The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-04-14
THE sMooT PROPOSITION

Referring to the Smoot propostion
for Congress to appropriate none to
promote domestic science througout
the country, the Philadelphia Record
has this editorial comment:
Senator Smoot would have Consess
| appropriate money to promote dometic
! education in every State with a Sew
to reducing the waste n housekeep1s
sists that housekeeping ought 10 b a
| lost art; that it is too archaic, and hat
waste Is inevitable in the indiviual
| kitchen, occupied by domestcs and pre-
| sided over by wives few OF whom can
| be experts In home management. Co
| operative housekeeping, In something
| like pueblos is her remedy. not only for
the high cost OF living. but for the ssvi-
tude Of women and for most OF ourso-
! cial IDS. She has no faith in any Ech
palliative as the Utah Senator propees
The tendency of public thought for
good many years has been deciddly
in line with the insistence of Irs.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, as nted
above. There is no question but hat
cooperation in housekeeping wrld
keep house more economically and pore
satisfactorily than that work is dine
at present. A very large number of
housekeepers, especially young hose
keepers, do not know how to buy or
how to prepare food in the most pla
table and most conservative man.er,
so that much is wasted and undue e1
pense incurred.
crs commonly have to do, is the dar-
est possible way TO buy. The bWer
not only gets less for the money spnt,
but as rule what she gets is infeior,
since, in most cases, young housekep-
ers have not learned the way to ouy
either the best or the cheapest.
But if neighborhood in a city, for
example, should combine. or if mm-
ber Of congenial families should iom-
bine even though they do not Ire in
an immediate contiguity Of blocks they
could undoubtedly have their buse-
work, their cooking, washing, iroing,
and sweeping done far better and more
econ omically than is done now Buy
economically, and combination ould
buy by wholesale. Cooking in vaiety
and in quantity is the best and most
economical way to cook, and sua
combination could have its cooling
done in such variety as the members
OF that combination might desire, and
in the most perfect manner. So inthe
matter Of washing, of ironing, of sweep
ing, and Of general houscwork; tiere
would be exports in every line framed
to do the work in the best possible
manner and with celerity and hor.
oughncss very often wanting among
domestIcs that arc employed
We look to see cooperative h,use.
keeping the solution of many troubles,
especially of the complaint of lacl OF
hired help in the house, and ofun-
due cost of the necessaries Of life. We
look to see cooperative bousek ee,ing
introduce a system of economy in iuy.
ing, in cooking, and in the distribution
Of foods ready prepared, that will work.
a revolution in the household economics
as practiced at the present day. 1t
will not be necessary to say that Mrs
Charlotte Perkins Gilman origin.ted
this idea or is the special promotei of
it. In fact, the idea is a very old bne;
but the idea Of Independent household
life and reserve and exclusivenes to
every family has hitherto prevented its
adoption But this feeling Of lone
exclusiveness will be obliged to Feive
way to the economic necessity Of co.
operation in this work, as we full, be-
lieve.