] II I
"" The ~read~inner,r. ""
The attempt at this late day to find
in an Illinois woman the doubtful hon-
or of the authorship of "The Bread-
winners" deserves a place among the
curiosities of literature.
We can readily understand that as
events have shaped themselves since
1883 the real author would gladly es-
cape attention behind another name,
for when he wrote the book it is not
likely that he foresaw a public or poli-
tical career for himself. Fortunately
it is too late for any misapprehension
written in this country.
It had but one purpose says the New
York Journal, that was to show the
cssentlal vileness of every person not
a millionaire and the divine sublimity
of the men that make great sums
money. According to the teachings
this book the man that labors with
his hands is an ignoble creature and
the man that has no occupation but
to pursue the refined and elevating
amusements of society is the only re-
spectable person in the commdnity.
Open Air 2Danfr.v.
People with plenty of ground space,
yet constricted houses, may profitably
take a leaf from the book of south
country household economy. It is
common there for country folk to have
a sort of outdoor fresh air closet, a
small detached structure set in the
shadiest place possible, standing upon
four tall legs, with a fiat shingle roof
of barely enough pitch to shed rain.
The floor is at least four feet from the
ground, and the whole structure only
big enough to reach well across. There
are shelves alI around, and the
weather boarding up next the roof is
full of tiny auger holes. The door fits
tight, and fastens with a lock. Around
each of the four legs is commonly a
tar bandage, applied six inches above
the ground.
This traps venturesome ants, spiders
-
OPEN AIR PANTRY.
.and their kidney, thus keeping the in-
,side clear. The structure is white-
washed inside and out twice a year.
In hot weather floor and shelves are
washed every morning, and scoured
'twice a week. Such a fixture should
~not cost over three or four dollars,
even if one hires it built, and it is cer-
tainly among the handiest things one
can have about the house or yard.
Cheap J~eel .for F'orei#ner..
Mr. Charles M. Schwab, president of
the United States Steel company, ad-
mits that the American steel manu-
facturers sell their products to for-
eigners at a lower price than they do
to their own countrymen. He admits
and he defends the practice. His rea-
,soning is that to produce goods at the
minimum cost plants must be run to
their full capacity;, that when the pro-
,ductivit*y of plants run in this fashion
exceeds the demands of the country
surplus stocks pile up which must be
,disposed of abroad if disposed of at all,
and that it is for the interest of the
manufacturers, their employes and the
,country generally that these surpluses
"should be got rid of abroad, even if
they are sold at a price much below
that asked of home consumers, as oth-
erwise mills will have to be closed or
run on half time and workmen thrown
