| Show cooperative OPERATIVE CO 00 HOUSE KEEPING it ia is useless to present resent any plan of operation cooperation co which does not take into account the essential characteristics te of human nature we may establish nn hypothesis and upon this hypothesis may build a structure which shall bo be symmetrical in all its parts and well pleasing to the eye of the imag imagination nation but if the hypothesis which forms the foundation possesses not net the elements of truth nay if it be not truth itself in its ats entirety the structure will not stand and all the building is vain A plan thore fore to be of any value beyond the beauty of conception conceptIo nj must bo be eminently practical must meet the needs of the people eople in their daily life and mare mate make full allowance for the peculiarities and idiosyncrasies of humanity as we find them ico operative cooperative co housekeeping house keeping ia is a subject which ii Is not new to the public and in fact if it were any attempt to carry into effect the most feasible plan would be attended with failure for we are so constituted that we must be edue educated abed to ideas by a slow process of mental and be able to grasp them as truths benore before we shall be ready to put them into practice there are in the community today to day thousands who have thought upon this i subject until they are convinced that the principle of co operation is founded in truth and are only waiting fora successful movement in tills this direction that they iriny may have faith in its practical workings an enterprise of this kind upon a sufficiently large scale to derive all the benefits desired wiil will involve the concerted ora orn of a large number num berot berof of with faith in ata its successful workings who ara are ready to undertake the enterprise and who possess thousands of capital to carry it forward aud and bring it into J operation in such suck a marner manner that it may command the tho respect of the community its value being thus demonstrated st others would be incited to move movements ments menta in a like direction aro are waiting for this first successful experiment before we any of us deem it prudent to launch out upon ulon this unexplored sea and what we will have to do first will be to demon demonstrate strate strato the p possibility and feasibility of operation cooperation co by commencing with a trial on a small scale there are plenty of people who will laugh in derision at such chimerical dreams dromms of fancy as to call a belief in expediency of any uy pian plan ot at co operation afew A few fow years ago after arter tho the first attempt at laying the atlantic cabe cable how many people crowed over cover the failure and triumphantly antly repeated the assertion 1 I lold told you so A lady bf culture and intelligence bald said to me at the time is such a foolish enter prise I 1 am astonished that such minda should have engaged in it I 1 never neve rhad had any faith in i n it it anever can be successful 11 in less than two mbatha alter th this very wise speech the present cable was in triumphantly antly successful operation and since then producing scarcely a ripple rippie upon the surface of our i consciences comes the announcement nom rom time to time of new cables laid new now continents united by this grand chain of lightning and thought it does not follow then because incredulous fearful souls or those who always cavil a at t everything new may cry out against operation cooperation co in connection conne olion clion with our home iloe life that it must be relinquished as impossible and inexpedient we gewant want to commence I 1 in buch such a way that there will be no risk to be run in any direction and that every individual may feel at liberty to withdraw at any time if this could be bb done there ther 0 are plenty of people who would not be afraid to embark in the enterprise allow me to present a plan of this kind we will commence with the class of persons who are living in rented houses and paying from to per annum for rent buarl have nothing to risk in la changing their plan pian af abode let seven such families rent a house together this the rent rend at 2 for each family more or less according to the tho room occupied for these seven fi families tallies t ere eie is but one kitchen laundry room dining room and one suite of parlors which will win be used as belong ing to the t cona cOra pany individually and collectively now by ba having ong each family supplied with private rooms enough for comfort thus securing e cu u entire seclusion when desired dee tiey they have all the room they need the private private rooms would woula be furnished i individually by the families occupy occupying in them an and d the remainder of the to house the rooms i to be usei used in common would require to be furnished collectively and na as all who are now keeping house have already on hand such uniting equal oqual val vai values ues aes from the personal property of each family this would be found to be an ali easy matter to adjust it might be better to buy new carpets and perhaps other othen furnishings for the par parlors lors and halls and in this matter all would need to be equal shareholders if each family should 8 spend end say from 50 to 75 toward tile the fitting up of the parlors etc this would stand them as amount in stock and upon any one becoming desirous of leaving the combination this stock could be sold with an equitable discount to another party the amount of working force necessary to carry en on this establishment li lish ment would be small when compared with that required in carrying on a separate establishment for each of these seven families one cook one dining room girl and one laundrywoman laundry woman would be all the help necessary then with one of our number who would ba be willing to take upon herself the duties of housekeeper with a compensation pensa tion and a steward deputized from our oar rank ranks sand and some one to keep the books the machinery would be in working order the question suggests itself wherein would this be any way dlf dif lerent different from boarding according to the present boardinghouse boarding house system I 1 would answer in several essential points in the first place all would feel fee that the home is their own here is one characteristic in human nature every person has an instinctive desire for a home which may be called mine and as each member of a large household may enjoy this consciousness of possession in the home in which they dwell so in this case there need be no feeling that anyone is occupying the premises of another another in a house bouse all must pay a profit above the actual cost else there would be no object in keeping boarder boarders sasa as a remunerative employment bo boarding a rd in the case of single persons or with a of i husband and wife may be the a cheaper mode of ilo iio alfo than to keep up a 1 home horn but when there are ate several in a family it is a very expensive mannerow manner manne of living arto to board in the plan we are now proposing it would be forthe for tho the interest of every one odo to economize and bring the expenses to their minimum consistent with good living while as boarders the great object is to get the worth woith of the money expended rl regardless of convenience or acono my then thed again all in the household have a voice in its affairs and are Inte interested reste d in its harmonious gsand resolving themselves into a deliberative body they can decide whatever questions may t arise whenever consultation is needed one question of importance it would be lie well invariably to settle in a council of the whole and that itt is what shall we have for dinner thus leaving no doubt in t the he mind of the housekeeper house keeper about what will suit the tastes of the company and rel rei relieving leving her of this responsibility which is usually a burdensome one I 1 think I 1 hear some of my readers say BAY this sounds very well on paper the theory is very beautiful but it went wont work in practice there would soon be a quarrel 1110 among ag the women there ia is quite too much truth in this assertion human nature is very much alike in this respect in men and women ony only it is modi fled by our pursuits in life and men or women who have no worthy employment will always have work suggested to them by who according to the old proverb bj will find some mischief whereby to employ idle hands man finds himself fortified by the discipline gained in the steady per ae veronce in the profession or art to which ho be dedicates himself while the lack of steady employment and noble alms aims in women breeds satiety and disgust and spurs her on to seek beek for new now and untried scenes for diversion and recreation and women who havo have no i higher pursuit in life than studying fashion plates platea and planning the most stunning costumes mut necessarily cessa cess rily arlly in order to nind find sufficient scope for their energies delve into the mysteries of the affairs of their next door neighbors we should have less wrangling and gossip among women if they had any aim alm in life the woman who has something to do who has her hands bands and heart filled with noble employment either for her family or her race has no time nor disposition to enter into an investigation of the imperfections of those about her if we bear in mind and carry into the daily activities of life as a rule olfaction of action one general principle never to trespass upon the trie rights of another we are fitted for co opera tion and if we cannot do this we had better batter not attempt it IL gossips scandal mongers bongers ausy uby bod badiea lesin in other peoples matters havo aade not reached that point in hu man evolution wherein they are fitted sited for association of any kind such people whether men or women should be looked upon with sincere pity and be avoided as much as possible save where we ma may bring to bear an elevating influence flu fiu nce upon their unfortunate fortunate ua condition of soul and there is no other means so salutary in the promotion of spiritual growth in enlarging bur views of life in developing the higher faculties of our nature as active employment work work wherein the intellect is called into exercise to accomplish com some noble object it would be a sad condition to contemplate if amid our enlightened civilization wherein the precepts ce p ts 0 of him the burden of wl whose ose 1 f teachings ac in s was uni universal venal love and e Z charity arity aind llad had been preached for ce centuries from thousands of pulpits and hundreds of thousands ol 01 people had adopted these precepts as their rule of action antioni act not ionI loni I 1 say it would be a sad spectacle and speak ve very little f nor for or the efficacy of christian tj principles in actuating the lives of humanity if yet we have not progressed to the point aher wherein eil ell I 1 we can recognize the rights of others and not only refrain from trespass but in christian love spread the mantle of charity over their shortcoming and yeut is a humiliating and solemn truth bat the tile only drawback to operation cooperation co associate asso clat 1 ed homes iles lies in the fact that but few of the vast multitude professing christianity have ever learned to comprehend it practically alcaley Al cally in its fullness and beauty we tepidly and automatically assent with our lips to principles which we in our daily lives utterly deny in practice 1 baba 1 cleveland herald a 0 |
