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Show . . . The Improvement j t President j j t 1 By CLARA DELAFIELD j . (, lii23. Western Newspaper Union.) MRS. JAMES DURANT, stout, prosperous, befurred, looked sternly down on Mrs. Mulligan. "My good woman," she began, "I have called to inquire " "Pardoning me, mum, would you kindly excuse me a moment? I left the gas ring on and " "And you've turned It up too high, I suppose, as usual. You poor people will never learn to be economical. And look at that laundry on the line! It Isn't fit to be seen. Don't you know 'that you must have Beveral pegs for each piece? A gust of wind would blow It all away, and then you'd have to wash It all over again. And pray why do you wash on Thursday? If you poor people would only learn to be systematic and have one day for washing, the next for Ironing, you'd get along a good deal better and find life easier " A sudden yell from within sent Mrs. Mulligan hurrying inside the house. Mrs. Durant, president of the Women's Wom-en's Improvement league, followed her. She sniffed In disgust at the higgledy-piggledy tenement room. "If only you would learn to be a little tidier, Mrs. Mulligan," she said. "This house looks like a pigsty. And try to keep your children a little cleaner. Just look at that child's knees." "He's been playing," said Mrs. Mulligan Mul-ligan resentfully. "You should take proper care of your children. How many. Seven? That's simply sinful improvidence. No wonder the poor can't keep their homes decent when they're overrun by a pack of children. Who's this? Michael? Come back for lunch? Now If you had a grain of sense, Mrs. Mulligan, Mul-ligan, you would have put up his lunch before he went to school, and then hadn't time? But you must be systematic and make time. That child's howling as if he had a stom-j stom-j aehache. What did he have for break-I break-I fast? Bacon and corn bread? My poor woman, a child that age should have milk food sterilized milk, only ! five cents a quart dearer. Can't afford It? Why the room reeks of filthy tobacco. to-bacco. If your husband would stop throwing away his money on that tinny weed lie" would be' able' tff provide pro-vide for his family better. "Hard on you? Not at all. The Women's Improvement league Is going go-ing to keep right after you until you learn that a mother's duty Is to take proper care of her children. Now I hope you'll have things in better shape next time I come, Mrs. Mulligan." Mrs. James Durant sailed out of the cottage Indignantly, muttering something some-thing about the improvidence of the poor. The Durant home was one of the finest in Chesterville. Mrs. Durant, entering the house, was assailed by piercing screams. Percy Durant had got Ethel Durant down on the stairs and was pummelling her. Thomas Durant Du-rant was standing in the hall screaming scream-ing at the top of his voice. His face presented a greenish black appearance, appear-ance, for his brother had upset a bottle bot-tle of Ink all over him. j "My goodness I Janet I Janet I" ' cried the outraged mother. "Where are you?" "Coming, Ma'am " A thin, harassed-looklng harassed-looklng wreck of a woman resembling In some ways Mrs. Mulligan, only a little more refined, came panting In from the kitchen. "Just hanging out the laundry. Ma'am Oh, you naughty, naughty children! chil-dren! Oh, my goodness, look at his poor face !" Mrs. Durant was nearly in hysterics. hyster-ics. "Janet, what do you mean, what do you mean by this?" she stormed. "Is this the way you fulfill your duties du-ties when I place you in charge of my children? Percy, stop hitting Ethel Eth-el this moment! Janet, what will take those ink stains off his face? You'd better try salts of lemon, and Percy ! Did you upset the ink bottle over your little brother? Ethel, If you don't stop that howling this minute min-ute I'll give you the hardest spanking you've ever had in your life. Janet, you're discharged I mean, take that child out of my sight immediately! It's very hard I can't step outside the house without finding the whole place : looking like a pigsty when I come back. I "What's that? Certainly not, Janet. i The Idea of asking me to get some one to help you ! A full-grown woman is perfectly able to take care of three children and do the housework. Ym 1 got to hurry away now to read a paper pa-per at the Women's Improvement league, and when I come back I shall expect to see every bit of that Ink removed." |