The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-05-16
THE DIGNITY OF COOKING.

"Civilized man cannot live without
cooks" Thus sings the poet. and to
his sentiment mankind. with no note
worthy exception. gives most hearty.
practical assent. without blush at the
dependence Of intellect and happiness
upon appetite. On the other hand, wo-
mankind, placing the emphasis upon
the nominative. turns the quotation
into an admission Of masculine kinship
to matter. and, by implication of his
coarser composition as compared with
the more spirituelle sex.
In the persistent assertion of her
equivalence to man mentally, and her
consequent equal rights in-all matters
demanding skill in intellectual attain
ment. woman has allowed those dOmes-
tic occupations, for which nature and
civilization have best qualified her, to
retire In gloomy penumbra, while the
full light Of her personality shines upon
those departments of the worlds work
known as intellectual pursuits. No
doubt woman today has attainments
and capacities before unrecognized
The daughters of today inherit an en-
dowment of mental grasp and executive
talent far SURPRISING their mothers
legacies. But in her struggle not SO
much to evolve perfected womanhood
as to develop mannish efiiciencies.
ployments is being minified. The new
woman" affects an hermaphroditic ca
reer In world where sex Is primal,
salient law, thus. not only subjecting
her progressive ardor to ridicule. but
binding herself to the rationale of her
permanent advancement by her adopt
ed, grotesque relation to her native
sphere, and disproportionate valuation
of feminine vocatiOns.
A prominent fad consists in ignoring
physical needs as far as possible. and
deploring their existence. The direct
consequences of this attitude are most
felt in the kitchen and dining rooms
In the quality and manner Of serving a
meal II no servant IL employed, and in
the impossible gulf between cook and
mistress when a servant Is kept. The
preference of American girls for the
barren life of clerks or factory hands
is the most significant proof of the de-
gradation with which domestic labor Is
stamped by American women.
Progressive women tolerate eating to
insure mere existence. 1t logically fol-
lows that cooking is tolerated neces-
sity ana servants tolerated class.
These women have been putting new
construction upon the pristine mission
OF being a companion to man in the
subjugation of the whole earth, and
nave been demanding that man be-
come so far as he can. partner in ig-
noring the earth, and, so far as he
cannot. that he remain "of the earth.
earthly without woman's sympathy.
There can be no progress which does
not evolve the plan embodied in man
at the creation. Dignity is an attribute
of that which is worthy. An indispen-
sable ingredient of worth is its capacity
to satisfy need. Plainly, then, the
amount Of dignity attaching to an oc-
cupation is commensurate with its
scope in satisfying need. and the dig
nifty Of any method used. depends upon
its fitness to the object sought. Thus 1t
would seem that the art of cooking
has incalculable inherent dignity from
the one cause, its continual need.
Health Is greatly influenced not only
by articles eaten but by their prepara-
tion and combination In obedience to
chemical and physiological laws. and
by aesthetic serving. The servant who
can fill these requirements deserves a
higher encomium than merely being
called "a good girl" A housekeeper
needs the wisdom Of sage, and the ex-
ecutive ability and patience of dlplo-
mat to manage easily the minutiae of
the cuisine. and the soul of an artist to