The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-18
BY MARoAREr D. sANGsTER.

PI MAhA5AhEI E.5 SANt5SI EH
 Copyright, 1906. by Joseph B. Bowlesl.
 l was sitting one day In ferry boat. and I could not avoid hearing the con versation of the women who were my fellow passengers. One of them was very beautifully dressed. and her frierd seemed impressed with the elegance of her costume on which she made .ad- ;liring comments, particularly prais- ing the richness of the material and the exelusiveness of the style.
 You don't get style like this" said the first, unless you pay for it. I went to Mime x, and her prices are frightfully high, but l was willing % meet them. for I had made the subject of dress a study, and was deter1,inch to look as we'll as any one in the town. l sec by your expression that you are wondering how I managed 1t on Ed wards salary. did If by economy. I never go beyond my means. I make 1t a rule to save on my table. Edward and the children get along quite well on cheap cuts of meat and on codfish and potatoes. as they would on beef steak and chops such as you have on your table all the while"
 The other woman shook her head. John would never allow saving o1 the table. He insists that the children must be nourished with the best food,
 
 butcher than the doctor
 The boat bumped against the dock and as our custom is in this hurrying country. we all rushed together to make the landing with what speed we might, and to start on our several ways. Of my neighbors in the cabin saw no more, but l had my private conclusions about wife and mother whose vanity was so pronounced that Co nf rich garments. and costly finery, she deliberately abridged the supplies If her table. I had a vision of her huS- band somewhat scantiiy fed and of her children aenemic and paIlid, in orr der that she might hold her own with the wives of wealthier men than Ed ward. I had great respect for John of the sturdier fiber, and for his sensi- ble wife. It Is misnamed economy that puts the emphasis of living on dress and spends so much for clothing their neither body nor brain can oe furnished with diet that makes good red blood, and maintains physical strength at the highest point of excel lence.
 do not think that many American women make this egregious blunder. The alphabet of frugality is so little understood by most of LIS that we ex- pend far more than we need on the table, the same rate of lavishness run ming straight through all our daily conduct and through the ordering of our homes. Everyone has heard the oft-repeated observation that a fam fly in France can live comfortably on what in an American kitchen is habit ually thrown away. Undoubtedly there is some truth in this; many wo- men having had no preliminary train- ing in taking care of left-overs and of odds and ends, and others having not the faintest idea of what and how to buy. A course in marketing should be a part of every young woman's educa- tion and course in catering would do few girls any harm.
 The ordinary cook and housemaid survey with scorn the mistress who keeps tally of the sugar, butter and eggs that are used in the kitchen. and regards with disfavor the thrifty habit of keeping on the back of the range that pot-au-feu. into which every housekeeper in France puts the scraps and bits that combine to make a savory soup.
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