Evening star., 1927-10-03
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

tom drawer is always the one, II il
be not the next to the bottom.
Soap is another homely but neces
sary article that the average home
runs out of all too often. Why
should there be any necessity for q
household to bathe with q silver Of
soap whine the worthy manufacturers
of this much be-soaped land are grind
ing out fresh bars by the millions and
taking large quantities of advertising
space to recount the adventures OF
their latest aspirants to popular ap
prOVal?
Any man who has ever tried tc
take a bath with a piece of soap that
is about ready to break in two knows
that, next to a lack of towels at the
end of the bath, this lack of a rea
cake of soap at the beginning of the
same is the worst afflction that car
befall a man pining for that cleanli
ness which Luther declares was next
to Goodness. Personally, we have al
ways felt that Martin was bit severe
on God when he made that remark
but perhaps he was right.
TO achieve cleanliness, however, al
the ragged edge of a silver of hard
ened fat which insists on breaking
into two or more pieces just as one is
succeeding in working up a nice got
Of lather is to know the depths of
bathing misery.
The bather becomes acutely con.
scious then of the part which SOAP
plays in the habits of the average
American. 1t was said during the
war that certain European nations
Wit fa G nd a1yn nf
American soap drew fabulous prices.
Certainly many an American today
looking over the edge Of his neat
"bawth." searching for a fresh cake,
after the old one has failed him, would
give far beyond the standard price for
a chunk OF first-class soap.
X X X
Vanilla extract is another commod.
ity the average housewife is always
out of, or almost out of, according
to our domestic observations. The
queer persistence with which the
average extract bottle contains
half teaspoonful when the
candy receipt calls for a teaspoonful
is known to every one. Yon an
extra bottle in the kitchen cabinet
would repose there just as easily as
on the dealers shelf and be many
times more useful in an emergency.
Men, on the other hand, seem to
have a similar difficulty in keeping
their safety razors well stocked with
blades. Blades have a bad habit of
becoming exceedingly dull overnight.
The life of blade is only certain
number of days, and If by reason of
some queer tempering the thing lasts
for day or so longer, the big shaver
becomes so proud Of it that he hates
to see 1t go-Wherever safety razor
blades do so. Nobody knows what
to do with them or where to put them.
They are too dull to cut Whiskers but
still sharp enough to cut your finger
off completely. We suppose they go
somewhere, however, and personally
have always felt sorry for those pigs
who swallow a few razor blades with
their mornings garbage, as many an
innocent pig has done.
Men who like to smoke cigars COM
monty find themselves out of a smoke
just before they go to bed, SO have to
put on their overcoat and last years
felt hat and go around to the drug
store to replenish their stock, when a
little forethought before they came
home would have left them sitting
pretty in the big chair under the
bridge lamp.
AS we see 1t, the thing is merely a
matter of preparedness. This is a
large word, and one which some per.
sons find difficult to spell, but the real
difficulty comes in putting 1t into
practice. Daily living, as well as war,
needs preparedness, and in large and
comfortable doses. Then one may
laugh at broken shoestring or eat
his hot buttered toast in peace.