Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-10-25
Housekeepers Are Taken
to Task by Mrs. SkidmOre

A feature of the New Jersey State
Federation meeting in Nutley today
was the straight-from -the-shoulder
talk given by Mrs. Lemuel Skidmore,
of Summit, anent the attitude of the
average housekeeper toward the
campaign of the Housewives League,
of which Mrs. Skidmore is chairman.
'The attitude of women Is inclined
to be that of critic rather than help
err" she declared.
I'VE complain about conditions in
our meetings, but we do not stand
fearlessly against them in our mar
ket-places. We say: 4 think it is
dreadful that such conditions should
be allowed putting the entire bur-
den on the inspection. whereas we
are on the spot every day as mar
keters while the inspections are nee
esSarily occasional"
Mrs. Skidmore said that the aver
age housewife had no idea of what
the board of health and the depart
ment of weights and measures were
doing to help them receive fair treat
ment from the dealers in foodstuffs,
and declared that women could be-
come a great cooperative force in
the State If they made themselves ac-
quainted with what the authorities
were doing, and then constituted
themselves home guard to help
them succeed. This, she said would
hasten the day of the sanitary food
shop.
do women" Mrs. Slxidmore asked,
dealing with the business world
every day, take the trouble to read
the laws that guard the quality and
quantity of the foodstuffs they buy?
COR are we only clamoring, in new
ly-awakened zeal, for reforms of our
own without knowing the protection
men have already thrown about our
home interests, any provision of
which we can have generally enforced
by unitedly demanding it?
Women of New Jersey, if We do
not give our minds to these affairs
of the State now, when they relate
so closely to the interests of our
homes, what good will we be to the
State if the ballot is put into our
hands,"
Mrs. Skidmore demanded to know
how the average housewife took care
of sanitary food" after it was
brought into her home.
at is useless" she said, ito lay such
stress on sanitary market conditions
unles we mist on equal care in our
own homes
when we make a business OF
housekeeping we will learn to impose
upon it the same conditions we are
so keen now about imposing on the
business world we have neglected Sc
long.
would it not strengthen local in
spection if local organizations OF
women should post themselves as to
what their local inspector was try
ing to do for the betterment of local
food conditions and then go to market
prepared to request that that thing
be done?
Twill we stand stanchly behind
this new basket law, one of the most
important pieces of legislation even
enacted in our State toward stand
ardizing our markets. provided for us
unasked by this most excellent State
department to lid us of the odds and
ends of baskets that have long af-
fiicted our marketing and to substi-
tute standard divisions of the bushe
over which there can be no doubts
legal provision that will save thou
sands of dollars to the consumer anC
give the honest tradesman a fan
chance in business competition? Thi.
law goes into effect November l, anC
women can cooperate with the STATE
by refusing to buy out of Illegal sizes
after that date"