The Washington herald., 1911-12-26
Can Your Daughters Keep House?
Story in Real Life Which Should Interest All Moth
erS in Washington
By JULIA CHANDLER MANI.

Amid all the excitement of Christmas
Day, did you take time yesterday to read
Dorothy Dix's article on the Woman
Page in The Washington Herald on how
young women should be trained to be
helpful wives?
1t was an interesting article. especially
its reference to the law in Norway which
compels young women to become prof.
cient in sewing. cooking, &c After the
children had their presents on Christmas
morning 1 read the article again, and l
wondered how many mothers of grown
ups teach them to care for housekeeping.
I take it for granted you are all sensi-
BILE enough to wish that your girls should
become practical hOusekeepeTs. If they
are going to college and to adopt profess
sions I hope you give them some instruC-
lions in their half-holidays and vacations
which may make life easier for them
when they have homes OF their own.
Even in this advanced day OF self-sup-
porting women there are many who fol-
low the good old plan of coming home
after the school days are over. who cher
ish no thought of college or missions. but
are content TO live the life of the home
daughter until they marry and enter
homes of their own. How do YOU help
them to live that home life and how do
you At them for that future establish
ment?
Here is the story of how one mother
filled her duty in this respect. Perhaps
her experience may be Of service to some
of the rest of you.
The daughter was a nice girl. a fairly
good student at school. but with no espe-
Cial bent for any line of work or study.
Neither did she display any fondneSs for
housekeeping.
From her childhood she had been
taught such details as caring for her own
room, busting and brushing up a little.
helping with the dishes when she had
time. but the strenuous demands of her
work at school had interfered with her
doing anything more than this. and dur
ing the last weeks OF high school every
thing but the insistCnCe Of study and con-
Guiding exercises was put 10 one side
After the final commencement per-
formanCes and the breaking up there
was the usual slump, The girl was tired
and the reaction mad come which gen
orally follows strain and stress. For the
first fortnight she seemed TO have en-
ergy for nothing but to sleep late. lie
about with a book. and 'laze."
The mother do not interfere. but when
she felt time had been allowed for recu-
peration she began to institute change.
! it Sllltl lldl al tdlN ulSpldN GU
some signs Of discomfort
She had told OF the girls among her
sChOOlmatcs who were going to travel
or to visit, and had wished that the only
outing ahead Of her had not been plan
ned for the early fall-had said she
hoped something interesting would hap
pen to break VI the long, dull summer
when nearly every one was away.
Here was the mothers chance. and she
seized it. One day she invited the daugh-
ter into the kitchen and showed her a
shining clean corner in which had been
placed a small assortment of new uten-
sis. There were not many of them-an
egg beater. a couple of long handled
spoons, measuring cup. two or three
mixing bowls Of different sizes. a small
vegetable knife. a cake turner, and one
or two other articles.
These are foI YOU. my dear she said.
brightly. and it is here that some Of the
interesting things you long for are likely
10 happen"
Have | got to learn to cook" ex-
claimed the girl. rs that the way l am
TO spend my VaCatiOn?"
When will you learn if you don't learn
now?' said the mother. DO YOU mean
TO wait until fall. when all your friends
will be at home and there will be social
things on hand? You surely don't mean
to be one of the little simpletons who
waits until she has married before she
knows how to bake a pan of biscuit or
broil a steak"
But I may never get marritd. and
then all this will have been wasted" OBJ
jeCted the daughter
Don't you believe it," said the moth
or. You're pretty sure to have a home
of your own some day. married or sin
gle, and then you will want to learn
how to run 1t. You needn't think any
one can keep house or cook just by
studying about ii in a book"
The girl had not owned it. but she
had the idea that she could cook If she
tried. without any dif1culty. so long as
she had a cook book. and she also cher
ished the notion that II was rather alb
surd to expect any one who had held
a high place in her classes at school to
have to study housekeeping and cook
cry as though they were sciences or
languages.
So II was with little suppressed
sulkiness and with some condescen-
sion that she fell into her mothers
plans. Having been well trained in
obedience, she did not quite dare to OPP