El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-08-05
Dorothy Dir s >, s @:. vi. :s'.. s''''

ness knows what would become OF you
If you hadn't.
Mrs. Perkins (sighing) we wives
who do the real finaneiering, and if we
had our rights a married woman would
be the secretary of the treasury.
Mrs. Brown (assenting right.
Many's the time [ have gone to at least
40 different shops, just simply tramped
the town until l was footsore and weary,
and had a terrific headache, just to save
five cents yard on three yards of lace.
You would never catch man practicing
economy like that.
Mrs. Perkins scornfully)-I should say
mott He'd go into shop and slap down
his sample and never even ask the price,
and then go about his business.
Mrs. Brown (weaHyl-Yes, indeed,
men are SO extravagant. It's just ap-
palhng. Look at the way they eat. Why.
my dear, l shouldn't dream of doing as
Tom does, ordering regular hot meal,
soup and steak, and so on, for luncheon.
I'm just as tired as he is and as hungry,
of ice cream soda and a sweet cracker,
or else | go UP into the grocery counter
at the department stores where they are
giving demonstrations of things, and eat
a little dab of jelly, and pickle, and pre-
serves, and cocoa, and seif-rising pan
cakes, though it always upsets my
stomach for a week and makes me sick.
Mrs. Perkins-So do |, though I loathe
those messes, but we women are martyrs
to our thrift.
Mrs. Brown (virtuously)-I don't wish
to unduly praise myself. | may have
my faults. Possibly | have got faults,
not large ones, of course, but still faults.
But | will say this for myself, that | am
just born manager, and | tell Tom
Graham every day of his life that he
ought to be down on his knees thanking
providence for having given him wife
that knew how to take care of what he
makes, instead of trifling, slack wo-
man that would waste and let servants
steal from her, and bringing him down
to ruin.
Mrs. Perkins-How true, A woman
can throw more out of the kitchen door
with a teaspoon than man can throw
in at the front door with scoop.
Mrs. Brown (beaming with self-satis-
factien) There's nothing wasted in my
house, not even the bites of cold meat
and vegetables. My dear, | keep a
STOCK POT, and to see that the right
things go into that, and the wrong things
are kept out, simply TIES one in the
kitchen. One of the reasons that / can
never keep a servant is because cso1s
will not bother with stock pot, but l
am firm on the subject. | will not have
those cold scraps thrown away, even if
we are always in turmoil over changing
maids.
Mrs. Perkins tagreeing)-Why, I sup
pose one saves at least 80 or 40 cents
a week that wayi
Mrs. Brown (selfzrighteouslyl- And
always have my dresses made over. OF
course, you always hate a made-over
dress, and it never looks like anything
but rag bag, and it generally costs
more than new one would, but it's a
matter of principle with me never to
waste a perfectly good garment just be-
cause it's gone out of style.
Mrs. Perkins (enviously)-Oh, you're
rich. You can afford to have your
clothes made over. It's luxury I can't
afford.
Mrs Brown (triumphantly)-Oh, I'm the
greatest manager. Let me tell you what
/ did just before | aSt sick. i painted
asked me $3.50 to do the job, and so
decided that | would just do it myself
and save that.
I never put in two such weeks of hard
work as / did scraping it, and / ssprained
my back in lifting the bureau, and the
very night that / got through | was
taken with this terrible illness, but |
saved the $3.50, which Just seemed Provi-
Dental, as this spell has been so fright
fully expensive.
Mrs. Perkins-It certainly was, but
Heaven only knows what would become
of our husbands if they didn't have us
to economic for them.