working for a wk. tho the weathers been grand & they should ought to be hus- iing on the job to get it finnished be- fore the 1 of March. 1 called the archateck up & asked him what was comeing off & he says the contrackter couldent do no more till he get some more lumber & the lumber Co. wouldn't let the con- trackter have no more because it wouldent trust him for no more money & if I would garantee the money all right. what do you know about that Charley? 1 says why should T garantee the money when it all down to the bank & the archateck says that dident make no diffrence to the lumber Co. because the contrackter all ready got all the Jumber that was called for in the contrack & now he wanted some more & I says w for & he says the contrackter used more lumber then the archateck thot they was going to need well I says 1 wouldent garantee nothing & the archateck says he wouldent neither if he was me but if we couldent get no more lumber the work would be held up till we did get some 80 there you are. I talked to the man down to the bank & he says the contrackter was- ent no good & dident have no credit & if he used more lumber then the contrack called for he should ought to pay for it him self. 80 I called up the contrackter & told him a bout it & he says he was sick of the job any way & 1 could go jump in the lake because he wasent going to do no job where he was loosing money. 1 told them that down to the bank & the man says 1 could make the contrackter finnish the job but if he couldent get no credit & dident want to finnish the job 1 wouldent have no house for a yr. or just as long as the contrackter felt like. T says no because it says right in the contrack that the house must be all done by the 1 of march & the man at the bank says ves but suppose it aint done then what will you do a bout fit. I says 1 will sue the contrackter and they says you couldent git a nickel because theys no penalty in the con- track for him not geting threw by the 1 of march & cven if they was you couldent get nothing out of him if hes broke & hes probly broke or else they wouldent be no trouble a bout him getting credit NON for them when they got there work delivered but that dident do no good & the swede that was down there with me called the bank a lire & me a lire & a crook & I called him some things to only I couldent call him as bad as he is. Well if it wasent for haveing the job held up I would of told him & hig mill work to go to h-ell but what could I do because it would take 3 wks. to get the work did somewheres else & all that time we would be paying bord & paying the carpenter fo & not getting no where. 8o finely 1 had to sine a paper garanteeing that the swede would get the money that the bank all ready had for him & that was all he wanted was my garantee tho I couldent of got the mony myself with a stick of dinamite, he promused to deliver the mill work today but 1 wouldent give a nickle a thousand for his promuses Well we got a place to bord & a place to stor the furnitur & its going So I went to the archateck & talk-! ¢ cust us $25 a wk. fo ikl cd Tt over with him & he says the | & 10" 1o wiare. the farmiture beaides contrackter under bid on the con-|geting it moved which will cost $60] track & seen he couldn’t build mo|from the flat to the store house & $20 more from there to the house if the house is ever ready for it. That's a bout all the news I got for you this time & wisht I had some good news but I guess Im lucky to be a live. rgds to Mary, Fred A. Gross. * ok ok ok Chicago, March 29— ROTHER Charley. Well Charley we been held up again & this time it was the electrick It. fixtures & Grace picked them out & they cost $200 in_sted of the $100 we stuck in the bank to pay for them so the textra $100 comes out of my pocket & besides that the archatecks cousin says the contrack only calls for 2 cotes of paint on the out sidej of the house where they should ought to be 3 & he can get an other cote put on for $60, which is pretty nice of him & besides all that Im paying wks. i The archateck is still sick vet & 1 havnt saw his cousin the last couple house like mine for no such figure & |of wks. but I guess the carpenters thats why he wanted to quit & 1 says |doing things o k & as far as I can that may be S0 but what do I care|dee a archateck might as well stay M he looses money its his own falt sick all the wile for all the good & we Wil make him go ahead &|he s accept drawing pitchers of the s oD, new house before it is build. Then the archateck says ves you YA Gross. * k X ¥ Chicago, April 13— DE.\R Charley. The house is pretty Job & Tet all the st oo near finished Charley & it looks W head with there part & Ctre 8% fine & worth all the trouble & Grace ! Penter can do the work the comtrarn. |come out with me to see it vest. & ter was going to do & vou can pay|i$ Plum nuts over it so every things him by the wk. Kk but my troubles isent over yet 1 says how much more will that|& heres the latiest. the village of Al- cost. he says hardly any more & you | iSon has ordered us to put in a new will get the job finished quick that|cement sidewalk & we got to have a way so I says all right go a head & |side walk up in to the yard up to hire a carpenter so hes going to hire|the house as well as a long the st. & a carpenter but he says they aint no|its going to cost a even $200. chance in the world of getting the| Well thats pretty bad, but that aint house bulid by the 1 of march & may nothing. 1 asked @ man a bout soing. § (] him finnish it in no spesifide time & he might be 10 yrs. doing it so the best thing you can do now is let me | thing they dident hay man at_the bank reff order for & he gas has been ran in to house from the st. & the stove should ought to be there av y day now & i ‘. house is all wired lor‘\-lectnrk II.; & ull that part of it is o k & the only thing there doing mow is AXing | up the flors with pollish & when be il threw but it thats didthestl be il 4 Nhes time fo do that & 1 wis was all over because wear sick of bording to ¢ nothing of paying for the bord & ving the (‘:lr[‘a!fl“:hfil‘dl. i e finnishe the time. hard ware to pay | thats $140 | & when the 1 of ju 1 wisht it & & 1 still got th for & ¢ comes theyll . $12 lo pay o you sec el rockefellow | o was me. | F. A. Gross. ,ut $140 in the bank to pay | f‘\umshu(l hard ware all ready ¢ the archatecks cousin g e some body some ve coming & the used to pay the the finnished hard ware I went down to Se why not & he ys all the money was drawed out ) eady & they wasent nothing left. T dont nnder stand it but [ quit try- ing under stand a bout this here hou would he worring to if posl for the but some way the got balled up & giv * % ¥ Allison. 11, May 6— OTHER Charley. T bet you wont never beleive it but wear in our & been here 2 hole day: BR house we E OF THE WINDOW the furniturs here & the movers bust- ed it all to peaces but we dont mind a little thing like that. Grace is tickled to death & as long is shes plesed its all o k but I got so much to do I aint got much time to write. 1 called up the archateck today to| see would he come out & see if things looked o k to him but he was still sick yet but the cousin come out & e was haveing supper & he sct down with us tho we dident have nothing to eat because the gas stove aint come vet & even if it come it wouldent do no good because the gas aint conected. well the archatecks cousin says the house looks o k to him accept that theys a few things the matter & should ought to be fixed up. He says you got a mitey nice place here for $4000 besides what you payed for the lot. 1 says where do vou get that stuff $4000 besides what we payed for the lot. We payed $3000 for the lot besides int. & J dont know how much more then $4000 the house is going to cost us but I bet its closter to $6000 & then T & him set down & figured it up. they aint no chance now for me gminz the bank payed up before the 5 yrs. is up so gst theys $4000 & then the; 0 Snt. on the $4000. Then they for the garantee pol- isy that T payed when T got the lot & $50 for an other 1 when I got the money at the bank. and 1 payed for the finnished hard ware twict & that $140 cach time or $200. then T give the bank $60 for insurance & $60 for comishon & T give them $150 for my bal. on what T owed the archa- teck & the $50 T give him to start with & $100 for the wall paper. that money I giye them for the archa- teck & the wall paper was paved out some wheres else so T pay that twict & 2120 for rmradeing but that gradeing dident take o T paved $300 more for the same job the 2d. time far ® extra closets in the honse & $300 for the carpenter that done the work when tha contrackter aquit on me & 200 for cement walk & ita all eracked all readv and ean for moveine & storeine the furnitnr & its 21l bnsted to neaces & £100 extra for electrick 1t. fixtures be- cause Grace geen some she liked & of corse thev was the most ex- nensiv. & $&0 for a extra cote of naint thot T dont know weather we needad it or not & T dont knaw weather it waa ever nut on & 200 for anr hard hill whora wea afaved ne Well we figured that all up & i amts. to $1600 & that dont ill(:lr:ld 'h‘: $4000 or the $3000 for the lot so what was suposed to cost me a bout $7300 or $7400 is going to cost me $11,000 & T aint got a cent in the world & theys int. do the 1 of July & besides that we got to buy cole to heat the water for the bath tub & wash basens because they was suposed to put in a gas heater but they made a miss take & put in a cole heater & the archatecks cousin is sorry they made the miss take but says we can get it ghanged to & gas heater for o bout 25. After hed went 1 looked a round & 1 just got threw looking & T found out that all as is the matter with the house is that the doors thats shut dont open & the doors thats open dont shut & you cant lock none of them & yon cant epen none of the indows which is all 0 k now because t aint hot vet & we aint got no screens tho we ordered them 1 mo. a go & theyll cost $50 more & thevs No room in the kitchen for a stove or a table & the roof of the house leeks E HOUSE LEAKS” & we aint got no electrick lamps that | we brdered when the fixtures was put in & we will half to g0 to bed when it gets dark nights un lest we want to run a round with candles like I been doing & the cellers full of water & sdes that the sewer backs up in to the cellar from the st. 4 But the kids seems to be havein' a hell of a time espeshally little Ed. & Grace is running a round like a chicken with there head off & tickeld to deaty} so what kick have 1 got comeing- even if 1 owe more money then I'll ever see & my hares turned gray & the papers #s paning the life out of the dept. because theys 1 or 2 stick up men a round town. Tomorrow 1 got to buy some cole to run the heater & coles only $14 a ton out here & T got to buy a re figjereator because we was suposed to have 1 built in but they left it out while the archateck was sick & T got to get a plumber to take the water out of the celler & see weather he cant coax the sewer to stay onut doors. T dont know where thevil put the gas stove if they bring it & if we was to put both the gas stove & the Kitchen table in the hen Grace would have to cut her gelf in 2 to zet & cook the meals or wash the dishs. well Charlev Im =oing to bed & its 10 to 1 the hed will brake down Tt if it does T'll lay right there on the floor & not never know the differ. ence. reds. to Mary. Fred A. Gross. * * ¥ % Allison. TiL. June ROTHER Charley. well Charley we been liveing in the house a bout 6 wks. now & the gas stoves been here 4 days & I dont know how they remembered to bring it & we finely managed to get 2 of the win- dows open & its been frightful hot but we dont dare keep them open very long to a time because the screens ent here yet. We got the stove the table both in the kichen & & they aint no danger of me going in the kichen & bothering Grace be- cause if 1 went in there it would take this here Houdini to get me out. Well Charley the archateck finely got all o k again and come out to | see us & what do you think he pulled on me. He says my cousin was tell- ing me that your place cost $3200 more than you figured & I says yes it did. So just as he was going he left me a bill for $160 & he savs he was suposed to get 5% of the cost of the house & if they was $3200 extras he should ought to have $160 more. do you know what 1 says to him. 1 says wait 2 minut you got it figured rong. 1 bought a lawn more today to cut the grass when it comes up & it cost me $16 so I think you should ought to add on 40 cents. { then I shut the door as clost as it will shut & he beat it & stopped out side to take some pitchers of the house & I supose he will try to soke me 5% of what it costs to get them pitchers developed. Well Charley next wk. I got to pay | the 1st int. on the lone down to the bank & I dont know where the moneys comeing from & I says some thing a bout it to Grace & she says she would write & ask her old man, Hes a good old scout Charley & I bet he will come acrost but I hate 1o be touching him all the wile. But theys 1 thing sure he wont never half to give Grace no more berth day presents not even if he lives 20 yTs. more. The Walters was out to see us to day & there tickled to death with the house & they got the building bug now. well Charley after alls sald & did its the only life when vou got children & if 1 was vou Id get busy & get in to the game. Kindest to Mary. Fred A. Gross. (Capyright. 1921.) American Cob Pipes. AMERTCA gave the and it has also given it the corn cob pipe. About forty million corn cob pipes are manufactured yearly in the United States and most of them are turned out in Missouri. The American corn cob pipe is smoked on the streets of Cairo, the streets of London. throughout South Africa, and smoke goes up from it all over Aus- tralia. This age is roundly and soundly de- nounced as the age of luxury, the age of extravagance, the age of riotous living and the age of reckless waste, yet the corn cob pipe, symbol of early American simplicity and old-fashion: ed democracy, or republicanism, con- tinues to give its consolation to the world. It is surprifing that the corn cob pipe survives, first because it is 80 old-fashioned, and, second, because it is cheap. It is the “American meer- schaum.” Probably there are more brier pipes than corn cob pipes, but the corn cob pipe is made out of a corn cob and the brier pipe is nmot made out of brier. The real French brier and Italian brier pipes are made out of the roots of the heather, the “pur-r-r-pul hay- ther,” of which Harry Lauder sings. Heather grows abundantly in Europe, about as abundantly as sage brush and greasewood in the western coun- try. The French word for heather is “bruyere.” pronounced ‘“brue-yaire.” The English in speaking of the bruy- ere bowl of a pipe came into the hab- it of calling it a brier pipe, and it is brier pipe today, though it is made of the root-wood of the heather, re- markably light, fire-resistant,’ ab- sorbent and often beautifully grained. Tt is not naturally brown, but is of light color—just the color of fresh chopped wood. perhaps a shade darker than pine when it is first cut. The pipe bowl is stained to the shade of mahogany because pipe smokers have formed the habit of comsidering that the proper color for a pipe. course, if you should buy a pipe the real color of heather root it would soon turn dark on absorbing the tar and oils of tobacoa, i ! | | world tobacco | Steinmetz. ! { | | i ! 1 1 HE coalless cities. the furnaces less homes. often spoken of. | but usually referred to as a dream of the scientists, ars coming in the very near futu cording to Dr. Charles I'. Steinmetz world-famous electrical wizard. “Cooking and heating by clectricity is nothing new. Nor is the clectrifs ing of ruilroads and the operating of factory plants by électricity. but the day is not far distant when this ice to mankind will be exténded, the engineer. “It all remains on a s for reducing the costs of 1o ¥ to revolutionize all our domes- ite” Dr. Steinmetzs accomplishments have been such that anything he pre- dicts about electricity is well worth of serious consideration. 1o matter how bizarre his ideas m Consider the enormou: d every vear by not utilizing coul to §he greatest possible cxtent. Think of the enormous amount of coal used United States in the course In 1918 the consumption was 857,000,000 tons. which may not mean much to the average person, until il lusgrated by a picturesque compari- son by Dr. Steinmetz P mean tri “One of the wonders of the world is the great Chinese wall, running across China for hundreds of miles. by which that unsuccesstally tricd to protect its northern border from invasion. Using the pro- Quced in one year as building mate- rial, we could build with it a wall like the Chines: wall. around the United States. a distance not of hun- dreds but of thousands of m And the coal producer the next year would represent chemical energy sufficient to lift this entire wall into space for a height of 200 miles. “Our present methods of utilizing coal is inefficient. In converting it into electricity we throw away about country coal 80 per cent of the chemical energy | as heat. At the same time we burn many millions of tons of coal for heat energy and in this process waste the 20 per cent high potential energy. It seems an economical crime to burn coal for mere heating without first taking out as much high-grade enci- gy, mechanical or electrical, as is eco- nomically feasible. “All these steps tend toward cheap- er electricity. Startling will be the changes when this time comes. present when we want to keep warm on a cold day we use a furnace. Kitch- en range, the fireplace and other un- satisfactory and insanitary methods. In the summer, when the temperature is above normal, we are practically helpless and have to suffer. Electric fans give some relief. But when heating is all done elec- ally.” says Dr. Steinmetz “and 1 want seventy degrees in my home. T shall set the thermostat at seventy and the temperature will not rise above (hat point. This temperature will be maintained uniformly regard- less of the weather outside. This will also hold true on the warm day when the temperature outside may be nine- ty or 100 degrees. The same electri- cal apparatus will cool the air, and. vhat's more, it will also keep the hu- midity normal at all times. “Then. too. there is ventilation which does not exist in the average home today. At present we have to depend on windows. doorways and electric fans to blow the bad air out, and with it we lose. in winter, most of the heat we produced in our furnaces. When electricity is developed we will have an apparatus for bringing fresh air into the house, destroying the bad air and recovering the heat from the warm exhaust, air. “Cooking by electricity will also be much more satisfactory. No more coal ranges and a great deal of our food can be cooked on the table. This can also be automatically regulated. For example, we want to cook a cake. We know this should be at a heat of 230 degrees for a period of forty-five min- utes. so we set the regulator at 230- 45’ and cease to worry. At the ex- piration of 45 minutes the heat is au- tomatically turned off. “Entertainment in our home will also be improved. There will be no need to go to some congested, poorly ventilated hall for a musical concert. We just push a plug into a base receptacle, as we do for the vacuum cleaner or table lamp, and we can have the concert brought into our homes. Music will be supplied by a central station and distributed to sub- scribers by wire, just as we get our telephone service today. Perhaps this may be by wireless, the home being equipped by a radio receiving appa- ratus. With this arrangement im- proved. we may heur grand opera stars s they sing in European capi- tals while sitting in our libraries at home. * % % % “The most essential purpose of the cellar today is a satisfactory place to house the heating furnace, the coal supply and ashes. With the home electrical. these two purposes, as well as many others of lesser importance, are eliminated. So what use can we put this space to? “With the electrical improvements to come. there will be a change in our transportation system. There will be more clectric automobiles and electric bicycles and tricycles will be de- veloped. Because of their simplicity and low price they will be available to almost every one. predicts Dr. Our cellars will be the We will have place to keep them. the house. driveways going under This will eliminate the need for garages, which many times mar the beauty of the landscape of the property. While the cars are in the basement they will have their bat- teries recharged. “Electricity will be used sSo gen- erally then that the cost will likely ba apportioned on the basis of a tax. like our water tax of today. The charge will probably be so much a plug, as we are now charged so much a faucet. Electricity will be so cheap that it will not pay to have meters installed, readings taken and a Bys- tem of accounts kept. “Today water Is used universally and no one would think of charging a friend or even a stranger for a drink. The same will be true with elec- tricity. When the friend calls with his electric vehicle it will be driven into your cellar and the battery will be recharged while he is making his call. It won't make any difference to your bill, for you are charged for the use of so many plugs or attachment receptacles.” “But what about the factory smoke which will float over our cities?” Dr. Steinmetz was asked. “Will this same day see them entirely electrified?" “I think so. High potential lines from the central stations will be able to transmit sufficient power to turn the wheels of industry. Smoke is being eliminated in some instances right now. Coal boilers are still b ing used, but electricity is doing away with the smoke and incidentally is resulting in the reclamation of thou- sands of dollars’ worth of material that formerly went up out of the chimney. _ “Until that day arrives when every- thing will be electrified, a great deal of the smoke can be eliminated by a central station located on the ou which will be automatically coaled. Right now. the greater part of our smoke comes when coal is shoveled on in bulk on our fires. If these fires were coaled by automatic stokers. there would be very little smoke.” All these changes in our domestic life will probably tend to revelution- ize the appearance of cities. No dirt, dust or smoke will be permissible and cities will be more sanitary. The H : Witheut Sres 4 new otl At jand with no animals for traction lacor. there will be no dust or dirt. With clean, pure air city dwellers will be able to make their yards mors Attractive. und cities can improve and heautify their parks. vergreen pine trees cun be grown near homes. add- ing to the health of the community These do not grow in the cities toduy because of the smoke, dust and guses Trees need fresh gir and their needics are lungs. The 'evergreen does not shed its needles i the fall as other trees do their leaves, thus replacing (their smoke-chocked breathers with 1t has but onc set of needles and in the city these hecome |clogged with dust and smoke Ithe tree dies from suffocation .o 0 that It is all & pretty picture. this day Wwhen everything will be J But for the fact that Dr z foresees such a condition. the t {might be dismissed as an ove | enthusiastic dream Howcever, won {derful as have been past achieve- ments, one is safe in will seem insignificant those of future year One must look back forty years to 1880 and observe how primitive wers ‘mnt) of the conditions of existence, as viewed from our present-day stand- {point. How did the prople of those | days manage to g | telephone. “the register. the ltric street car. beliesing they compared with alonk without the sewriter, tha cash afery bicycie. the e the player-piano. the | skyscraper building with sterl skele the automobile and conveniences unknown 15 ton. the wireless a multitude of now in common but {then? Look back 100 vears. and it like jumping into the dark & : persons have never stopp der just how dependent we ricity today.” said Mr. Stein Living would be almost impos- electricity should go on strike day without notice | “Take.for example. a time when you imay be attending a dinner on the | roof garden of some hotel. Electricity !censes. The place is suddenly thrown into complete darkness. You rush to the telephone to find out what is the matter. but the telephone doesn't work without electricity; vou call the | waiter and tell him to bring some candles: he hurries to the elevator, for You are on the twentieth floor, but the “elevator isn't working. He then runs down the long flights to the of- minor use Ifice. securas candles and returns; the | room ix poorly lighted. but you can {see your way out. You face the same ,long walk as the waiter. down Might 'after flight of stairs to the main floor. I You leave the hotel and plan taking & | trolley car home, but the cars are not running. You call for a tax!. but none are able to start: their electric bat- | teries are on strike. Being a long way from home, you decide you will remain at the hotel for the night. and |return. The best room the clerk has to offer is on the sixth floor, and you jhave to walk. Struggling your way through diml: lighted halls and stair- | WAYS. You are at last ushered into your room. Two candles afford the only light. The exertion has made you | thirsty. You just must have & drink of water before retiring. but when you turn the faucet there is no water, for the electric pumps have stopped. You push the button for the bellboy to bring some water, but there is no response; the bell doesn’t ring. So you go to bed and make the best of it until morning. “Upon arising you are anxious to See the morning paper, to learn what has happened. but their is no paper, the typesetting machines and print- ing presses can not operate without i electricity. So you decide to visit the newspaper office. You are anxious for the news from important places, but the newspapers have no bulletins ex- cept of local interest. for the tele- graph wires are closed and news from other cities must be relayed by courfer, as in the olden days, and it has not yet arrived. “And so on will be your troubles for the remainder of the day. Yet, electricity is only in its infancy. Benjamin Franklin said that he would like to be sealed up in a wine cask for 100 years and then come out and view the world as it would be at the end of that time. We can imagine how amazed and delighted Frankiin wouald be if permitted to behold the electri- cal marvels of the twentieth een- tury. Yet 1 feel safe in saying this would be but slight as compared to our surprise if we should seciude onr- selves at this time for a e perind and view the world in 2021. Food and Medicine. Many articles now used as food were formerly eaten as medicine. In the mid- dle ages strawberries were prescribed as a cure for consumption and ulcers, and long after that Linnaeus descrived them in his works on botany as a remedy for gout. They were also racommended by the physickers of old as “2xcellent good the liver. the hlond and the In the Britsh Tsles today, and perhaps in America, tnousands of lassies and ladies swear by the strawberry as an a‘d to the complexinn. Very early in the Listory of garden vegetables. cr garden sass, these things were not looked on so much as focd as things to give savor to food. It was not then understood that one could werk and ma‘niain his strengih on such light stuff. But the older peopio seemed to understand that fruits and vegetables were good medicine, and 1t is true today that garden truck. though much better known than formerly for its food values, is also well thought of for i*s medicinal properties. Tomatoes are said to be good for the liver, carrots for the com- plexion, spinach for many internal trou- bles and onions for the blood, and the value of fruits for keeping the system in good condition is universally believed. Sugar was at first sold by apothe- ries, both as a medicma and &s a thing to sweeten and make other med: cines more palatable, for in thoss days a medicine which was not bitter and nauseous was not considered effective. The sugar habit grew on people, its pro- duction was stimulated and today the whole world uses it as food. When coffee was introduced into Eng- land in the middle of the seventeenth century it was heraldad for its health- wiving properties. and the habit became estabiished. A coffee adveriisement pub- lished in 1657, and which is believed to havo been the first coffes advertise- ment in England, thus praised its vire tues ‘ very wholesome physical drink, having many excellent vertues, closes the orifice of the stomach, fortifies the heat within, helpeth digestion, quickeneth the spirits, maketh the heart lightsom, is_good againkt eye-sores, coughs and colds, rhumes, consumptions, headaches, colds, rhumes, consumptions, head-aches, many others.” Very Capable. SEA CAPTAIN, holding a glass of lime juice approvingly up to the light, said: avies are different today from what they used to be. A man was talking to an old sailor. The sailor said: « Yes, sir, my boss was in the Navy, too. “‘In the Navy. was he? said the man. ‘What was his official capacity, may T ask? ““Four to five quarts, sir,’ sald the old sailor.” —_— Ignorance. TBE speaker was Gen, Horace Townsend. He said: “T had in Tours a French servant girl who was preparing to migrate to our shores. In buying her outfit she wanted to go in heavily for furs and fur linings, but I said to her: 24 80 many furs? It isn't as cold as all that in the United Statea’ “ ‘Indeed it is then,’ said the girl and she tossed head. “X¢ fool me, it the frosea | Unil meat