Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-13
~: f T SSSsHEyaHRID
1:slttuf%1 0EEh'

second disappointment. Then, as they pro-
Guessed, again the spelling became more
difficult and the writing equally so. All
that is of the past. There is no teaching
matured and in many instances II Is not
necessary at all. for writing as the letters
and spelling is learned by the appearances
or things. rather than by a combination Of
independent letters and sounds. The child
has no need Of learning the alphabet as
separate thing, for it can only be used in
making words, and 1t has been found much
better to learn children by the looks of
things and the way they will always have
to use them than by the sound as they
would learn by spelling by recitation. 1t
may appear strange to many that the al
phabet has been done away with as the
alphabet, but it is not necessary for chill
dren to learn it. except as an incident in
writing and spelling"
x = y X
This is the time in the year when new
carpets are being laid in the departments
and the time when kicking and growing
is in ORDER said one of the carpet layers
to Star reporter. 'Of course, when the
old carpet is good it is relaid, but when 1t
is worn out. a reQuisi,ion is made for a
new one. The carpets are furnished by
contract. which includes cutting and lay
Ing them. 1t Is amusing to hear the
growls that are made. not against the
IS provided for in the contract but on
account of The color. The women clerks
are the hardest to please, indeed SO hard,
that we do not make any effort to please
them at all. One wants a light color, an
other a dark. while another may insist ON
a medium. AS there can only be one car
pet in eacn room. the number of clerks
who are dispieased always exceed the num-
per who are pleased. Men are much more
hilcky about such matters than is gem
orally supposed. 1 think the patent Office
mas me best plan of selecting carpets. The
question of color is left to the Judgment
ana decision of the three Oldest clerks in
Inc room which is 10 get the new carpet.
Whether the color is good or bad, the re-
sponsibility rests upon the three who select
1t and they have to defend it against all
complaints. In the other departments the
chief Clerks or the chiefs of the division
where the carpet is laid generally do the
SeIectins- l was sent to a room in the
war Department one day this week to
measure room for a carpet One of the
clerks insisted that the carpet should be
green. another was equally determined
tnat II should be red. while another
thought brown carpet would best match
the furniture IN the room. There were in
all nine clerks in the room, and while /
knew exactly what the color selected was
I. did not tell the clerks 1 let them be-
heVe that they could have any color thew
would agree upon. They took five ballots
ana every time there were no two of them
agreed Upon a color. AS a matter of fact
the carpet selected is not the color any of
them wanted. There will be plenty of
music in that room next week when Law
the carpet" '
X X x X
The bicycle has come to stay. and It has
to be provided for" explained an architect
to Star reporter. land already architects
arc considering the question of arranging
Tor their accommodation. 1t is a decided
nuisance to have to let them down into.
area ways. as it is to batter the hall doors
In trying to get them in the main doors.
Housekeepers don't want them lying about
on their uncertain foundations in halls. and
there is no room for them in the average
dining room. They are decidedly out OF
place In parlors. and it is not convenient or
practical to get them into houses by the
back doors or alley gates. Besides that.
most alley and back gates are locked On
the inside, and riders could not open them
from the outside If they desired to. The
question constantly presents itself, how are
bicycles to be housed? I know of board
ing house uptown which is kept full of
Doarders. not because the board there is
specially good. but because there is a. side
yard. which furnishes an easy entrance for
wheels. Once inside the yards, the wheels
dAe run uuueT a SneO, winch Keeps them
out OF the weather, and, besides, is safe
The ordinary boarding house. as a rule. has
no place for bicycles except the main hall,
and 1t Is not the best place to leave them
The boarding house keeper does not take
Kindly to the wheel. 1t Is well enough when
there are only one or two wheels to be
housed. but when there are from FIVE to
seven. and even more, it is a rather diff
cult problem. 1t is the same way in private
houses. Often the man Of the house has a
wheel. So has his wife, and so have from
one to three children. What to do with
the wheels is a live and important ques-
tfon- 1t Is something new to architects
and its treatment is not provided for, as is
almost everything else that ordinarily goes
into house. The wheels can be hoisted
up to the ceilings in the main or basement
halls, and thus got out of the way by a
pulley arrangement. but that is not very
nice solution Of the difficulty. There are
many more complications about it than one
would suppose