The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-10-27
BETTER FLATS, WORSE WIVES
THE GtS RANGE IS 4 roe 40
GO0D nor SEKEEPTNG.
VARIED Women In New NOrN Alleged 60
TIE pctcrioratiDs Because They Have
Foo Murh Leisure 4 OntrsN I'm tho
Hay az the Goal Sto,C-Thc Children.

Bc DctcrlOratipg Because They Have
Foo Murh lcisurc--t ontra, I'm the
Hay or the Goal StONC-rhc Children.
Does the New York wife have too much
ieisure' That she does il the opinion Of
an american woman who devotes herself
to the study Of social conditions.
She refers especially TO the woman whose
husband has S'rail means AMI who keeps
house. The ifc of such y woman. she
thinks, ia not nearly strenuous enough. and
IN consequence of much a!inless idlng
women Of this tyre are degeneraiing. The
very POOR aud tho wealthy housekecper
are not included in hor
She has found the housekeepcrs Of small
means in other cities superior 10 the New
f~orltcrs. The former, she saws, have
better furnished minds. They are better
neigh6ors. they bring up their children
better. They arc not better luuhiug-this
she comedies; they are apt to grow old
sooner than the New Yorker. but of course
such things are u%ni'npcriaut 90 her.
According 10 this woman's theory New
York housekeepcrs OF the class described
began 10 deterioraic when fats began tn
improve. Before the advent of the modern
fiat the daily routine OF a housckccper OF
this class was something like this
In order 20 AVE breakfast on time sha
got up nearly an hour beforehand to start
a fire in the coal stove. Hor cooking iu-
cluded beating up batter cakes or biscuits,
r%nincing meal slicing poiotoes. Sc, for the
hearty breakfast Was then IN stvl". This
breakfast hal Ia Ice ready from halr an hour
TO AN hour earlier Than tho NOR" modern
breakfast, for the reason that stores and
other b'isincss concerns opCnct Their doors
earlier then than now.
After breakfast, If ihc family included
children Of school age. they we're sent of
with we'll filed lunch boxes ir ~" school
was at a distance: If near the children came
home for - no, luncheon. The mornings
work included such details ~ looking after
ashes and garbage, putting the rooms
in order. gong to market, getting
luncheon ready, baking bread ur pies or
cake. \ quarter al "a century 4 Ia
housekeeIcr of small means did most Of
her own baking. anu she put up preserves
and made pickles and canned vegetables.
SOM days sh" washed and iruned. Al
ways there was n plle of sewing 10 tackle
IN the afternoon She made usually her
own every day Wrappers and drCsSns and
trimmed her own hats and scwcd On her
husbands buttons.
Then there was the dinner Ia get. y sub
stHuiial dinner, which took time io prepare
aud TO cook, and after the last dish and pot
and pan was washed and put away what
time remained before bedtime was spent
more often than nn' ~ helping ihr chill
drrn get their lessou, and ~ tackling once
more the mendnS basket. That basket
was always full.
With all this the housnkaopor Of those
davs found time 10 help sick neigh'oors
and exchange social Courtesie- with resi-
dents in her block, She was ~ short an
extremely useful and kindly as wcll az an
Intensely busy memlPr of the community.
One of the clmrgts against tho modern
housekeeper of small means ~ that she does
not sat up "A intending basket.
Go where YOU will IN New Work. said
the strdent Of social conditions quoted.
zone never encounters n mendirg haskell
any more in thc circles ~ which | am
speaking, mean. An acGualntancc told
me II didn't pay tn darn stockings when
they could bc bought for so little. and
darned stockings hurt tn" feet
This is about the way shr spends
her days: She lives IN i modern fiat.
About ten minutes before IA" breakfast
hour she lights the gar range. boils tho
kettle, makes coffee and boils or fries
eggs.
Fresh bread IL delivered by the baker
and she has IA cereal which does not require
cooking. Her husband does not have to
gel to he store III which he works Till half
past =. therefore early rising on her
part is not required.
she has two children who go 10 school
and thes' she dispatches 10 school with
-une bread aud butter and bakers cake
and live cents each To buy some other sweet
or fruit with AZ the noon hour.
Their are no ashes 10 bother her and
the janitor does not require The garbage
can until evening. therefore after putting
away the breakfast dishes she proceeds
10 dress herself and get OFF 10 the shops.
Unless the weather il stormy II IL not often
that she does not pass the greater part OF
the day downtown.
Sometimes she gets home rs soon as the
children do, but oftener she does not. SHE
listens 10 free concerts in tho stores, looks
at the fashions. drops in az the fine hotels
to see the smart women who pass in and
out. gets "A bite Of luncheon in a restaurant
where there is plenty to see. III short anuses
herself for perhaps five or six hours without
thought of home.
"On these tours she buys from time tn
time everything the family wears. ! have
never known her 10 make a garment Of any
sort for her children or for herself to wear
she SAYS that they can be bought for as littlr
az they would cost made az home, and
perhaps they can,
That is not my point. What 7 deplore
is the demoralizing habit Of wasting tins
aimlPssly.
ION her way home this woman stops and
buys something for dinner, something easy
to cook. She boosted once that H. took her
just twenty minutes 10 prepare "A very good
family dinner.
What did you havo?' ! asked.
-She told me. Like most of these idlere
she depended | found. on canned things and
bakers' desserts. The dinner referred To
consisted of aimed soup, boiled potatoes,
stewed canned tomatoes. fried heefsteak,
and for dessert n bakers pie
She has trained her husband. a most
indulgent man, 10 wash the dinner dishes
and cooking utensils. She dries them and
puts them away. None of her evenings.
let me say. is given To mending. l never
heard of her studying anything.
"A woman comes in TO wash and iron
oncea week. An old fashioned housekeeper
would call her fiat far from clean. although
she contrives to give "a surface appearances
OF neatness to things. and her parlor in
usually. presentahle because il contains
some mic bits of furniture and is not used
commonly.
In common with most fiat dweliers she
makes no overtures To next door neighborp.
and u Is furthest from her deaircs 10 be zillcd