The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-07-12
THE EVENING STORY
Janet's Economy.

TITS this way, john" said Janet
Ware in response to Johns fifth pro-
| posal of marriage. 81 just won't marry
you nor anybody else-yet.
shouldn't be satisfied to settle down
in the town where I've grown up and
see the same things and the same peo-
pie for the rest of my life. You under
stand, don't you, John?"
The repulSed John looked as if he
did not understand and did not wish to
| understand Janet's reasoning. The
only thing in the world he could un-
derstand was that he was in love with
Janet.
mo, Janet" he answered. "I hardly
think you can expect much sympathy
from me. If you'd marry me, I'd
promise some day to take you abroad.
I'd work hard and save; 1 know
could do it. Anyway, how can you go
now? Your father can't afford to
send you"
"Of course ne can't; but I've got the
best plan! You see, there are seven
of us-and I'm the Oldest And of
course, with such big family, mother
has never had time to keep up with
the modern sort of scientific house
keeping. You know, 1 took course in
domestic science"
Yes" admitted John.
''Well, of course I can see where
there a lot of wasted effort and
money in this household" continued
Janet sagely. Now I'm going to keep
have what I save
Janet hesitated to watch the effect
of her startling statement on John,
but the effect was not encouraging,
and she went on:
I'm the first place I'll dismiss the
cook and the maid-they're just ready
to leave anyway. And I'll get one
good, substantial servant and she and
way, and by experimenting the cook
ing I'll avoid waste and save a lot
more"
Janet paused again, but Johns ex-
preston showed no sign of relenting
sympathy, so she went on:
you see I'll get one servant for,
say, SIS month We pay these
two $36 q month. That will be $40
a month-about $3.50 a year, besides
the board of ono of them-$5 week,
should say. How much is five times
fifty-two?'
1.-TWO hundred and sixty" volun-
teered John glumly.
well, there's over five hundred, be-
side the saving of waste. And then I'll
have a garden and grow all our own
vegetables; and besides being cheap
er, they'll be lot healthier, and so
we won have doctors bills. You
see, John? I'll have six or seven hun
dred dollars-and I could go quite
bit on that.
perhaps - when I come home,
John, and get ready to settle down
hopeful look on Johns face, she
laughing1y left her sentence unfin-
ished and bade him decided good
night.
earning began. Within a week she
had dismissed the two well trained
servants from the Ware kitchen, had
installed therein in their place a
green" young girl fresh from Fln-
land, whose only ambition seemed to
be to answer every question with
her one English phrase-''You bet"-
and had hired a gardener by the Day
for three days to spade ana rake ana
plant the garden.
From the beginning the task of
earning money by saving it was a
hard one for Janet. Her first month
savings were spent before the nrst
month was done. She spent SO in
plants and seeds for the garden; and
She spent another $40 in equipping
her one maid kitchen-new COOK
books, casseroles. double boilers. pat
ent egg heaters and nops and various
other labor saving devices. Besides
that, Lena, the new maid, had broken
so much china and, through ignorance.
ruined so much food, that the bill for
waste which Janet had hoped to DO
away with altogether was double its
usual size.
one other thing bothered Janet.
John Wilson, who after each OF his
other four repulsed proposals had
doggedly returned to try his luck
again at Janet's hands. had almost
disappeared from Janet's daily life,
and Janet realized that she missed
him. When che met him occasionally
he quietly told her that he was work
ing little harder than usual and sell
dom had time for sociability.
But in spite of all her discourage |
ments and trials Janet bought a huge
ledger and put down in it a detailed /
account of her finances. On one page
she would put down fifteen cents for |
green corn seed, and on the opposite |
page she would make an entry of this !
sort: ct ought to get at least ten |
dozen ears of corn from this; and at |
twenty cents a dozen that would be
two dollars; two dollars would pay
my fare from London to Windsor and |
back, or else it would pay for a drive |
around Paris"
BY fall. four or five months after
she had started her scheme of econ
omy, Janet's European trip was well |
worked out in the pages of her
ledger But she knew that the COW
eted trip was still long distance
ahead.
One September morning as she was
wedding in what remained of the /
garden she was musing uncomfort- |
ably on the fact that she had twice |
raised Lena's wages-Lena had added /
to her English vocabulary the de-
mand, More English; more mum
that she had found it necessary to |
have a gardener a day a week in the /
garden and that his wages had prac-