The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-07-23

: What is it to be a good neighbor? A
st. Paul woman talking on this sub
ject the other day said: ITO be good
neighbor means, with some women, to
borrow everything and be equally ready
ito lend. The outrages that are con-
stantly committed in the borrowing line
i'm this, and probably every other city
i'm the country, are almost incredible.
There is but one thing to do, put your
foot down firmly and say, 1 neither
borrow nor lend A borrowing house
Keeper makes a borrowing servant,
and the habit grows so perceptibly that
finally it is almost impossible to keep
fany record, and debts are never paid
II have had much experience in this
way, and now one of the strictest rules
of my kitchen is never, under any cir
cumstances, to borrow or lend. 1t takes
courage to say no, particularly if your
neighbor be a friend, but your only
safety lies in firnness.
my first and bitterest experience
came when l was young married
lwoman here in st. Paul and lived in
bhalf of a double house into which an
other bride and groom had moved.
They were charming people. but the
rWife had had no experience, but was
ranxious to keep open. house and do
much entertaining. She was also easy
fgoing, Keeping but small account OF
her kitchen department, and borrow
ing became a regular thing with her
household. Not only did she borrow
Everything I had, but was equally
ready to lend to me, and was fast
failing into the habit myself, when l
saw how bad the thing was and called
q halt When she would have unex-
lpected company come in for dinner, she
A1yould send in and borrow my salad
course and once or twice she took near
lily all my dinner. 1 had heard of Dor
rowing eggs and butter. or other
things, but never of taking the dinner
off the table. One night, [ will never
forget her establishment when [ told
Eher l could not let her have my salad
because my husband was going to
gbring a friend home to dinner with
him; she looked panied and wondered
what she would do. 1 suggested going
out and buying something to make
salad, and it seemed like a new idea!
hAfter that things were not as bad, but
4 assure you that when it came to
idishes and kitchen utensils [ almost
had to borrow my own things from her
when I had any cooking done.
"That is one of the evils of borrow
Ing; it grows imperceptibly and before
you know it you get to depend upon
your neighbors. My husband at last
put his foot down and one day, when
the cork screw and wine glasses were
missing, declared that it must stop,
and / had to tell her. She was very
,nuch offended; in fact, we have never
been good friends since, but L learned
an excellent lesson and L made the
strict rule that no borrowing or lending
should take place in my kitchen.
know however, that there are families
that literally live on their neighbors,
and many a woman has no idea what is
tgoing on in her own kitchen. To be
lgood neighbor means about the same
thing as being a good friend, and in
case of sickness or emergency to place
your house and it's contents at the dis
posaI of your neighbor; but that has
nothing to do with ordinary borrowing.
The woman of sense and tact can man
age these things and can be an excel
lent neighbor without encroaching upon
the rights of others, or allowing them
to take advantage of her"
Constant candy eating has been pro-
nounced against lately by physician
who says that it is the cause of more
stomach troubles and more bad teeth
than any one dreams of. To one who
does not care much for candy and who
has few friends who do, this may seem
an exaggeration. But to any one who
knows what the candy habit is when
L 1t is extreme, it is not surprising. There
are few men who have the candy hab
1t, but there is one now and then, who
cannot pass candy store or one Of
the little street corner men without
purchasing a bag of candy. But the
women who have the candy habit, and
are really victims to it, are never with
out box of it on their work tables,
.porches or wherever they may happen
to be. There are several of these
candy fiends in st. Paul, and they do
a great deal toward keeping up the few
really nice confectionery shops that we
have. Usually the woman who is de-
voted to candy has fads; for a time
she will eat only chocolates, then she
will tire of them and take to palmer
kinds. But her order is left standing at
her favorite shop and so much is sent
to her once a week or once in two as
the case may be. But there is always