The San Francisco call., 1907-02-10

toned tubs-and then some one would
play the guitar or the accordion. ana
II was all 50 good. And the clothes on
the line how gay, how pretty they
looked. We had dresses OF purple. with
big flowers OF black and white and red,
with rings of white and black And
the lines were Just like big gardens
swinging in the cir: the wash Is so ugly
now. so uglyr We both sighed Tns
Mexican and Indian women did the
washing for the padres in the missions,
and the former yet do the most beau
tiful work by the ancient method OF
standing kneedeep in water as they
work. For colored garments Spanish
soap bark IS used
The writer vividly recalls her child
hood days when the squaw came TO
do the clothes in her mountain hons-
How trying il was to break I'm" new
squaw who rarely came without her
buck How the soap had TO be hidden
because it might disappear to reappear
as high gloss on sJimmies face and
arms or as dull finish on her stringy
hair: how the lazy buck would lie nat
on his back in the sun. smeartng him
self with soap, painting htnself
with red and yellow ocher by the ala
OF a bit of looking glass: or perhaps
he and his buck friends played poker
for the money Jimmie" was earning
at the tub. All this was part Of -
days wash.
1t is surprising to learn how slow
England and continental Europe have
been L. applying even the simplest OF
1abor-ssviDg devices to this domestic
industry. Most OF the washing Is done
outdoors with such aids as soap, lys.
sticks for beating. brushes for scrub
birg and hands for rubbing.
In Paris the small blanchisserfes
number thousands The wash Is called
for and returned in baskets carried
= 81
rough hands speak eloquently Of the
absence OF the American washboard-
1t was left for the first French entire
preneur in 1889 to do something to-
ward centralizing the Industry. He
undertook to do all the washing for
the Due de Nemours for 135 livres per
month This meant that he had TO
wash nine tablecfoths and forty-ivs
napkins day. well all the per-
sonal linen OF a household OF nfty-
four souls 1T was the same captain
OF industry who invented the hollow
iron now used in this country mainly
by the Chinese. If the French made
the pioneer efforts In the direction OF
Improvement. it remained for the Unit
ed States to completely revolutionize
the methods OF laundry work This
land might aptly be termed the clean
shirt country, for In no other part OF
the world does the average man have
such frequent changes of shirts and
undergarments. The taking OF the
washing from the home to the com
mercial laundry gave the first impetus
20 the invention and construction OF
laundry machinery. Very little pub
iished data can be found relativs 20
such appliances. for IL Is only receHs8
that engineers deemed the matter
worth their while. But now there II
q growing number Of trained mechan-
1cs who give the subject their entire
attention, with the result that the
modern commercial laundry must be
ranked among our most important
service industries. Any one who has
visited large steam laundry will be
struck by the exceeding simplicity In
the construction of the frequently pom
derous and costly machinery. 1t 10 so
simple that an inexperienced woman
or child can readily manage Il.
The Objurgated Steam Laundry
Immense mangles ironing forty-dvs
feet Of sheeting per minute cperate with
such apparent ease that the uniniti-
ated stand fascinated by their quist be-
havior There are automatic collar ana
Gun dryers that unaidsd get things ready
for the finishers, and all sorts Of In
senious devices for saving and speeding
labor. A shirt has about twelve opsr-
atfves at work upon 10 before IL IL
finished, as all work 10 piecework-
T0ar 3.
other starches them. etc. In wonen's
garments all the work is hand work, as
no machine could possibly be invented
:. which would meet the complex con-
struction of any two women's gar
ments. This is a great economic waste.
An up-to-date laundry 10 clean, hgnr
and remarkably sanitary in Its arrange
ments Statistics prove that diseases
are rarely II ever spread By the com
mercial laundry. Steam Is great
sterilizer, and when disinfectants are
added In the boiling process there ~
little danger OF contagfon. The tnou-
sands Of gallons OF hot suds water sent
through the sewers in the region OF
large steam laundrfes act as powerful
sanitary agents. preserving the cftys
health. Though In mechanical equip
ment commercial laundries look more
or less alike. there are certain charac-
teristics which betray the traditional
habit and natural conditions surround
ing them and their patrons These
differences in finished laundry work are
so marked to make II possible for
the globe trotter to say with certainty.
Show me your linen and I will
tell you the country you have
) sojourned In. or at least halted
in long enough to try to get
clean, for the reality frequently falls
short of anticipation" In New York
your wash takes on an ashy hues in
LONDON IL dpprO2cle5 ledQ ColOFs II
Paris IT Is pale yellow In Rome II 10
brown in Berlin IL approaches white.
while in Zurich II IL white. Thera
could scarcely be = greater contrast
than that between the modern laundry.
whether commercial or private, and
the almost obsoIete back kitchen. with
its wooden tubs. heavy or water soaked
all the frantic family helping to tide
over the Draconian laws OF the inevf-
table Monday. The domestic barom-
eter on that morning. no matter what
the skies. always meant unsettled
weather" squalls. and to the head OF
the family thunder and lightning.
Now we have our trained professioB BaI
iaundresses. graduates of Tuskegee1 -
OF St. Paurs In Lawrence. where wash
ing is taught not only az necessary
art. but as fine one II as vet thera
is not enough OF these domestic treas
ures to go around we must look at
the rain clouds and sing as we ara
when we were children;
Rain, rain 60 away,
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