The San Francisco call., 1898-05-08
DRESSMAKING CLASS.
nm a PhntoRranl

thought her small brother Of four Qu1t6 too old to be wearing dresses and had made him a pair of trousers, pockets and all, and a little blouse out of some cast-off garments.
 A small tuition-25 cents a month, beieve-is paid by the children, as Miss Emery's intention is to teach them first of all self-dependence. She be- lieves that whatever is given without compensation tends to pauperiZe. By the paying of this fee th- children value much more their lessons and it gives them a greater interest in the work. Indeed. the children own the, entire establishment Mrs. Watt and all, and are not learning to get some thing for nothing. Miss Emery and all, the teachers are learning. too, just as much as they teach-lessons in reali ties-for they are going to school to a. class whose stern necessities cut off all shams.
 One of the teachers told me a les son she had received in what it meant to help one another. A family who had been rather diSagreeable to one of the members of the Mothers Club moved away from the neighborhood. The father was out of work and money. One day a man came to look for him to give him a fairly good job. No one knew his exact address. so this mem Der of the Mothers Club, who had all the work she could possibly handle. left her baby and two smaller children at the Settlement HoGse and walked twelve blocks to find the mans fam fly. The woman never thought of the mans gruffness and disagreeableness; but he needed the work, so she did all she could to help him.
 I scarcely know which was prouder of the two, the small boy or his little sister mother.
 Surely it is worth while to give these . children, to whom life begins its bur dens so early, little of the play which children love, if it is only the play which teaches them how to do the work which do they must as best they can.
 Another child, a girl of 13 years, had only the earth for a floor at home, and no such thing as scrubbing brush, bur she wanted to try scrubbing. Miss Emery told her she would hire her to do scrubbing if she could it nicely The child had never had a brush in her hands before she went to the school, but she scrubbed out the big school room and Miss Emery was perfectly satisfied. No more can be said.
 In the class rooms there are draw ings of plumbing and traps and good lesson in sanitation and fresh air.
 Dr. Adelaide Brown has given talks on health, plain and practical, to the children who live on the street, and they are taught what their bodies are and how to use them and care for them.
 There are mothers meetings. too, so that they shall keep in touch with the cildren.
 The Boys Club meets in it's own room which is always open and fur nished with books and games. The boys are regularly organized and have duly elected officers. The ward poll ties" methods, which the boys were well up in, made the election very protracted sitting, but the boys have grasped the idea of honest games ard elections.
 The outer door is kept barricaded during club meetings, for there are other boys outside. When there Is more room the club will be enlarged, but now the little house is crowded till it can hold no more
 Cooking is to be one of the principa& features with classes for those in homes where economy is the main point Later there will be more ad- vanced classes, where all the difficult courses will be taught and graded and the graduates will receive diplomas.
 In many colleges. Stanford included, a course in domestic science and cook ing is included. While the West Oak land school can never interfere with this study, it will always be carried after a more practical fashion in the Oakland institution.
 Let us hope it will soon be considered no more .'infra dig" for woman to personally attend to the work of her own home than it is for her husband to work all day in a business house.
 HELEN GREY.