Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-03-20

1t was fitted up as a cooperative
kitchen and dining emporium. Several
chambers were turned into dining
rooms. so hat each family might eat
in private IL the members desired.
Then there was a larger dining room,
in-whieh several families chose to eat,
having jolly good social times together
at meals.
Each family Shared in the expenses
of food. help~and the general upkeep
of the premises, according to the num-
Der Of persons in the family, a compe-
tent housekeeper being put in charge
of the whole arrangement. 1t was
predicted that the experiment would
fail, but 1t proved te be a success.
The cooperative dining home has be-
come in effect a social club as well,
games are enjoyed by the members.
The help appear to like their work
much better than the average cook or
maid In a private house. Under the
housekeeper they have more liberty
and independence than they would be
likely to enjoy under the orders of a
woman in her own home. What do
you think of theS Carthage plan?
Plan For Big citiea.
Just now / have heard of a new
Community Kitchen plan intended
for large cities. but it might work
well i'm smaller towns too. Charles
Robinson Lamb, president of the Mu-
nicipal Art society of New York. with
the aid of Ills wife has evolved this
scheme. 1T shows the community
kitchen set in the center Of the back
yard space Of the city block, with neat
little passageways running from this
kitchen to each private house. Here
a chef and two or three assistants can
prepare all the food for all the people
In the block, and the private kitchen
is eliminated. With It go Bridget and
Mrs. N~ewlywed's biscuits and cold
storage chicken and the ~grocer's boy
who is always late. In their place
come a professional cook, who never
gets out of order.
Mr.. Lamb told Il reporter how he
happened to think of this plan for a
community kitchen, and it seems he
didn't think of it at all. 1t was his
wife. They were sitting at the library
table after dinner one fine night. His
tory does not state whether or not
Bridget had just withdra wn from their
presence with ominous mutterings. 1t
is quite probable, however. Anyway,
Mrs. Lamb heaved a sigh. Mr.. Lamb
looked up.
What are you doing this time?" he
asked.
The answer marks an epoch in his
tory.
'Tm trying to figure out how many
families there are In this block, and
how many Bridgets. and how much
they all cost, and why all the cooking
might not just as well be done In one
kitchen aud save all the bother
Mr.. Lamb threw down his book, and
together they tackled the problem. A
city block is 800 feet wide and 200
feet long. Allowing twenty feet for
each house LOT, there are 100 lots,
which means 100 houses and 100 cooks.
II these cooks receive m average wage
Of $40 a month they cost 5000. The
houses r heated probably from a fur
mace, but there Is a separate Kitchen
range In each, which burns perhaps a
ton OF coal a month. The cost of 100
tons of stove coal must be added to
the kitchen expenses as well as the
innumerable other expenses for stoves,
utensils, refrigerators and securing
soap.
Expenses Are Reduced.
On the other hand, the cost Of run
ming the cooperative kitchen comes to
about one-sixth of this. A competent
chef might earn $3.50 a month, a sub
chef $75 and two assistant cooks $50
each. making a cost Of 1926 for all the
service needed. The mattresses, of
course. are less expensive servants and
belong In the individual households.
But the saving Of expense is only
II of the obvious advantages of the
community kitchen. Ear more impor-
tant Is the saving Of drudgery and
peace of mind. 1t was this which rec
commended the scheme to the Lambs.
Mrs. Lamb is an artist of renown.
Her specially is portrait and decorative
painting and miniatures, and when
Mr.. Lamb is preparing one of his big
ecclesiastical designs she does the life
sized figures for hun. But Mrs. Lamb
finds that domestic cares interfere Sc
riously with her artistic career.
No Worrying as to Bridget.
Now, If we had the community
Kitchen IT was explained eagerly by
her husband, call she would have to
do would be to telephone In to the
manager in the morning what we
wanted for our meals that day. That
would end it; no worrying because
Bridget had the dumps no teaching
the new cook how to do things and
no fear that dinner will be spoiled.
She could give what time she had to
arranging the table beautifully, plan
ming the best variety for the meals and
giving all the little touches which
make home life beautiful, because she
would be spared the drudgery which
just keeps IL going"
Well, for my part, / am free to say
that the home kitchen which has ex-
listed since the beginning Of family life
suits me- I like to have a place
where / can potter around and prepare
things that I want when / want them
and that my relatives and friends like.
/ have a notion that most women feel
the same way about 1t, SO I don't be-
lieve we are going to enter the COM
munity kitchen or cooperative house