The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-05-31
HOUSEKEEPING
SlMPLIFIED
COOPERATIVE EXPERIMENT
SUCCESSFUL IN IOWA.
Household Worries Abolished and
Expenses Cut one-fourth-The Ex-
pertinent Twenty Weeks Old
Other People Following Their Ex-
amDle
From a Sioux City Letter in the Sun.

From a Sioux City Letter in the Sun
Twenty-one residents Of the suburb of
Mornngside have lived for twenty
weeks in independence and defiance of
the servant girl, and have discovered
that by cooperative housekeeping the
head of the family will save One-fourth
of the cost of satisfying the appettes
of the family
The Parkside Cooperative House.
Keeping association, organized in De-
cember have cost each of the members
an average of $2.35 Il week, and has
saved 81 cents a week for EACH The
association has found that its plan will
mean an annual economy to family Of
four members of $17s.4s.
This union kitchen was the first OF its
kind in the United States. the members
say, but so successful has it been that
another association has been organized
here in the Reinhardt flats, and two
more will be formed in Morningside, to
begin operations next September.
Following the example of the Sioux
City people. fifteen families of Marion,
Ind, have formed cooperative asso-
citation, and recently began taking their
meals in specially constructed build
ing.
HOW IT WORKS
The cooperative housekeeping plan
solves the servant girl problem, which
has become the terror of housekeeping.
relieves the housewife of all the worry
and labor of experimenting the pre-
pnration of three meals Il day, and
saves the head of the family Il fourth
of the cost.
All the members of this association
live within block of the home of
Charles Senift, and there they meet to
take their meals ut two large tables.
Three rooms are rented from Mrs. Sen
ift for $40 month, including light and
fuel for all the rooms except the kitch-
en-.
The housekeeper and cook gets 81 a
week and her board, and two assist
ants get 81 week and their board
The five women of the club form Il COM
mittee that makes out the bill of fare
each week, and a man is chosen as buy
er to serve for two weeks'as assistant
to his wife, or, IL single, some other
mans wife.
The congeniality of the members is
secured by requiring a unanimous
vote before new member is admitted.
The association buys its food from re-
tailers, but the purchases are in large
quantities and the association practic-
ally gets Wholesale rates, amounting tC
a saving of 15 pen cent. The fuel costs
no more practically than In one FAM
lily. meaning a weekly economy of $3.50
ONLY ONE COOK.
There is but one cook for the asso-
clation, and, while she gets 81 week
1t may be assumed that the five fami-
lies would spend at least SO a week each
for servant, together paying SIS. Add.
ing the 81 received by each Of the assis,
tants to the salary of the cook, the
families save $6 a week by pooling
The association gives the cook and the
assistants board and this is two persons
fewer than would be boarded If the
same families were eating on the old
plan, so that s4.60 weekly is saved In
this way.
The Is per cent cut in the prices OF
food amounts to "a cents weekly fol-
each member or s5.04 week for all
twenty-One.
The items of economy for the twenty
one people. weekly, then. are as fol-
lows: