Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-09-28
YOUR OLD MAGAZINES
IF YOU w0ELDIRE WISE FOLLOW
THIS CLEVER SCHEME.
Evolved byA Woman and a Great
Success, hntlIk Requires System
ansla Order.
Written for The avenfsw Star.

Written for The AvenfSw Star.
What do ysal do with your old maga-
zines?"
This was thu q,1ry which heard one
lady PROFOUND to smother in a suburban
car. They had bden discussing servants
and babies and hoasecieaning and the ac-
emulation of stuff that was too good to
throw away, etc. and the lady who had
asked the question went on to say that the
magazines piled up In the house because
she was too busy to read this or that arti-
Gle, or some one would borrow a number
and forget to return 1t, Or the baby would
tear out a page, and thus prevent getting
the full volume bound without hunting
up new number and went on deciting all
the woes that beset the reader and the
Keeper OF magazines. and which is SO ia
miilar to- every one. This was subject
that interested me and had also been my
pet puzzle, and / confess that leaned for
ward to hear the answer.
w ell! just now l am storing mine away
to Keep until l can treat them as clever
woman friend of mine has done. She says
she does dislike bound volumes of maya
zines-no one ever looks at them, they take
up an enormous amount of room on her
library shelves-one never knows just
where the certain article that one wants
can be found. and that there are dozens
OF articles in every bound magazine that
do not appeal at all to her, but take up
room just the same that might be devoted
to something that she does like. When the
magazines have been read by all the fam
lily, and are superseded on the library
table by the next months issue, she takes
the wire out that holds them together and
separates them into various subjects. She
mas large envelopes Of heavy Msnlla paper
suitably marked and puts the various arti-
cies Into them until she has leisure to look
bound For instance, one envelope is
marked Art another Stage another
friction and so on. ad infinitum, to cover
all the subjects she cares to keep. When
she has sufficient number of such articles
upon any one subject-say about a thou
sand pages-she numbers the pages anew
with her pen, makes an alphabetical index
OF subjects, experimenting 1t with an al
phabetical index OF authors, puts the in
dex in front Of her completed volume,
sends 1t to a'local northumberland there
you are"
All of this sounds very easy and pleas
ant, but what does she do when, for in
stance, an article on Literature is on one
side of the page and Art on the other?"
In such cases, as she writes very
huent small round hand, as easy to read
or, being an expert typewriter, copies it in
that way, being careful always to save
the Illustration should there be one. OF
course. the book does not look just as neat
zine would look, but there is something
enticing and attractive about the different
looking page. and one finds 1t impossible
to resist reading that article just to see il
1t was worth copying, and these volumes
really make books of reference. She calls
the whole series .Driftwood,' and has such
subtitles as Arts and Artists Plays and
Players. Woman, Fiction Music Child
Antiquity 'Travek Napoleon etc. and by
the way, this NAPOLEON contains not only
'Sloan's Life of Napoleon but articles
about the King OF Rome, Napoelon III, Eu-
genta, the ill=fhten Prince Imperial, and
other members of the Bonaparte family.
Best Thought Epitomixed.
she contends that the magazines contain
the best current rfhought and literature,
and as such SHOULD be preserved: but that
some system, some discrimination must be
employed to make such literature availa-
BILE for instant USE
She does not claim that her system is
perfect, but It Is the most convenient that
has occurred to- her, and she points with
pride to her Absolutely unique row of vol
umes and says: There Is not another set
In the world like thfs6 Others may do the
same thing, s.but unless it should be gone
over article by article 1t could never be
duplicated, and they are at least original
editions -es--t-
Her friends recognize the value of her
work and consult the volumes frequently.
Just the other day school girl came in
with Mrs. -, we have to write some
thing about a certain artist, and several
years ago there was a magazine article
about him, but 1 do not know in what
magazine or in what year. The volumes
of ARTS and Artists are taken down, the
alphabetical index consulted and in less
than two minutes 1t is known whether my
friend has the article, and If she has it
can be turned to at once, and there is no
loss of time. She says also that In this
way she can keep articles that come from
any magazine without having to keep six
months Of stuff that she may not want at
all.
''She has interested several of her friends
who have special hobbies in her scheme,
which is delightful to her because she can
pass articles on to them which do not par
ticularly interest her, but which it would
break her heart to drop into the waste bas-
ket because Of their real value
Likes Short Stories.
Like all good healthy Americans, she Is
fond of short stories and revels in her vol
umes Of fiction containing hundreds of
stories, short and long. to suit all tastes
and ages and selected because Of their
special interest and value to her."
"But this must take an enormous amount
of time, work and-yes-patience."
Granted; but my friend, who is as busy
a woman as 1 know, claims that 1t Is one
Of her greatest pleasures and relaxations;
that it is liberal education to her that
could come In no other way, and satisfies
in some degree that desire we. all have to
create something; that she has neither tai
emit nor genius to write a book, but she can
do this, which is In some small way prod
uct of her own brain and taste, although
in a very limited degree.
Her children are immensely proud of her
work, and when showing of some Of the
gems Of the library never fail to ask:
Have you seen mothers magazine books?'
These same books have been loaned to
various schools and colleges, have passed
from hand to hand and been praised for
their availability as works Of reference"
docs she confine herself to any particu-
lar magazines?"
mo; they are a family OF readers and
seem to have most of the magazines Of any
note published. She is good American.
but not bigoted one, and claims that the
English magazines cannot compare at all
favorably with ours, and that the general
run of English short story Is a thing to
make the angels weep, provided they, the
rood fheH9 same abort stories