The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-10
MODERN HOUSEKEEPING
BY MRS. J. B. REID.

Much interest is manifested in all that pertains to modern household equipment Any mention that simplfies labor and reduces expense appeals to tothinking peo- pie, yet the movement to apply these l methods must become "a fad to be sat isfactorly introduced into general use. Each demonstration of modern art af- lords great interest to observers, one sees and tastes the examples and fore l tells future utility, yet time is required 1 for these introductions to bring forth prac- l tieal results.
 | Today the hour of incompetent domestic | help devolves upon the home maker many | irksome duties when the hired help call at the door and ask Does you want
 to hire lady?' and if her services are
 engaged the chances are she has no special talent nor energy to pursue the direc- l tions given. Hence every housekeeper should be on the alert to grasp modern | machinery for dispatching the work of l the home. Competent help is almost a | thing of the past The cook who can l prepare temptingly an ordinary meal IS | nearly extinct, and In her stead we have l the modern maid, who has her clubs and societies and makes her domestic train- ] ing mere 'makeshift''-drawing the l weekly salary, caring little if she fails, and feeling assured if she loses this posi- l ton another is in waiting, probably next | door. In other cities training schools for domestics have been tried with unsatfs- | factory results. The individual who has l theory without practice is still untrained. l The mind and hand must cooperate, for success in any undertaking. The hand busy without purpose, intelligent method, l had best be idle. Material will be saved. l Domestic duties can be so systematically ] smplifed that where moderate means must be expended both time and mate rial can be economically dispersed, and much comfort derived The simple life | dictates those pursuits and indulgences l as appeal to natural everyday living, not an exorbitant catering to desires, whether l in food or apparel, in pleasure and [ recreation.
 Duty is a wonderful force which compels
 action, and thus in fulfilling ones obliga- | ton we are but serving ourselves; when l serving others helping by creating action | in them, training them to help themselves. | When science has placed It's inventions and products in reach of all, then we can see the dawn of household independence. We read the market quotations, compare l those of .our sister cities. This does not serve to solve the problem of reducing the | expenses of living The cost of articles l varies little in the southern states. The | problem comforting the American people,
 especially in the south, is the waste. ex- travagance from lack of knowing how to | do ourselves. It Is often remarked, and | frequently justly so that an average fam \ fly can be comfortably sustained In the wasted material from the ordinary kitch- en. Buying and knowing how to buy is | a very important item in practical train ing, a knowledge of the cost and class of material and the quanties to be used for | a fixed number of individuals. Then to utilize particles remaining in the prepara-
 ton of dishes for following menus
 | Again our markets are supplied by dis
 tant energies, our "smokehouses' are in
 the west, our poultry yards in other states
 and a small part of our fruits and vege-
 tables. to say nothing of our dairy prod
 ucts, are home grown. We have become
 dependent upon foreign industries, and have added to the cost of material the freight charges for many miles The ad- vance and progress of the south in min ; eral wealth has given independence to personal efforts in domestic industries. The old homesteads of anti-bellum days
 were truly supplied by the sweat of the brow and the cultivation of the soil pro-