The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1917-10-09
To Knit or MOI 70 Knit

OAlAo may Nc SSCA SOluS SlOWIy dlOn
the street with needles plying at gal
in accordance with the stride. Or
young miss may be noticed hyin
along as if she had train to max
with possibility of losing it and tn
needles are on the fly as if to hell
catch the train. We do not have am
desire to decry industry or to throw
cold water on anything that will b,
beneficial to anybody but there woulc
seem to be time and place for sucf
work. A writer in the Philadelphis
Ledger has this to say on the subject
Like many of our fashions Of
crazes, we got that of knitting from
the British. Englishwomen began
early in the war to knit muffiers
wristlets, socks and other garments fol
the men at the front. 1t got to be
such fad that comic song, Sister
Susie's Sewing Shirts for Soldiers,
was sung in the music halls of London
and, in due time, on this side of the
water.
To-day the American women are
knitting as British women never did
They knit at home, in theatre, al
motion-picture shows, in hotel restau
rant between courses. They knit il
church, on II or subway or surfac,
car. They knit in store, in office
Some are said to knit in bed.
For misapplied patriotism ther,
probably is nothing in America today
comparable to this work of knitting.
Zone small automatic knitting ma
chine can do more work than 10
women. Much of the yarn purchased
by the wemen who knit is bought at I
price which makes the article tn,
woman turns out much more expen
sive than if it were made by machin
cry.
1.-THE Textile World Journal declares 6
Boston charitable institution is selling 8
four-ply los high quarter-blood worstec
yarn, in gray mix, in balls of slightly
less than two ounces each, at rs cents
per ball, or price per pound OF more
than 1915. Worsted spinners, how.
ever, find it difficult to obtain 50. so fol
the same count. The yarn sold by the
charitable institution is being used by
women In knitting socks and sweaters
for soldiers.
IF women, instead OF deyoting SO
much of their time to this work in
which they cannot possibly do the best
service for the nation, would utilize
their brains and time in solving house.
hold problems in economics they could
aid America tremendously.
THE President and the Food Con-
troller have appealed to the women OF
America to economic. In New York
city alone the women who knit so
earnestly and partriotically probably
could save from $4,000 to $780, 900 a
day if they utilize their talents in cor
recting household wastes.
There are no exact statistics on the
subject, but the estimate is that there
are between $4,000 and $4,000 maids
employed in New York homes. More
would be in service if they were avail
able, but the war has restricted immi-
grafton and curtailed the supply. Be-
fore the war maids commanded from
SIS to $25 a month. Now they get
from $S5 to $45, and they will not do
all the work they did before. A maid
has to be fed and housed. 1t would
be modest to put the cost of feeding
her at S. week. Where she is EN-
ployed in fat or apartment house her
room represents from SIS to SIS month
in the rental. A maid not having
to pay the bills, usually is Indifferent
about saving food, soap, light or any
thing else for which her employer
spends money. Most maids are un-
trained and have little to recommend
them except that they will do work
which the American woman or Ameri-
can girl is not willing to perform.
1.-THE American home, as represent
ed in big city or its suburbs, is an
economic nightmare. Men who hire
experts to devise systems of order, reg.
ulation and the most exact economy
in their business accept in their homes
methods that are unscientific and
New York city would be better off
if half Of the girls now employed in
were transferred to produc-
tive industries. Today they are not
producers. There is urgent demand
for labor in many manufacturing in
dustries in which they would be useful
1.-THE American mother and the
American daughter have no love for
housework. 1t would not be necessary
for either the mother or daughter to
do much housswork if all the clever
and brainy women now knitting so
earnestly studied methods by which
one servant could do what two servants
do now. Organization and system can
do it. Most Of the drudgery OF house
keeping is in the washing and clean
ing. Neighborhood or community
laundries would simplify the problem
of the weeks wash. In hotels one girl
looks after the cleaning Of a dozen OF
more rooms or suites. One girl, devot-
ing all her time to cleaning, could care
for half dozen suburban homes OF
halt dozen apartments in one city
apartment house. Possibly, as a mat.
ter of patriotism, the mistress OIL
daughter of the house would cook, al
today she knits, to show patriotism.
1.-THE American home is not being
improved by the Discrimination O.
American girls to do housework. Tit
drift to fiathouse, apartment hous,
and hotel life is not healthy. 1t would
be we'll if this could be checked. NJ
man wants to make drudge of hi
wife or his child, but every woman
should be competent cook and house
keeper if she is to be real homework
er. This is time that calls for sacri
fee. Women can do much towart
saving food, money, fuel, everything
in the home, if they apply themselve
as best they can. No one wants then
to do 'slavey' work.
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