Omaha daily bee., 1919-05-15
Better furnishings for Better
Homes
By Dr. James p. Haney, President Of the Ma
tional Association Of Decorative
Arts and Industries

tional Association Of Decorative
Arts and Industries.
No appeal reaches wider audience than one
which invokes keener interest in the home.
Twenty millions OF American homes serve to
house l00000000 inhabitants. Each of these
homes is potential center in which the move
ment Tor better furnishings may be carried for
ward. More than 100 trades cater to these
homes, and more than 100 trades should there
fore lend their aid to carry forward the socety's
service.
Our standard of taste in woman's dress
have reached high levels. The American woman
is held to be the best-dressed in the world She
realizes that her taste is judged by her dress.
No long step isrequired to show her that the
home-maker is truly judged BY the taste dis
played in her home. While not long, this will
be an impressive step forward Once the great
mass of American women decide that their
homes shall declare their good taste, there will
come forward movement in the art trades
such as these trades have never known
This proposal may to some give pause, be-
cause OF the numbers it contemplates. Yet in
these very numbers lies its importance. 1t need
be no vain wish. 1t is something which can be
directly stimulated and governed. 1t is an end
which can be definitely brought about. Indeed
it is amazing that so obvious step has not al
ready been taken. The home is recognized as
the first center of interest with the American
family, yet the thousands of agents which cater
to the home have never set about joint-action to
enable them to help the home maker Each
has gone about his own business and, seeing no
mutual interest in mutual service, has viewed
his neighbor in trade with jealousy and appre-
hension. This harmful and distrustful attitude
this organization seeks to destroy. 1t breaches
union in peace as in war.
1t stands as an axiom Of this society that any
one activity that helps develop interest in better
h me-furnishings helps. all other agents work
ing toward the same end. Thus those who make
fine furniture and arouse an interest on the part
of many to possess it, aid in, their way those
who make fine hangings and fine carpets, and
also aid those who furnish china and silver
which go into the finely-furnished home.
One home maker has her interest developed
in one way and another in different way but
the interest once created leads both to better
and still better decorations in many different
lines. Every one knows the effect upon the
householder Of introducing single good piece
Of furniture into room otherwise badly fur
nished. The pride in that which is good has
acted in innumerable cases to cause the re-
decoration of room and even the refurnshing
OF an entire home, as standards of taste have
been raised.
In many cases our manufacturers have
still to raise their own standards of taste.
Often in the past they have confused novelty
with excellence and have attempted to capture
markets by the creation of bizarre and unusual
forms. This is style madness. 1t is an effort
to achieve originality not by adherence to the
principles which make for fine design, but
by an attempt to stampede the public into
purchasing furnishings which are bound to be-
come a burden to the eye. The history of the
art trades is filled with lamentabe stories of
store houses filled with "out-of-date" styles, of
capital locked up or lost forever in material
which had .its brief day in the market and then
ceased to find purchaser
BETTER standards of tact in the hop1e ran
only proceed through merchants and manu-
facturers who have learned the fundamental
lessons of what makes for better taste in the
manufactured product When this lesson is
learned, there will be demand for American
designers which will bring into existence the
needed schools. 1t cannot be too often re-
peated that these designers can never be
brought into existence until the manufacturing
art interests of this country understand this
national need, and act unitedly to work for
talent in this country, but talent without train
ing can aid the country not at ALL If our art
industries are to depend. as they should depend,
upon the creations of our own gifted designers,
then these designers must be early discovered
in the high schools and led toward the indus
from them. They should be aided by scholar
ships founded by the manufacturers, and should
be given opportunity in trade studios the coun-
try over, to display their talent. Our manu-
facturers have plain responsibility in this mat
ter. They have shirked this in the past but
they must not and cannot be allowed to shirk
it in the future. One of the functions of this
association is to point out this responsibility
and to insist upon it in every possible way, until
those responsible see their interest in the estab-
lishment of sources of supply from which they
can draw home trained talent into our art in
dustries.
Another point for which the association
stands is more advertising and better advertis-
public in the better home. Pointed lessons are
to be learned in this direction from the auto
mobile industry. Its advertising is omnipresent
everywhere. 1t has taught the American
people what fine design and fine furnishing
mean in automobiles. The veriest street boys
knows the pattern of famous cars, and lads and
girls in their teens talk knowingly of the good
the part of the automobile trade has raised the
standard of taste in this industry for the entire
country. The home furnishing trade can do the
same if they will but join forces in cooperative
advertising.
The power Of graphic illustration-good pic
lures in connection with good reading matter
has been underestimate by the trade To raise
public standards of taste, one must continually
show better forms or better arrangements The
public must also be shown why the better is
better. The lesson to be learned must be re-
peated over and over again. But every little
helps. Even single shop keeper who
is wise to recognize what q well-dressed
window can do and repeatedly fills his own
with well-designed rooms can affect the point
of view of an entire town.
Advertisers also learn much from one an
other. Every one has seen how one great
tobacco company through its own wel-arranged
windows, has caused thousands of local compet-