The Washington times., 1911-05-19
CHAPTER XIV (continued).


Wv anything but old rags, and
even then Ruth used them
about her housework. I inquired roughly
that Ruth kept US well dressed on about
half what it cost most of our neighoors
and yet we appeared TO be twice as well
dressed as any of them. ,,
OF course we had good many tnlngs
to start with when we came down heIS,
but our clothing bill din't go up much
even during the last year when our Or
iginal stock was nearly exhausted;
She accomplished this result ABOUT
one-half by long buying and one,
half bv her carefulness and her skill
To 20 back to the matter of food, I'll
copy off a weeks bill of rare ,ourlng
this month. Ruth has written II out for
me- You'll notice that t-doesnt vary
Very much from the earlier ones.
Sunday.
Breakfsst-fried hasty pudding, with
molasses; doughnuts, cocoa MADE from
cocoa shells.
Dinner-Lamb stew with dumplIns,
boiled potatoes, boiled onions, corn
starch pudding.
Breakfast-Oatmeal, baked potatoes,
creamed Goldfish. biscuits.
Lunchecn-For Billy-Brown bread
sandwiches, cold beans, doughnuts'
milk. For Dick and me-Boiled rice,
cold BiseuSs baked sRgleS mb milk stew
baked apples. cocoa, cold biscuits.
Tuesday
Breakfast-Oatmeal,m milk toast, cocoa.
Luncheon-For Billy-Cold biscuits
hard boiled eggs, doughnuts For Dick
and me-warmed over beans. biscuits.
Dinner-Hamburg steak, baked pota-
toes, graham mullins, apple sauce, milk.
Wednesday.
Breakfast-Oatmeal, griddle cakes
with molasses. cocoa shells.
Luncheon-For Billy-Sandwiche
made of biscuits and left over steak,
doughnuts. For Dick and me-Crackers
and milk, hot gingerbread.
Dinner-Vegetable hash, hot biscuits
gingerbread, apple sauce, milk.
Thursday.
Breakfast-Oatmeal, fried hasty pud-
ding, doughnuts, cocoa shells.
Luncheon-For Billy-Hard boiled
eggs. cold biscuits, gingerbread, baked
apple. For Dick and me-Baked pota-
toes, apple sauce, cold biscuits, milk.
Dinner-Lyonnaise potatoes, hot corn
bread, poor mans pudding, milk.
Friday.
Breakfast-Smoked herring, baked po-
tatoes, oatmeal, graham muffins.
1uncheon-For Billy-Herring, cold
muffins, doughnuts. For Dick and me
German toast, apple sauce.
Dinner-Fish hash, biscuits, Indian
pudding, milk.
Breakfast-Oatmeal, German toast,
cocoa shells.
Luncheon-For Billy-Cold biscuits,
hard boiled eggs, bowl Of rice For Dick
and me-Rice and milk, doughnuts, ap-
pie sauce
Dinner-Baked beans, new raised
bread.
To a man accustomed to a beefsteak
breakfast, fried hasty pudding may
seem a poor substitute and griddle
cakes may seem well enough to taper
off with, but scarcely stuff for full
meal
All I say is, have those things we'll
made, have enough of them. and then
try it. If a man has a sound digestion
and a good body I'll guarantee that
such food will not only satisfy him but
furnish him fuel for the hardest kind
Of physical exercise.
though to some my lunches may sound
slight, they averaged more in substance
and variety than the lunches of my
foreign fellow-workmen.
was often all they brought with them.
Dick thrived on it. too The elimina-
ton of pastry from his simple luncheons
brought back the color to his cheeks
and left him hard as nails.
I've read since then many articles
en- domestic economy and how on a
few dollars a week man can make
many fancy dishes which will fool him
into the belief that he is getting the
same things which before cost him
great many more dollars.
Their object appears to be to give
such a variety that the man will not
me all wrong. What's the use of cling
ing to the notion that man lives to
eat? why not get down to bed rock
at once and face the fact that man
doesn't need the bill OF fare are OF modern
A few simple foods and plenty of
them is enough. When man begins
to crave variety he hasn't placed
his emphasis right. He hasn't worked
up to the right kind Of hunger. Com
pare the old-time country grocery store
with modern provision house, and 1t
may help you to understand why our
lean, sinewy forefathers have given
place to the sallow, fat parodies Of
A comparison might also help to ex-
plain something OF the high cost of
iiving. My grandfather kept such a
store and I've seen some of his old
account books.
About all he had to sell in the way
of food was -four, rice. potatoes, sugar
and molasses, butter, cheese, and eggs.
These articles weren't put up in pack
ages, and they wern't advertised. They
were sold in bulk and all you paid for
was the raw material.
The catalogue of a modern provision
house makes a book. The whole
to me is to fill the demand for variety.
You have to pay for that.
But when you trim your ship to run
before a gale you must throw over
board Just such freight. Once you do.
you'll find 1t will have to blow harder
than it does even today to sink you.
am constantly surprised at how few
Of the things we think we need we ac-
tually do need.
The pioneer of today doesn't need any
more than the pioneer of a hundred
years ago. To me this talk that re-
turn to the customs of our ancestors
involves a lowering of the standard of
living is all nonsense: 1t means nothirg
but a simplifying of the standard OF
living.
II that's a return to barbarism then
I'm glad to he barbarian and I'll say
there never were three happier bar
bariaas than Ruth. the boy and myself.
CHAPTER XIV.
The Gang.
IF I'd been making IS day at this
he