Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1917-05-17
marbles Efficiency
BY JANE OSBORNE.
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! kitchen cabinets always filled Martin
| There was Just enough of the house
| wifely In his thoroughly masculine
/ makeup to make him feel convinced
| that, were he woman, there would
! be deep content in making biscuits and
bread and cake and pies in front of one
/ of those devices, with the neat little
rows of spice boxes all ranged most
| conveniently to hand, where sugar and
/ flour could be measured out In cup
| fuls and sifted at the simple turn of
| lever and where all the dishes that
! anyone might need for cooking for two
were within easy reach. And at the
/ department store that Martin passed
/ every night on his way home from
| business, there was whole window
| full of those tempting, soul-disturbing
/ cabinets, ranging from little oak ones
I at S19.74 to white enameled affairs ut
! 5000. A woman stood beside him
/ looking longingly ae them, too, and as
Martin saw her he sighed. If Marble
only liked kitchen Gbinets.
After Martin had INDUCED his dream
for housewifely Joy in this fashion,
dinner at the boarding house, to which
! he always brought 4 strong, brave APP
petite, seemed less sufficient and less
satisfying than ever.
That night as Hardie was sitting
| misunderstanding. of course--one of
Ibsen's plays MarHn, as usual, was
! buried in the evening paper. But his
| longings pursued him even there. For
| there, spread over . half page of the
| evening paper. was an advertisement OF
those tantalizing klchen cabinets with
cuts almost as tersnting rs the cahi-
/ nets themselves ana column of de-
scription Of all thetf virtues
He felt Marbles eyes on him and,
! he heard Just the suggestion of sob.
whats the matter? Aren't YOU
happy Martin spthed. After Mar
| dies sobs there had been the tempest
/ of Marbles tears md then came the
! soothing OF them. I'm 50 glad you
asked that" Marble frightened "be-
/ cause I'm not Just exactly happy and
/ ] didn't want to have to tell you. I've
! been making plans--and you are al
ways so busy with that horrid old pa
| per and the stock quotations and the
real estate repOrts-I saw you reading
those reports this very minute-that l
never get time to tell you. Even if
| am a woman" she went on, there Is
no reason why / should not be an in
dustrial factor. There IS no reason
why / should not become efficient
| there Is no reason why / should be
| parasite" To Martin all this sound
ed deadly familiar. He had heard lt
lots of times before and he could en-
| dure no more.
81 know" he murmured. 'Tve henrd
that dope before
but not just this" Marble persist
ed, You see Industrial conditions
have changed womans position"
Martin dropped his head in his
hands peeyishly. "Oh, don't" he was
almost fierce as he spoke. Don't go
into details. What put that sort of
thing into your head, anyway?
Yesterday ! went TO conference
Of the Woman's College club"
Lord - Martin was one of the men
who believed that he disllked all col
lege women on principle. "Cut that
out l don't want to hear IT.
Marbles tears were dry. well,
since You won't listen to explanations"
she said with hauteur, there won't be
j 1 4n rplr a OF pnl.
lege. l feel that my education has
been neglected. l want to become eff
( ficient. l want to" She was trying
/ to explain again.
( mot with my money you can't take
I a college course" was Martins YER
diet. "You know my prejudice
/ Nobody said anything about your
money" snapped the wife. The fact
/ that she had never spoken in that tone
before made it all the more cutting,
/ now that 1t came. Il may be poor,
but I'm not a pauper. I've got few
hundred dollars in the bank and I'll
use that and ask no questions. l was
going to explain--but you wouldn't
understand"
This took place one evening in Sep
/ tember just when the law classes at
( the university were forming And be-
cause Marble was gone from home five
or six hours every day, Martin knew
that she had kept her threat. II she
ever studied at home the books were
always we'll concealed ia the evening
and Marbles conversation betrayed
nothing Of the subject ON which her
mind must be dwelling during the
hours Of the Gay. one day in May lac
found a letter on his desk. He opened
It. department Of Household Arts
was the heading on the folded sheet
within. "Tho honor of your company
is requested at luncheon to be given
Saturday at one o'clock by the grOdu-
ating class IN household management.
The luncheon is to be prepared and
served entirely by members Of the
class"
When he reached the domestic sell
ance laboratory at the university five
minutes ahead Of time, no Marble was
20 be seen.
The instructor Of the class was there
20 greet. the guests.
"Oh, yes Mr. Stone. So glad to