Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-01
TEACHING THE POOR.
A Branch of the Work of the Phila-
dclphin College Settlement.

Branch of the Work of the Philn-
dclphin College Settlement.
From the Philadelphia Press.
The disproportionate expenditure for food,
as compared with income. among the poor
err classes is a fact which faces all those
who have lived and labored among wage
earners. The workers in the Philadelphia
College settlement in st. Mary street have
long had under consideration the remedy
for this very serious condition Of things.
They think that they have found 1t in
scientific kitchen which they are now build
ing at the corner of It'll and Lombard
| streets, the chief purpose of which will be
to supply the people of the neighborhood
with properly cooked foods and to furnish
housekeepers with instruction upon proper
selection of foods and methods Of cooking
1t is found that the reasons for the lack
of economy in food are lack of time. lack
of education and lack of cooperation ine
woman who earns her daily bread, the shop
girl, the seamstress, has little time to give
to the study of food selection. When these
women marry and become the keepers Of
homes they are totally unprepared to meet
the food question, and need of education
| in these lines leads to undue expenditure.
THE results of overexpenditure," said
settlement, "are, first. the overcrowding
nee essary to economy in rent; second, in
sufficient clothing-because shelter and food
must come first-and. last, all the evils that
come in the train of injudiciously selected
food improperly cooked, though ever SO
abundant, and eaten at irregular intervals.
We believe that the establishment Of scien-
tific kitchens in different parts of the city
will do much to ameliorate these conditions
if they can furnish more nutritious food
more appetizingly cooked and at a less cost
| than can be prepared by the individual
housekeeper. In the kitchen which We hope
| to open by October l we follow in the foot
steps of the New England kitchens, Boston
ard New York. and of the Hull Coffee
House in Chicago. Some time has been
spent in each Of these to learn what can be
learned by observation Of their methods of
work. We hope to copy all their good
points. take advantage of their experience
and profit by their mistakes"
The House Itself.
This new Philadelphia enterprise Is on
the southwest corner of It'll and Lombard
streets, directly facing the large space
which is soon to be the beautiful Starr
Garden SO long contemplated. On the
first floor is the coffee room, already fitted
out with dainty little oak tables, at which
meals prepared in the kitchen will be sold
at reasonable prices. At one end of the
room neat oaken shelves filled with pretty
china will be draped with light silk cur
tains. An open fireplace in one corner will
add much to the CHEEKY comfort of the
place. and when the pictures are up and
curtains hung this promises to be one of
the most attractive eating rooms in the
city. Separated from this room by glass
partitions is the room in which much of
| the cooking will be done. and where a
counter is to be placed. over which food
will be sold to be taken away. Several
| Aladdin stoves, soup cauldrons coffee urns,
etc. bright and new, stand waiting for the
opening day and give promise OF good
things to come.
On the second floor Is to be the library.
| is now at the settlement. in Carver street.
will be removed to this room, and when it
| is fitted up promises to be one of the most
attractive sublibraries in the city. Across
from the library is the reading room,
which will be fitted up with periodicals and
papers, and made as attractive as possible.
It Is one of the aims of the college set
| tlCment workers to rival in attractiveness
| the many saloons of this Eeighborhood.
| They hope that the CHEEKY coffee room. with
| its coy fittings and palatab,e food, will
attract many, who will be further held by
| the means of entertainment offered in the
| library and reading room. The third and
| fourth floors Of this comfortable building
are divided into a number of cheerful,
cozy rooms, which will be used as dorni
tories for the college settlement workers
One welI-lighted room on the first floor
will in time be used as a class room. At
present the finances Of the affair compel
| the workers to rent it as store.
Practical Housekeeping.
"In connection with the practical work
of preparing and selling food. there is a
broad field for work in educational lines.
says Miss Davis. Glasses for the study Of
practical housekeeping. for cooking. hy
giene, etc, can be organized to an extent
only limited by room ard workers. CO.
operative clubs, too, can be started on
about tho same lines as the present CO.
operative coal club. for securing at whole
sale prices groceries and other recessaries.
For 1t is likely that for years yet there
will be housekeepers whose circumstances
or inclinations lead them to prefer to pre-
pare their own food in their own houses.
The college settlement people made ex-
Eeriments along the line Of the Kitchen
all last winter by supplying certain schools
with penny lunches. They have now many
orders to fill, including the lunches for
three large educational institutes in this
city. These outside orders will necessitate
the beginning of some work very soon. but
the kitchen will not De thrown open to the
public until October.
A Mothers Way of Putting 1t.
Vi