The Washington herald., 1922-08-27
THRIFTY FRENCH
SACRIFICE LABOR
IN SAVING MONEY
Time Means Little to Ma
tives as They Lead the
World In Economy.
HOUSEHOLD HINTS
Farmers Sell Fresh Eggs and
Keep Old Supply for
Themselves.

1t IS difficult to appraise Freach
thrift until you realize the policy
of view that things may be more
valuable than people and that
money may be more valuable than
things says Muriel Haven IN the
Manchester Guardian. Ordinary
everyday labor-the !accr that has
10 20 with the house, that is not
specialized in any particular way.
Simply Goes not count. IL is very
poorly paid, and very much is ex-
pected of *. Money, in short. Is
not given out to save labor. You
manage as you can. II you buy
eood coffee and wiSh--as a ksreti-
cal foreigner--to have it ground in
the shop. Madame will call the
shop assistant. who in turn will
probably call the general maid, and
between the three of them they
Will grind pound of coffee by
hand rather than buy machine
which would do ii all in a tenth of
the time. Instead of buying wood
already chopped for the nre. the
housewife will take much trouble
in buying empty cases from the
grocer. have them brought to the
house. and use the time of her maid
or charwoman in laboriously chop
ping them up.
II labor counted the process
would be enormously expensive. In
America tnat chopped wood would
be worth its weight in gold by the
time the process was complete. In
France sous are actually saved. The
American spends in order to save
money. He spepds two sous that he
may make three. The Frenchman
doesn't spend his one sou at all. with
not quite the same result. since much
human labor has been consumed.
Economical Candles
Regular household necessities,
such as cloths and busters, are ex-
pensive in France because they are
hot used by any but welloff house
holds Rags of every kind take
their place. Candles are made with
holes down the inside. so that the
wax. Instead of trickling away. is
consumed as it fills up the holes.
In the shops. especially the little
ones. a minimum of paper is used
for wrapping. Wrapping in some
instances becomes merely a conven-
tiOn and does not cover the loaf
or cake which has been bought. 1t
is only the ghost of 4 wrapper. just
to suggest the idea. Heating of
all kinds is expensive. and here
sga!n human labor takes its place.
Crates are made so small that it is
possible only to put on a few Jumps
of coal at a time, and the fire to be
maintained must be continually
watched and continually tended.
Rather than keep it in for a few
hours more than 1t Is needed there
is the charcoal brazier. set alight
by tiny bowl Of methylate6 spirit.
There is the oil stove for still
another occasion. They may pos
sibly be gas. but only in the newer
houses. And the economy of each
of the many appliances for heating
is studied down to the last sou and
worked out to a fine art. These
are some of the household econo-
mics. Some which are more gem
orally used are lifts in which you
can go up but not come down:
lights which when turned on go out
of themselves in one minute. On
the other hand you may wait for
days for a document as simple as
a check book. while it Is being
verified and reverified. and your
Genealogy and personal geography
9nd the status of your father IS
being gone into. les: percnance you
5e Il ghe to wr.u1 t check book
should after all not oe entrusted.
The =moInt of labor consumed IN
making sure that SOUS shall not be
lost is phenomenal to the foreign
eye
The French are. Of course. very
thrifty as regards clothing. For one
thing. they still have the idea OF
old clothes and best clothes. Oio
clothes-reslly dreadful! old clothes
IN many instances-are worn to set
on the smart costumes which are
seen in the streets. though since the
war this smartness has naturally
deteriorated. The idea of very sim
pie plain clothes for certain pur-
poses has not penetrated the French
system to any extent. Instead OF
oVeralls. you wear out the old
things that you have. whatever they
may he Girls are very poorly
dressed except for special occa-
siOns. the theory being that when
%cu d" not expect to be seen you
are more or less invisible. The idea
OF dressing for yourself is again a
LITTLE remote from the French idea
Everlasting Wear.
Dressing Is also more economical.
N that fewer kinds of dress are
required thar in England and
America In very many cases the
between-dress takes the plac. nf
the evening dress. and even Of the
suit. or the suit may be so devisrr,
that II can easily serve as a be-
tween dress as well. In the coun-
try. Of course. economy o! dress is
carried much further with the hard
blue pinafores and wooden shoes
which practically never wear ort.
Even the extravagance Of good bed
linen, which is the desire of every
PEASANT woman's heart. Is not really
an extrava gance, since II lasts prac-
tically for ever. and Is handed on
from one generation to another.
Economy in food is probably found
among French country people to a
far greater extent than anywhere
else, since they can go to the ex-
tent of selling their own fresh eggs
and only keeping the old or pre-
served eggs for themselves.
To eNtravsgant nations such as
England and America. French thrift
often looks the meanness. Very
otter II is. That Is to say 10 Is
m"anness In money as opposed to
meanness In labor. The French
give an enormous amount of labor
for comparatively little reward
They expect to give It and II is ex-
<ccted OF them. This labor has
seen very little spared by the sub
ztitution OF machines-which are
money. On the contrary. 1t Is one
OF the paradoxes OF this very in
~ 1Ar.N 80 l.