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Show . I I- & .'VC-.:,r1 .if i.-rv'TV IT g WMA.RADFORD,-r l Mr. William A. Radford will answer questions and give advice FREE OF COST on all subjects pertaining to tho subject of building, for the readers of this paper. On account of his wide experience us Editor, Author and Manufacturer, he la, without doubt, the highest authority on all these subjects. Address all Inquiries to William A. Radford, No. 178 West Jackson boulevard, Chicago, 111., and only enclose two-cent stamp for reply. A simple shack, with little adornment adorn-ment inside or outside, if it is owned by the man it shelters, is infinitely preferable to a "second-hand" rented house owned by and exacting tribute for someone else. This Is old-fashioned sentiment, and many who preach It live themselves in rented cages;, but it is gospel truth, just the same; and every day there are more and more people who are coming to realize it, and who are working and saving and planning for the day when at last they can take a long breath of restful contentment "under their own vine and fig tree." How much better to build a house like this for $1,000 or $1,200 than to keep on paying out good money for rent receipts. The reason why clerks and office men keep on paying rent year after year, ranging from $20 to $30 per month in the smaller cities, up to $40 or even $60 in the larger ones, is simply on account of pride false pride. They cannot afford a large, luxurious house, and they are ashamed to live in a small, cheap one. There are many four-room flats in the city of Chicago containing less space than this little bungalow, which rent for $30, and some as high as $40 per month. One side of such a flat is sure to be dark; and generally light only comes from the street in front and the alley in the rear. At the right and at the left are solid, smoky, dingy brick walls; and the inmates in-mates are obliged to burn gas in the middle rooms in the daytime If they 3 a start on a home of his own. It Is not a question of finances. Any man in possession of good health and a determination to own a little house like this, can do so; but he will never do it by waiting until he has money enough to build the kind of a nous? that his most expensive friends occupy. oc-cupy. At least, not one man in a hundred hun-dred thousand ever succeeds very well on that plan. I am perfectly aware of the fact that the women folks have as much as or more to say about the house than the men have, and they are often to blame because they do not have a home; but how much better it would be if they could get their ideas down to something within their husband's reach, then take hold with him and beautify the grounds and house until the little cottage Is the most attractive spot on earth to themselves, and to their children,, if they have any. It costs an effort to go back and forth morning and night; but every town and city Is provided with street-car transportation, and the cost of fare is a small item when weighed up against the saving in living liv-ing expenses, and especially in rent There Is, however, another consideration considera-tion which weighs more than money. It is the home feeling, the loving sentiment sen-timent that grows up around the property prop-erty which you have bought and paid for by degrees, that is of more value than money. It would be difficult to build any kind of house cheaper than this little bungalow "affair; still the appearance is pleasing. The large parlor window with two side lights, and the large dining room bay with such a neat little lit-tle side porch tucked away In the corner, just add the finishing touches that are so suggestive of refinement re-finement and good taste. Looks account ac-count for a good deal in a house, and more in a cottage. The pleasing ap- tlltM iHy r-ilrT, " pearance of most country cottages where a good garden is kept cornea more from the care bestowed on the grounds than from the style or bulid of the house itself; but it is better to study appearances even in building a very small house. want to see. Still the poor, deluded mortals who occupy such places refuse re-fuse to gp-out into the suburbs, where the sun shines and where abundance of fresh air may be had for nothing The hospitals are populated from these little sunless flats; but the people peo-ple who hibernate in such places have grown accustomed to their disagreeable disagree-able surroundings, and you know you can learn to tolerate almost any kind of existence. The design here illustrated is 'a little lit-tle four-room cottage house that may be easily and cheaply furnished, and heated all winter with four or five tons of coal. The same furniture that y WTtZTv" czos. S O-O'XZ'-a' Jaw DWJG ffOOM I SZD ROOM fVWi IJIVG ROOM Floor Plan. is necessary to furnish a fiat will fit in this house. The only extra is a coal range for cooking, unless the house is built within piping distance of a gas main. Unless the heat from the cooking range is necessary to ',7arm the house, probably gas is as cheap as coal for cooking purposes; much depends on management. 1 should certainly advise a young man who has a good position and not much money, to build a house like this, and not go too deeply in debt. Later, if he wants to put a cellar under un-der it, it can be easily done; and. while making alterations, it is easy to put a small furnace in the cellar and add a bathroom or any other improvement improve-ment desired. The point I wish to make is that a man is very foolish to keep on living In rented quarters instead of makJr |