The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1870-03-18
Written for TIE EAPoRIA NEWS.
A WOMAN'S LETTER FROM EMPORIA.
Housekeeping By DOubls.Entrr.

Please allow me, Mr.. Editor, through
the columns of your highly respectable
paper, to express few of my ideas to
the young people of our village on the
subject of economy in their present
mode of living.
once knew a large tenement house,
situated on one of the principal streets
of one of our most thriving and popu-
lous cities. 1t has since been rebuilt,
and its occupants scattered, so it will do
no harm to write about them for the
benefit of our young people. On the
first floor there were more than fifty
families. They were birds in a great
sales-room, in their elaborate cages and
other fancy wire-work. "Birds in their
little nests agree" and their agreement,
their happiness, their heavenly morning
music, were the chief glory of that ten
ement house. The second and third
floors came next, with their occupants
-milliners and dressmakers, and so on.
The aristocracy of the third floor con-
sisted of an actor who was married to
an actress, and an insurance agent, who
was married to somebody else. Among
the numbers on the fourth, or attic,
floor, were two girls, teachers, bent on
trying housekeeping double-entry.
There are some women who do not have
to economic. I am not writing for
them. There are some women who
think they ought to receive as much re-
muneration for everything that they do
as men would receive in their places. ]
hope am not writing for them. T'Il
tell you why: A man has to spend more
than woman. If he is married, no
matter how poor he is, he usually has to
support servant. If he is single, no
matter how poor he is, he has to take
ever so many young ladies to ever so
many places, and pay for their tickets.
If he is invited suddenly to party, can
he run into the nearest store and pur-
chase a pattern for a white vest, go
home, and with needle and thread in
hand be ready before night, with the
needed garment No, think not. ]
think that he cannot wear anything
without the sense of what it cost ready
made. Another thing: man can't
board himself as q woman can, or as
two women can. He can, to some ex-
tent, do his own cooking; but there is
washing, ironing, and those many little
things that need the hand of a woman
to brighten and make cheerful. Two
women can do this thing perfectly, or,
in other words, keep house by double
entry. In the first place, how cheaply
these two girls lived the rent of their
little room on the fourth floor was not a
great item, yet the room was very neat.
They hunted up and down the streets
until they found q small stove Just
adapted to their use. At first they
thought to try a naptha stove, as their
room was so small, but they were told
''naptha was dangerous stuff; and wo-
men had better let it alone" There are
some women who would have consid-
cred this an insult. / shall never write
for them: they may experiment with
nitro-glycerine and the like, just be-
cause men do. They thanked the per-
son for this advice, and, as said, hunt
ed until they found q small stove with
two griddles on the top, and an open
CRATE; it was second hand, and cost on
ly small sum. The stove was unin-
jured, and some one had evidently sold
it because it was too small. On this
stove they cooked their food. In the
evening they had splendid fire Of coal
The food for both of these girls cost only
"a week, and after four months of the
coolest winter weather, they found that
they had lived on less than three dollars
. week apiece In fruit season should
not dare venture bet that three dollars
would take me through one week. In
the second place, they lived very neatly.
Instead Of having their hands crooked
and blesding from handling the little
pieces Of coal, they got . large iron