The San Francisco call., 1895-05-23

, were content It happened one day about two
weeks after marriage ne mao g,na gOneas bar.eIf
with the house work, She TOOK l. INTO ner
head to surprise him with pork ana peans ior
of beans for swelling in water. So she hiled
gallon kettle with them, covered them WIN
water, built ire under them ana Went u. OUT ~
side for an hour. Imagine her dismsy on re,
turning TO the kitchen TO find stove, moor ana
everything within reach, covered with beans:
1t was beans, beans, everywhere she gatherea
| them up in her hands. She swept them up
| with broom, bat all the time the beans Kept
| swelling and pouring out.
| In despair she finally took to dividing them
out She filled the stewpcn and frying-pan
| from the kettle and then sat down TO cry.
When the husband came to dinner 1t was 10
find her with eyes red from weeping and three
| kettles OF beans for a dinner for two. He could
not control smile, which she caught, and
| then he had the three kettles OF beans all to
| himself. She managed to tell him between
| sobs that her mamma's beans never acted that
| way. 1t 1. not an unusual case by any means
| for young housekecpers to enter upon their
| duties as densely ignorant of their business as
| this one, and utterly inefficient in the manage
| menl of the domestic.
| has come down through the ages saddled with
is that we are all born cooks This IS no more
| true than that we a7e all born artists or
| physicians In one case as in the others, there
| must be something in the individual to supple
ment the work OF the educator, and to become
| an expert in cookery one must have genius
| for 1t; but any one of average intelligence can
| obtain a technical knowledge that will be of
6ene to them IN ,6 q Tbe 6e sne
siding genius OF cookery, however, Is 1udg-
ment. 4 constant play OF the ingenuity is
called for in cooking dinners. Conditions are
never twice alike. They are as changing as the
cloudy sky that the artist tries to catch with
| his brush The cook meets the unexpected at
| every turn.
| The ignorant young housekeeper is appalled,
| at this and becomes discouraged. Ii she be
culties that beset her, whicn she often does at
| the expense OF her good nature and peace OF
mind. Having means to do so, she turns the
| department. over to cooks from the intelligence
| office. These cooks are of three clas.es-one in
| ten good, three in ten bad, and the remainder
indifferent. They are mostly OF one price, and.
| one you take you wish you had taken the other.
If you have devoted your life and energies to
| happen to have a large family of children, you
| are iucky If you can induce any domestic to
stay With you. They are for the most part
ignorant and dictatorial and are often men
| ace to the household
| We have brought this state of things about
by allowing the position requiring more brains
and wits than any In the department of house
hold labor to become so degraded that lew
care to engage In it and do SO only last re-
and no stamp of any institution, simply
strength to perform the manual labor and a
certificate of character from the last place.
| We cannot induce the better classes to engage
in the study of cooking till we give it the stamp
of gentility, and we cannot give it the stamp
of gentility till better class engage in it.
This problem will be solved when society be-
comes conscious of its Importance.
If this new woman who is attracting so much
attention in the newspaper and magazine
world at the present time be reality, and If
her excuse for living be the uplifting OF man
1ea the depsrtment of cooRerv W from the hands Of
irresponsible ignorance and place it where it
belongs. How is she to do thisY First, by
lnstilling in the minds of daughters in the
home the Importance of the department, by
making them realize that they have no more
right to present themselves as candidates for
INT
for the position than they have to apply for
position in the schools without the proper
credentials.
6econd-Demand higher standard for do
mesucs. Let them establish their rights to the
position of high responsibility in the home by
presenting credentais such as would be ac-
To do this the establishment OF schools is neces-
sary. The absurdtty of a polytechnic school
apparent to every one. The one greatest bene-
factor to the present crisis would be that
who out OF his or her surplus means would
endow schools for cookery which should cover
al the ground gone over by the plans of Nus.
Campbell Whitaker and other noble women,
ana should adopt suggestions from women of
age and experience who have learned to do by
undofng and who have worked their way
| through wilderness OF mistakes to a knowi-
edge of practical issues.
When diplomas from schools of that Kind are
| required before domestics can gain admittance
| TO our kitchens, then, and not till then. will
cookery be classed among genteel professions
and cooks attain the respect to which their po-
SltlOn OF reepOnSl In the nome should n
title them. When that time shall come the
daughter in the home will wear the kitchen
| apron with the same degree OF pride with
This tendency in us to crowd what are known
| as the genteel occupations finds US at the pres
ent time with hundreds of our daughters edu-
Gated tor teachers, stenographers, etc., idly
| waiting for positions while the departm of
cookery goe: a-begging.
Mrs. Smiths paper brought out some
clever stories OF the experience of young
| housewives in their first essays at their
own range. Mrs. Gregory furnished a
couple OF stories of her own experience, and
| Mrs. Bowles, one of the young brides, who
essayed to cook for herself and husband
| dish OF pork and beans. Not knowing the
swelling properties OF beans, she filed
pot with them and set them on to boil.
Then she went out into the garden. When
she returned an hour later, she found the
stove covered with beans which had burst
out of the pot, and to end it all, when she
had finished she had three pots full for
| herself and husband. When that lucky
young man came home and saw what was
up, he could not help a covert smile, upon
| catching which the beans were all for
himself, his poor, vexed little bride going
again to the garden too full of cry to eat
! her share of her wonderful cooking
| Calls for Miss Phoebe Couzins at this
| point brought her forward and she was
greeted with applause.
II have come up from the south" said
Miss Couzins, ito join hands with you in
this great congress. / have the advantage
IN that was present and helped to organ
ize the first Woman's Congress in 1874,
called in New York. l remember that
Miss Anthony was not there, but she is al
ways around somewhere doing good work
for women. l thought would come up
and greet you on the Pacific Coast, as, in
my girlhood. first greeted the women on
The Atlantic coast.
| u was present at the grand last meeting
OF the Equal Rights League and Henry
ward Beecher was present. He offered a
medal to the woman who would give the
best biblical definition of mans sphere. I
am glad to say, Mrs. President, that [ got
the medal. found that verse which reads:
AND the Lord said he would watch it jeal-
ously, even as a man wipeth dish, wiping
1t and turning it upside down. So that,
on biblical authority. being clear of the
washing OF Dishes, | think we can divide
honors in this matter. If men will clear
| and wash ha diShac will