davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-28
THE EAST SIDE WIFE
How She Fights at All Points
For Her Own.
FACING HOT WEATHER
TOILING FROM DAWN TO DARK IS
HER LOT.
trials With Tradesmen and Wag;ng a
Steady War Against Extortion
Her Daily Work.
<rittcn for The Evening Star.

Written for The Evening star.
Between the coal strike. the ice trust
and the beef combine the East Side woman
is having a hard time of it this summer.
She may shruS her shoulders and raise her
eyes to heaven. but the coal dealer and the
ice pedGler are not to be piacated. She
may cry out against the extortionate prices
demanded by the butcher with whom she
has traded for years. but he will simply fall
back on the meat combine. What can she
do?
The East Side housewife is the most thor
oughly misunderstood and misrepresented
of women. She is pictured as living, with
out a murmur, in squaIor and flth-her IA
vorite pastime to gossip and quarrel with
her reighbOrs or, better still, with her IN
fortunate janitress-her children physically
impoverished because she either cannot or
will not prepare food according to the lat
est hygienic rulings Of American cooking
ClubS-her husband TO be COmmiserated in
the possession Of a shiftleSS slatternly
wife. Not being able as a rule, to speak
English. she cannot relate these charges,
and only those who come into close. neigh
bOrly relations with her can appreciate her
true worth. She is at once the joy and
the despair of the typical settlement
worker Of fine theories and high IDEAS
In reality. she wages perpetual warfare
on the common enemy Of all hOUsekeep-
erS, dirt. and under the most eXasDerating.
the most Impossible conditions Her land
lord does not sat her a shining example of
sanitation and cleanliness. nor does he pro-
vide for her the simplest of modern
conven.cnces. Any woman who attempts to
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-28
Flowers of the Cranberry.
Life IN America

From Country Life IN America.
One of the daintiest of wild flowers OF
June is the blossom of that time-honored
concomitant of roast turkey, the cranberry.
While, however, everybody knows the Der
ry. few are acquainted with the flower, for
the peat boys where it blows in the choice
fellowship of the stately pitcher plant and
the golden club, and Of many a rare orchid
are quite remote from the beaten paths OF
travel. The cranberry plant is a small,
slender. somewhat trailing shrub, with the
neatest of evergreen leaves, from amid
which a few threadlike stalks lift their
nodding flowers. When fully expanded the
pink lobes of each corolla are curled back
like a lily's, and from the heart Of them
the compressed stamens protrude in the
shape of a spear-point or beak. The imagi-
native may see in this long-beaxed little
blossom a resemblance to a tiny cranes
head, whence some hard-pressed etymolo
gist has thought to derive the word cram
berry-that is, crane-berry.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-28
Languid japanese Lady.

From the Chicago News.
In recent address in Tokyo a prominent
japanese educator said: THE Incidence OF
japanese ladies is something amazing.
know a daughter of a certain peer, neither
an old court nor a feudal peer but brand
new one, and this young lady's Incidence
is really beyond the idea of ordinary NOR
tails She will not even open her mouth OF
herself. AS soon as the time to retire to
her bed arrives she issues her order, Now
/ will retire and at once three or four
maids spread the underquilts. help her-or,
rather make her, for she simply stands like
a doll-to change her clothes, and at last
the girl, swaddled in her night garment, is
put to bed just like a person suffering from
a serious illness and so the poor thing goes
to sleep and releases her maids from their
trouble till the morning, when the daily
routine is resumed. First of all she issues
to the maids waiting in her anteroom this
extraordinary order, Il shall get up now,
and then the process exactly the reverse
of that of the night before Is forthwith
commenced by the girls. Day after day
this routine is gone through and the spoiled
child of the proud upstart peer forces her
self from her mistaken notion as to dignity
to lead the life of an invalid and to cripple
the normal development OF her body
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-28
Singing School for Thrushes.

From Forest and Stream.
Find family of wood thrushes and care
fully note what takes place. The old male
thrush will sing the sweet song in loud,
clear, 1utelike notes once, and then stop to
listen while the young birds try to initiate
the song. Some will utter one note, some
two Some will utter a coarse note, others
a sharp note. After a while they seem to
forget their lesson and drop out one by
one. When all are silent the old thrush
turns up again, and the young thrushes re-
peat their efforts, and SO it goes on for
hours. The young birds do not acquire the
full song the first year; SO the lessons are
repeated the following spring. take many
visitors into the woods to enjoy the first
thrushes' singing school, and all are con-
WINGED that the song of the wood thrush is
matter of education pure and simple.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-28

When she has burned a quarters worth of
gas, the flow stops abruptly and is not re-
sumed until second quarter is dropped
in the machine. An ordinarily good man
ager uses % cents worth of gas week,
which is considerably cheaper and infinitely
more comfortable than coal at the rate of
10 cents a scuttle or 80 cents a hundred
pound sack.
Once a week, on Friday, she starts her
coal fire, to do the baking for her Sabbath
day
Meat is the item of living which strikes
dread to the heart of the East Side provider.
1t must be purchased from kosher shop,
it must be cut from the most expensive
portions of the animal, the fore-quarters
and breast, and it must be absolutely above
suspicion. No kosher butcher may keep
meat more than three days.
The breast Of beef sells at Is cents a
pound. the cut known as chuck bringing
a. UnkoSher meats sell at low as and .
cents per pound, but the GentileS living
on the East Side patronie the kosher shops
largely to be assured of getting clean, I'M
tainted meat. Oniy the best poultry is Of
fered on the East Side, where it brings from
| Is to % cents a pound. The finest fish goes
| to the Hester street shops and wagons,
| commanding from IS to 80 cents a pound.
| Pike is regarded as the greatest delicacy.
| So infinitely and thoroughly does the East
| Sider's religion enter into his domestic life
| that he eats either the best there is in the
market or nothing. Better black bread
| and coffee than savory meats that are open
| to suspicion. The housewife may oner but
one dish at a meal but that will be care
| fully prepared according to the law and ira
| ditions.
| Vegetables she finds reasonable fruit
| high The latter is eaten not as a delicacy,
| a dessert, but to satisfy actual hunger
| The East Side child when 1t gets penny
! does not run to the nearest candy shop. The
money represents to him actual food, and
! is spent usually at fruit stands. Diminu-
| tive baskets of strawberries in season sell
| for two cents, bananas in good condition
| and of reasonable dimensions can be had
| for one cent, but oranges are practically
| unknown here during the summer months.
| All vegetables are now sold by the pound
| as false bottoms in measures and Skillful
arrangement of potatoes in reliable meas
| ures more than once have nearly caused
| riots. Potatoes bring two cents pound
| beets an East Side staple, have risen to
| seven cents pound. and cabbage is con-
! sdered cheap at five cents a head. Onions,
| which are used in immense quantities, COM
| mand five cents q pound. Cucumbers sell
| here for a cent, when five is demanded up
| town.
Their Pet Dishes.
All this the housewife has not discovered
! on a single trip. But at various times dur
ing the day she has sailed forth, basket on
| arm, to watch the rise fall of the mar
ket. Her luncheon has been a simple mat
! ter. For the man at work sandwich and
some cheese, for the children and herself
perhaps only bread and butter, with fruit
| if there were pennies for the little ones.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-28

per and Just enough vinegar to give flavor,
but not to make the mixture mushy.
The East Side Cook prepares fish after
fashions that other housewives have tried
In vain to copy. A recipe that sounds
simple enough and yst which battles the
uninitiated calls for Seven pounds of the
best white fish, guch as pike. This is
cleaned, rubbed well With salt and laid on
the ice to cool. The homes and heads are
used to form false bottom in the agate
pot used for. cooking. This prevents burn
ing The fish is then taken from the ice,
washed free of salt. cut into portions sufff-
cient for one person and laid in cold water
to the depth of two inches, to which has
been added sliced onions, pepper and salt.
1t Is permitted to- simmer quietly for at
least two and a half hours. Just before
serving a tablespoon of butter is added.
This is a popular dish for Friday night, be-
ing served cold for the Sabbath day lunch,
when it will be found that the broth in
which the fish was cooked has formed
round it like gelatine Another charac-
teristic East Side dish is made from fish
skinned and cut fine while and then
mixed with finely ground cracker crumbs,
minced onion, SALT pepper and one or two
raw eggs, the whole made into balls which
are stewed, not fried. These too, are eaten
cold for the Sabbath day lunch.
Her Busy Fridays.
Friday is the busiest day of the week for
the East Side housewife, for she cannot so
much as strike match in her house on the
next day. No matter what the weather on
Friday, the coal fire is started, great loaves
of bread, twist and coffee cake glistening
with a varnish of beaten egg, and made
dishes such as those described here are pre-
pared. When this supply of bread gives out
she buys at the Hester street market, pay
ing or cents loaf for white bread and
cents a pound three pounds for 8
cents for the black bread similar to that
used by the Russian peasants in their
native land.
The wife of the man who earns So day
and has family Of five calculates to spend
about 56 cents day on her table. The
rent will be $40 month and out of the re-
mander she will manage to save not only
the coveted deposit against slack season,
but sufficient to send her family decently
clothed to the synagogue. The children
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-28
Diet of Children.


From the Ledger Monthly.
When children get able to walk around
and play out of doors they are generally
allowed to eat pretty much anything they
like; and that means that they take what
the adult members of the family happeu
to have. Many strong and robust people
nave grown up in this way, but it is I'M
questlonably wrong. Too many mothers
especially young mothers-feed their chill
dren pretty much anything" that mamma
herself happens to be eating; and when re-
monstrance Is made by some older, more
experienced matron, the reply is something
like this: why, | always feed my children
what l eat myself; and it seems to agree
with them" Nevertheless there are GER
tain foods that may be eaten with impu-
nifty by adults, but which exact too much
OF the fraii stomachs of very young chill
dren; in other words, they make demands
upon space and digestive functions which
are not yet in condition to handle them.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-28

of the family musical training. paying
25 cents for piano lessons with the privi-
| lege of practicing certain time each day
at the teachers home.
The children disposed Of, the woman is
ready for her first shopping tour. 1t may
consist merely of a trip down the two,
three or four flights Of stairs for the daily
wrangle with the ice peddler, whose wares
she must herself carry the weary flights
back to her rooms. The; delivery system
on the East Side is in the embryonic stage
If she has refrigerator the disposition of
her purchase is simple. If she cannot boast
this much-desired possession. the ice Is
kept in the stationary wash tnb wrapped
in heavy paper or clothes. In either case
1t Is used principally to cool off the drinking
water and not as a means TO keep perish
able supplies. The latter she purchases
only as they can be used. She buys a few
ounces of butter at a time, which brings
Side sister vince This is one Of the con-
ditions that confront the East Slider. There
Is absolutely no provision in her tenement
FOR storing table supplies, and she spends
good portion of her time each day run
ming back and forth between her home and
the various shops.
A Law of No Credit.
Her children learn early to shop and that
thriftily. There is practically no credit on
the East Side and the tradesmen thrive
The Ghetto. housewife is clannish, seldom
roaming far from Hester street, with it's
array of push carts, for her trading which
may include anything from a bunch of
onions to a new dress. OF the great depart
ment stores beyond Broadway, she knows
nothing. Over the remnants displayed on
| the Hester street curb she haggles until
she wins her point The unyielding bargain
placards of the West Side shops would try
her thrifty soul.
She has solved the fuel question partially
by purchasing a portable, two-hoe gas
stove which she mounts on a table or
box. This costs her 81 so new or consid-
erably less if she finds a trustworthy second
hand dealer. She avoids the monthly visit
of the gas companys collector by using the
slot machine meter. The company places
in her house a slot machine into which
she drops a quarter and the gas is turned
on at the rate of s1.O5 for 1000 cubic feet.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-28

regarded by its mistress with proper appre-
citation akin to gratitude. A door and a
window cut through the partition afford
light and air. for the middle room where
the cooking is usually done. Beyond is a
stlll smaller room, so designated merely by
courtesy, and here there is neither ventila-
ton nor light-only Stygian darkness.
Stoves as Social Standards.
The average American housewife making
her first trip through the East Side is i'm
pressed by the almost entire absence of
carpets, the pretentiousness of whatever
pieces of furniture her East Side sister may
possess and the peculiar arrangement of
her china closets. The landlord or his rep
resentative looks at none of these. The all
important question with him is whether
the tenant keeps her stove and copper
utensils in good condition. If this be the
case, he feels assured that he has secured a
thrifty tenant who will meet her rent
promptly. Personal neatness apparently
counts for little with the real East Slider.
and judgment is never pronounced a
newcomer in the neighborhOod until the
janitors wife and perhaps the woman next
door have caught a glimpse of her stove
and reported its condition to the older resi-
dents.
The East Side matron regards the INSTALL
ment house as an institution of the evil
ones, and buys her furnishings only as she
has cash in hand and to spare. In this case
she is apt to plunge" a trifie, buying furni-
ture quite out of proportion to the size and
general appearance of her room. If there
is only one bed in the house. it will be of
white iron with much brass ornamental
ton as her purse will permit. At night this
IS occupied by the mother and father, and
during the day it is piled with the bedding
used in making ''shake-downs'' for the other
members of the family. This may reach to
a height almost on a level with the top RAJ
of the head piece, but once in place it is
carefully hidden from view by a lace bed
SIT, or a priceless old Counterpart brought
over by the family as euIigrants. A COM
bination sidebOard and refrigerator fills the
ambitions of the East Side housewife, also
a good portion Of the room: and a massive
Pier glass between the two front windows is
regarded essential. Lace curtains,
the more obvious pattern the better. she
does not regard Incompatible with a
sanded floor. Draperies of imitation ere
tonne in vivid colorings give life to the
dun-hued surroundings and are retained the
year round along with the lace curtains.
Bureaus and chiffOniers seem unpopular.
But however many or meager be such
furnishings, the china closet of the genuine
East Side woman is a thing of beauty and
a JOY forever. Each shelf is hung with a
pieated curtain of stiff1y starchTd linen,
trimmed with homemade lace and inser-
ton. Behind these, on the shallow shelves,
are ranged two distinct sets of dishes, ac-
cOrding to the Mosaic law, that the ami
mai products, such as meats, graVies,
soups made from meat. etc, shall not be
eaten from the same dishes as milk. cheese
and butter. Separate sets of knives. forks
and spoons also are provided and two dis
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-28

keep house in three rooms even in the
simplest fashion, for her family of six,
with perhaps a lodger or two. must either
pick up continually or take refuge on the
fire escape from sheer lack of foot room.
Hence she has little time for gossiping or
quarTeling. For the sake Of her children
she will herself go hungry if necessary,
and in the preparation of dishes peculiar TO
her race or nationality, she could WIN out,
hands down" against the average head of
an American cooking school. And her hus-
band far from considering her as an OBJ
stacle to his progress. regards her as a
beacon light. leading him ever onward to
a bank account and competency. She it is
who carries the family purse, purchases
every article in the family wardrobe and
deposits the family savings in a bank of
her own selection after giving the latter
deep and earnest consideration.
A Vacationless Life
Summer lays on her shoulders only fresh
burdens. In her vocabulary there is no
such word as vacation" The babble of
thousand voices rises. along with fetid
odors and heat glare. from the street below.
Even had she money to invest in luxuries
like screens and awnings, they would be
impossible because they would Obstruct the
entrance of what little air enters her apart
ments- The cooking of the meals, a COM
fOrting process in winter. now converts her
Hat into q furnace room. The gradual
shrinkase in the five cent chunk" of ice,
has long since converted the ice man into
deadly enemy. And through and over it
all. hangs the awful fear that her hus-
band may be overcome by the heat in the
great factory where he is pressing winter
suits and overcOats for twelve terrific,
prostrafing hours each day. Then he would
be taken to the hospital from which she
would be barred by the blue-coated guard
ians whose language she has not mastered.
Yet all this she faces with dim philoso-
ply that II is a mortal ill TO be borne. not
combatted. and that somehow she and her
offspring Will survive the torrid wave.
The East Side. II is popularity known,
covers a comparatively small area, some
what less than half a square mile, wherein
Ghetto. with population of 100000 souls
most exclusively Polish and Russian Jews
crowded into what might be described as
four good sized city blocks. That they live
and thrive and become decent citizens Is
the greatest proof Of the ability of the
East Side wife and mother.
Monetary conditions and a sordd landlord
set the limit of her apartment at three
rooms. In the modern tenement each of
these must have access to an open court or
air shaft, but there still stand hundreds OF
houses erected before the present tenement
laws went .nto effect. In these the best
room will overlook the street or court, ac-
cording as Il may be front or rear tene-
ment. There will be two windows. from one
of which runs the fire escape. a room ten
feet square Is considered spacious. and a
shallow clothespress in this apartment is
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-28

The one meal of the day is dinner, which
she prepares with infinite care and serves
at about 6:30. For this there will be soup,
meat potatoes, radishes or cucumbers, and
if times are good with the family there may
be a pie made of prunes or rhubarb. If
business at the shop is duh there will be
only one or two Dishes in which case extra
care must be taken to provide nourishing
qualities
A never-failing staple for the East Side
is herring, which can be purchased at the
rate of two for three cents. From these
she concocts a peculiarly satisfying salad
The fish is soaked, chopped and then mixed
with finely minced onions. boiled egg, pep
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-28

tinct sets of cooking utensils. In the hand
tOmOuth existence she leads. little does
the East Side housekeeper know of store
room, linen room or pantry. but her china
closet is a part of her religion and is
guarded with a jealous eye.
Lodgers in Corners.
The thrifty East Slider invariably has a
ledger or two, who pays 30 cents a week
for a "shake-down' on the floor and a
peg wherein to hang the suit he wears to
the synagogue. He may also arrange with
her for his morning coffee and roll at 2
cents or more. according to market prices.
Her day begins early, as the men must be
at their shops by six. For family of Six
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-28
Providential Differences.
From the Atlanta Constitution.

From the Atlanta CONSTITUTION.
''Dey tells me- said Br'er Williams, get
ting off the train after protracted alb
sence from home, dat de harrican come
long en- TUX Br,er Thomas house off de
face er de airth?"
Hit sho' did"'
"Well, I well knowed de Lawd would SEN
somepin' lax dat on i'm. Hits done fer a
wise purpose
"But-de harrican TUX yo' house, too,
Br'er Williams"
Then did Br'er Williams take off his
brass-rimmed spectacles, and mop his per-
spring brow as he groaned:
DE ways er Providence is past findin'
outr
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-28

where the daily income is 50, the break
fast will consist of coffee. bread and but
ter, with occasionally an egg. Directly
after the departure of the men the woman
begins tidyfng up. The ''shaka-Gowns' are
hung the fire escape to cir If the
weather permits. If not, they are piled one
on the other on the bed, if there is one, or
in corner of the room. The children are
prepared for school with watchful care.
The Jew regards the education of his chill
dren as profitable investment. and sends
them to both, the public summer schools in
the morning and the Hebrew schools in the
afternoon. Moreover. the mother will stint
herself to provide for at least one member