The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1891-03-28
Cooperative Cooking and Table Servic
sn SueosssSui Operation.

There L. nothing 30 perplexing in In
whole round Of housekeeping, says tli
New York Herald. as the question
.ood. The lord Of the manor must haN'
iood well prepared and well served. bu
the scarcity Of good cooks at reasonaIl
wages precludes such condition in mos
families Of moderate circumstances. it
would seem, therefore, that plan hicl
would close the kitchen entirely, reduce
lie force Of servants, and lessen the cost
of living, while at the same time bring
ing a better service at MEALS. would
no something Utopian-an ~iridescenl
lream
But the dream after all IL not dream.
Tie problem 10 solved, and its solution
is 30 simple and satisfactory that tlt
Wonder Is It was not made clear bef0 e
some weeks since tie heads Of five
Utica, N. Y, families entered into an
greement after mature deliberatiOn un.
Ter which provision was made for leas-
,ng and furnishing house, employing
cook and servants, and making arrange
ments for trial Of cooperative house
xeeping In so far as the dinin room and
kitchen were concerned. TIE gentle
men interested are all business men In
moderate circumstance, who lad come
to the conclusion that better serN ice at
less cost could be obtained in this way
than by the usual individual hOusekeep-
ing method. Choosing president,
secretary, and a treasury and "buard
Of governors" the gentlemen set them
selves to work. The first thing to lie
lone was 10 draft impact by which
all were bound to give the plan trial
Of three mOntha All are SO well salts
fed that there will be no changes at the
end Of that time. three weeks hence In
the original number 90 persons were In
cluded, which ma" Der has been aug
menled to nearly 6V as many as can he
accommodated in the present quarters
In the beginning It was nee 'ssRry to
purchase an entire new outfit OF kitchen
md dining room furni. ure. as well as
he conveniences for tie cook and five
walters, who, in ad Iition TO their regu-
lar duties. look AZ or The house which
they occupy, rented by ths club A
corpetsnt cook OF many years ex-
erience Was employed, into whose
charge the full management Of affairs
was given. with the exception q the
purchase OF food. which duty devulves
upon one Of tile club. designated hy the
resident at the beginning Of each
NINTH Books are kept In which Is
inferred every cent I expenditure. and
they are balanced at tlie end Of the
month, when an assessment Is levied
upon each member, and all accounts
70 ,quared. During the first few
weeks Of the life Of the club tie assess
ments were necessarily sOmsW hat
,sayier than they are at present As
regards the table. the very best uf
everything is provided, with all the
delicaeies In season, while no extrava-
gance is countenRnced by any member
II any member brings visitors they
must lie paid for at the rate Of 25 cents
per meal. aud notice must be given
beforehand OF their coming Tie
system has been Thought 30 fur on the
road TO perfection that il would be in
deed difacuit TO make it better In any
way.
At present the amount levied uron
each IeraOn Is n tribe lssu than s. a " eek,
and thuss in charge confidently expect
10 reduce this TO ea50. when greater
knowledge 10 acquired by exrsr.Onco.
This assessment Is very small indeed,
n hen ths quality Of the service is con-
sidsrsd. The bill Of fare eau not BE- dup
Heated In any first class boarding houss
for twics or three times Sa Besides
Ill l. I. - -
from the care Of kitehsns and dining
rooms, and the worry incident 70 the
suparVlsion Of cooks and other servants,
TOO often incompetent, IA a thing Of tie
past The only inoonvsnionos. which Is
Ollght By comparison, iH the nessssity Of
lsasiug homes ~ take meals Ia the Co
operative dub house An thoss In
tsgsstsd. hoWsger. I've aoaF b. md
annat ttis O. ualhi1a