The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-11-05
CARPENTER TELLS ABOUT THRIFTY HOUSEKEEPING IN FRANCE
How Landlords Make Money Out of Grease Spots and Scratches-The Handling of Servants-What Cooks and Maids Get and Their Fort nightly Day Out
Paris. 1922.

dtlSt I56G
 This letter Is for women only. The men who read The Age-Herald are supposed to skip 1t and pass on to the editorials, market reports or sports. It deals with housekeeping arrangements in France after the war, with how the French buy their groceries. the cost of living, the po- sition of servants and tho thousand and one little things of home life wherein they differ from us. It is made up from my own observations and from talks with American wom- en who have long lived in Paris.
 In the first place. nearly all the people of French cities dwell in apartments. With few exceptions there is no such thing as the in dividual house. Even the rich are confined to one floor, although this may be made up of gorgeous par lors, bed rooms, and all the other quarters of a fine residence. Such apartments have an infinite number of rooMs equipped with large mir TOTS, and walls decorated with stucco designs which often. surround panels of satin or silk.
 The furniture is mora elaborate and less substantial than ours. 1n- deed. 1 tremble wenever I sit down on one of these gilt-framed. spider legged chairs for fear 1t will col- lapse and bring me to the floor. And then the upholstery The colors are so delicate that I feel like spreading my handkerchief over the place where I sit. The French womans ideal of a well furnished parlor is that it should have a great deal of furniture, including many lamps and bric-a- brac of all shapes and sizes, filling every inch of available space on piano. table and mantel As l look around me in one of these homes I am reminded of the terrified darky who was out blowing when the Charleston earthquate occurred. He dropped to his knees and cried out: -"oh, Lord, come quick, dis am no place for children"
 Money in Grease Spots
 One of the difficulties in renting an apartment in Paris is to have the proper record made of the furniture. Not only every chair, sofa and table, every bit of bed linen and china and even the smallest kitchen utensil must be put down, but one should note the bric-a-rac item by item, and give the condition of each piece at the time of the renting. The taking of an inventory of the smallest apart ment usually lasts several hours, for every scratch on a chair, every worn space on the upholstery and every spot on a cushion must be itemized, or upon giving up the apartment heavy fine will be charged for this damage supposed to be done by the tenant. If the clock is in running order, it must be marked on the in- ventory en marche, which means it is going, and the same is true of every bit of machinery.
 A careful American housekeeper has told me her troubles in settling with her landlord on leaving. She had rented a furnished apartment. Her servants were excellent and con- sequently there were practically no damages that the agent could find. He went over the inventory, exam ming every dish, knife, fork, plate and spoon. He snooped around under fhe furniture. running his fingers along the polished surface looking for scratches Suddenly he spied magazine lying on the sofa. "Ah," said he as he threw up his hands, and rushed across the room. He lifted up the magazine, thinking he would find a big grease spot beneath it. Alas, there was nothing, and his lace Tell III u6SpdlI.
 Tn fact, I am told some landlords look upon scratches and grease spots as financial assets. They are slurred over, and damages collected from one tenant after another who omit to note them in leasing the apartment.
 Courting the Janitor
 In addition to the rent, fixed sum is charged for cleaning the apart ment. This is often left out of the lease, but it equals per cent of the rent, and Is a large part of the jani- tors wages. Indeed. the janitor gets very little out of the landlord ex- cepting his lodgings. The French janittr is quite as powerful and dic- tatorial as his brother of the United States and it is well to keep on his right side. He can omit to deliver your letters, he can say you are out when visitors come, and you are obliged to have him turn on the light in the hall when ycu ring the bell upon coming in late. That matter of light is another economy. At night the lower front door of every French apartment building is as dark as pocket and the electricity is so ar- ranged by mechanical device that the Nights burn only long enough fIr you to get, to your floor ''~-rhis is about three or four minutes. The