Evening star., 1925-08-27
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRACEWELL.

piness which the people of the United
States today commonly enjoy
"Oh, there always were homes"
Not our kind of homes! A glimpse
into Roman homes of the empire
period already has been given in this
column, in discussing the real eternal
triangle" which is man, a woman
and house.
Even comparison of the homes of
the United States after the Civil War
with those of today gives one much
| food for reflection, and gratitude fol
, lowing. o
Out of the physical betterment of
homes ought to proceed, even If it
does not land i believe it does, in the
main). a better mental and spiritual
tone, If one may call it that, even as
there is certainly a better physical
tonicity.
Consider window screens.
Today many young people regard
screens as an integral part of a house,
yet II was not more than two genera
tionS ago that no house, however big,
had wire screens.
Flies buzzed in and out the windows
of the wealthy the same as windows
and doors of the poor.
| Householders of substance hired
menials to stand at table and wave
huge fans made of peacock feathers
to keep flies off dinners and diners
alike.
Even today these peacock feather
fans may be purchased. now and then,
at auction sales in the large cities.
Housewives who today buy popular
cleaners in tin cans may find out, from
asking their mothers or grandmothers,
that in the old days there were no
such articles TO be purchased for love
or money.
Pieces of broken brick. found around
town in the course of walks, were
carefully brought home, and later pui.
verized for use as scrubbinE material
for pots and pans.
The modern bathroom, which puts
a river into our homes, under com
plete control, is best appreciated by
those who are old enough TO have
lived under different conditions.
The modern furnace, out of sight
in the basement, heats the entire
home to an evenness utterly un-
known when families had to depend
on open fireplaces and drum stoves.
If we heat our homes too hot, that is
our fault. and not that Of the furnace.
The modern fancy for hardwood
floors and rugs has done away with
the old-time penchant for carpets
from Dashboard to Dashboard, and the
resulting necessity for tacks, paper
| under the carpet and tobacco stems
to keep bugs" out.
The good old times-bunk.
Ask your grandmother, or even
your mother. if she would give up her
modern vacuum sweeper. and return
to the old method of busting all the
dust off the furniture with a duster
and then sweeping most of ii back
again with a broom!
We are so used to all these things
that commonly we do not stop TO
realize that thousa nds of years of
| progress wers necessary to bring
them into being. They are not just
the result of modern inventive genius
although that, too-but are ours
, because men and women have held
certain ideals for hundreds and thou.
sands of years.
Away back in the caves of the
Neanderthal man, "a woman looked
! with diSa approval upon the scattered
bones upon the flinty floor. The
vacuum sweeper bad its inception
then, H
1t is thrilling. il seems TO me, to
realize that we in America have the
best homes in the world today. Hav.
ing the best homes, from the stand.
point of upkeep, health and eonven.
ience, our duty as well as our pleas
ure, should be not only TO make and
keep them so, but above all TO bring
them mentally and spiritually to the
same high plane.