Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1903-02-02

keep clean" We may cut down ex-
penses in every way but this one. 1t
never occurs to the gentlewoman or
gentleman, however, to consider the
possibility of curtailing the expense
of keeping clean"
AS a nation we are the cleanest.
Foreigners are inclined to think we
are extremists in this particular The
English consider the borning bath
part of the daily routine, but the ne
cessity for frequent changes of under
wear is not so apparent to them as q
nation as to us.
The French are extravagant in the
matter of clean and beautifully laun-
dered underclothes, but they draw the
line, as rule, at the daily bath.
With each year we as a people are
giving more attention to the details
of keeping ourselves spotless. At the
same time woman is wearing more
lace-trimmed lingerie, fancy shirt
waists and gowns, to say nothing of
stocks and ties, than ever before.
Thus her laundry bills are steadily in
creasing, since bedraggled petticoats,
rumpled stocks and shirt waists are
not to be tolerated.
The man who views woman in her
airy summer costumes and reflects
on how little a year it requires to
keep such dainty, simply-gowned
goddess, will find how mistaken his
ideas are on the subject of her econo-
mics if he undertakes the life task of
paying her laundry bills and provid-
ing the perishable, flimy garments
she wears.
Her shirt waist, for instance, once
so simple in construction, has devel-
oped into one of the most expensive
articles in woman's wardrobe. ORR
ginally it could be laundered for 10
cents. Gradually it became more com-
plicated, until this season the lace and
embroidered affairs make not only d
large hole in woman's pocketbook
as an initial outlay, but constitute a
weekly expense of no inconsiderable
amount.
An embroidered linen waist, per-
fectly plain in cut, might cost $50. Ad-
ditional frills are still more expensive.
From SO cents to 81 will be required
to cover the laundry bill for one of
those fancy waists. The smart woman
who prides herself upon her immac-
ulate appearance will pay from two
to three dollars each week to the
laundry for her shirt waists alone.
Instead of ruffies and tuckings and
hand embroidery, women to-day are
wearing lace-trimmed underwear. In
proportion to the fineness of the mus
lin and lace the price for laundering
went up. But that fact does not lead
to economy in the matter of fancy
lingerie. This seasons fad of tub
gowns" has been a bonanza for the
steam and hand laundries. For the
American girl must be spotless, re-
gardless of expense.
No greater proof of the growing
cost of keeping clean can be given
than in the success of the steam laun-
dries to be found in every town in the
United States. They have increased in
numbers in the ratio of 10 to one. The
prices charged by them soon doubles
the original cost of the garment, and
the treatment it receives at the hands
of inexperienced workers rapidly re-
duces it to an unwearable condition.
Yet the American woman goes serene
ly on her way, buying new gowns, pay
ing big laundry bills, devoting hours
to the bath, economizing, if need be,
in every way except on the one item
the expense of keeping clean. Chi
cago Record Herald