Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1897-04-08

m - as one Of the COM
NS=-z3E mendable features
<1SSS of the age, 10 q
Ak source Of regret to
many people who
sigh for the times Of long ago and who
say that mixture Of the ways of our
grandfathers with those Of the present
In some matters would be an improve
ment on the existing condition, says
the New York Tribune.
I'VE don't object to- the sewing ma
chine, said an elderly woman from the
country, even If it did settle quilting
parties forever; we can't help It II
homemade preserves have become
scarce on account of the cheapness OF
the factory article, and we must have
improved agricultural machinery at the
expense of the husking bees; but the
rush and hurry to turn money and to
make profits has made country things
which were once looked upon as bet
ter than city stuff, inferior, and nova
days the term country made is no re-
commentator for wares of any kind"
In proof of the statement it was said
that the making of the table products
which were once the pride of the thrift
ty farmers wife and were made for
regular customers in the city was fast
becoming lost art, and that the ris-
ing generation knew little or nothing
about the secrets of pickles and jams
and pies and preserves. "The fac
tories" said the woman who bewailed
the decline in the country product,
make tons of mincemeat and oceans
of sauces and sweetmeats, and it is
hard to find a farmhouse now where
'country-made' things of that kind
direct from the store cannot be found.
The very people, who few years ago,
made cheese for themselves and for
city customers, now buy inferior stuff,
which is made so cheaply that it has
crowded their honest product out of
existence. Hundreds of city people
think with pleasure of the country
dainties they formerly brought from
nearby farms, and would pay well for
them now if they were available" But
the hurry process has had deterior-
ating effect on articles beyond the
table; among these the old-fashioned
people mention soap and candles. The
modern means of illumination have
made candles rarity, but there are
still many candles sold, and those who
use them generally complain about the
Inferior quality, They gutter and splut-
ter and burn unevenly, and show in
many respects that they were hurried
in the process of manufacture. "As
to SOAP" said an enthusiastic country
woman, "if we were to use our soap
just as we receive it from the store it
would become very expensive item
in housekeeping. 1t is put upon the
market soft and unseasoned; and good
housekeepers are compelled to buy it
by the box and pile it up, log-cabin
style, in dry place, and give it the
seasoning which it should have have
had before it was placed on sale. Poor
people cannot buy in large quantities.
but take the article into use as they
receive it, and, of course, they are COM
PEELED to pay high price for a neces-
sity-only because the manufacturer
has seen fit to rush his product" "The
country" never made many claims as
O. producer of wearing apparel but even
the few articles which came from the
rural districts and were more valuable
because they were country-made have
vanished from the markets and factory
n ovstfo nj II, int 80
taken their places. Knit socks and
gloves and mits were once the chief
source of revenue for hundreds of New
England families, who made up large
stocks Of these homely goods and dis
posed Of them either through peddlers
or to the stores direct. The blue socks
with the white diamond toes became
known all over the country and pres
emily they appeared in fancy boxes
with embossed paper bands around
leach half-dozen, put up in attractive
form by the factories, and the genuine
article, which was delivered, to the
dealer in bundles without box or tag,
| was driven out. To-day a pair of
homemade socks or old-fashioned
fringe mittens" are as scarce as the
country sage cheese, the mere recol-
lection of which brings the moisture
to the mouths of those who lived when
1t was more than a recollection. "Pos-
sibly the best illustration of the ten.
dency to hurry" said German-Ameri-
can, SIS the way in which lager beer
is made in this country. The name of
the article shows that it should be
stock beer and those who make it pro-
perry never tap it for consumption UNI
til 1t is from four to six months old.
In this country it is sold when 1t is
as many days old and what it lacks in
point Of age is added by artificial
means" Another example of the rush
which is characteristic OF the times was
spoken of by an American brush manu-
tacturer. "This country makes thous-
ands of dozens of brushes every year."
he said, "out of bristles which comes
from Russia. The bristles are taken
from the hogs and wild bears, and their
length and stiffness determine their