The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1890-11-21
LEBANON, OREGON, FRIDAY NOVEMBER 81 1890
Dnnten'a @nrIn.
Practice and Theory.

FAIRFIELD. Solano Co., Cal.
Margaret b. Harvey has talked some
sound senge In her article ON 1.-The Cook
OF the Future" but | think the picture
she draws OF community In wuich all
the cooking Is TO be done by men on
the community plan Is rather utopian, at
least as far as farmers and poor me-
chanics' families are concerned. She
writes from lofty standpoint OF as
sumed superiority over men. This Is
not consistent with the position taken
by progressive women OF today. They
claim equality between the sexes She
claims an Inequality and would upset all
our arguments for equal rights.
She believes that cooking Ia n suit
able employment for men, but not for
women" Would she have the women
ON the farm do the plowing and planting
and harvesting. and haul the crops TO
the depot. while their husbands cooked
the dinner and took care OF the children?
Shall the women OF America go into the
coal mines 10 work, as they did not long
ago in England. and Into the blacksmith
shops, as they do In England now, while
their husbands do the housework II
Margaret Harvey is writing for the ma
jority % the Americans, those who do
the work and constitute the real nobil-
lty. | can see no other deduction, for
these people have not the means to hire
men TO do the work OF the house and
leave the women In idleness. IL she Is
writing for the curse OF society, the ar
istocracy OF wealth, who toll not nor
spin. whose hands produce nothing while
they live. aud whose death produces not
even a perceptlble vacancy In this busy
world. have nothing 10 say. 1t Is Inn
material 20 me whether their cooking ls
done by a woman or a man, or whether
It Is done at all or not.
The plan os cooperative cooking can
Of course never be- successful with the
mass OF our people-the farmers IL has
been tried In towns and has always been
failure. Each member of each family
has her or his peculiar tastes, prefer
enees and desires. which no cook can
eater 10 when cooking for a dozen
families. aud the experiment soon re-
solves itself into a case OF boarding
house hash" San Francisco affords an
example OF the other misunderstanding
meals out. IL does very well for n time,
bnt there soon comes q longing for some
thing more like home. The bill OF fare
Is satisfactory at first, but 1t soon be-
comes nonotonous aud Is nothing but
the same old clearinghouse hash"
The experience OF families who lived
this way does not invite Imitation. The
home became but a lodging-house and
the children, In an appalling number OF
instances. went to the tad. That mode
of life which produces the greatest num-
Der OF happy homes whose occupants
labor with their hands and add TO the
produetiveness of the nation Is the most
successful.
II Is well to teach the boys 10 cook
and sew on buttons. and the girls TO split
klndling-wood and drive nails. but the
mother who taught her hve-year-old
daughter TO sew ON her older brothers
buttons Was not teaching 1" the serviilty
OF woman" any more than she would be
teaching the boy the seryility OF man il
she taught him TO prepare in the evening
the kindlings for the morning fire.
Mrs. KIrrIR A H.