Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1914-11-18
TO train THE HANDS
AND DEVELOP THE GIRL
That is the Desired Aim of
Home Economics.
AS Consumer, Every Girl ShouI'
be Taught What to Buy and
How to Buy 1t.

Miss Conley, Inspector of Home
Economics in the schools of Wiscon-
sin, on Thursday made her first in
spection of the work in Lancaster.
She expressed much pleasure and
qualification when she found our
laboratory to be as it is; large
enough, we'll lighted and well
equipped.
Her questions as to the work
showed the high standards that are
being held up for the Wisconsin
schools. ''Did that girl do that
work .alone?' could she do it
again ~ "Does she know the cost
of herr Materials All pertinent
questions these.
The aim is not only to train the
hands, but to arouse and develop the
girl. These subjects under Home
Economics can not be given casually
with lit tie time allowance, no equip
ment and an Indifferent teacher.
Literature and art, history and
science-all help to enrich and
strengthen this important part of a
girls training. The modern home
has developed until its needs are
many. AS a consumer every girl
must learn chow and what to buy.
Women are the family spenders
these days and girls should know the
worth of the many articles that go to
make the furnishings of a home and
the clothing of family. The great
industrial problems; the relationship
of capital and labor; sweat-shor
work; child labor, are all questions
which should be of vital interest to
the future home-maker-
A young woman in a small town
said, 81 might be interested in
sweat-shops and such things if lived
in fcisy, butit doesn't concern me
now. Our children here have big
yards and play grounds and such
things. There are other things more
important to me than the child-labor
and sweat-shop questions. = A
little boy in the community came
down with dread disease, scarlet
fever; the physician in attendance
was able to trace the source of con-
tagion to an outbreak of scarlet
fever among the sweat-shop workers
in the East side district of New
York City-where children's clothing
is made. This is a condition which
may menace you and me at any
time unless we join in the efforts OF
''The Consumers League" and ''look
for the label" If the garment has
been made in clean, sanitary factory
where the employees are properly
treated and properly paid, the label
will show these facts. If this does
not interest US, 1T should. 1t is
very close to our homes and our we'll
being. From purely selfish stand
point these are questions of which
no modern home maker can afford to
be ignorant.
In the days when our grand-fathers
sheared their sheep and our grand
mothers carded and spun the wool
and dyed the yarn, there was no
question but that our stockings and
mittens were pure wool. Now,
when the honest farmer packs some
dirty, inferior wool inside of nice,
clean fleece he tries to console his
conscience with the thought that the
manufacturer, who uses the wool,
will never know who packed it.
This is true; it is a far cry now
from the manufacturer to the con-
sumner. If you, Mrs. Homekeeper,
find your wool to be shoddy, you
can't put your finger on the guilty
one.
This, however, can be done. You
can learn enough of textiles to test
the warp and the wool of the cloth
the merchant offers you.
Cotton, linen, silk, wool and their
adulterants are taught to the girls
in their work in domestic art. Tests
are applied, prices are discussed and
fabrics of all kinds take on a new
interest and a new value.
A dread epidemic is raging among
cattle of this middle west. How
many home-keepers know whether OF
not they are using inspected meat
these days? What are the laws IN
this or other states governing this
question? Perhaps no other one
thing has been more grossly misund-
erstood and misinterpreted than the
limitations of the federal meat in
spection. The federal law applies
only where the product enters into
Interstate commerce. This law Il
totally inadequate. This is a subject
of investigation for the house-keeper
for the home maker who buys thu