THE FUTURE OF THE HOUSEWIFE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2677, 5 July 1905, Page 39

THE FUTURE OF THE HOUSEWIFE.

There is a good rune comi.ij for the 1 wearied and i uzzled hou-e.ufe. Ur R ibort | Ellis Thomr>oii. the autior of -cxc.-a. --)cio- i logical w-rks. i? of the opinion that | woman's natural function is that or a home builder, and she is totally unfitted for '

the labour incident to general housework. Cooking is one important branch of chemistry, and in tho future all cooking will bo done by men. All of the labour incident to housekeeping will be done by experts in the employ of a corporation, just as windows are now cleaned b3' agents or companies specially equipped for the work, and as laundrj' is handled hv gicat centralised concerns In the house of the future theie will be

no such thing 5 - a* was! tubs cooking rair.c-. heaters, staircases, 01 brooms. Aurrm t c elevators will replace the stairs, hydraulic apparatus will supplant the brooms; all cooking will be done by experts in establishments, where food will be prepared for thousands at a great s ving, and such a thing f.s the usual Monday wash will bo rrca .ed v !y as matter of ancient history, just as hundreds of very old ladies recall

when they had to make candles in theix own homes where electric lights are now in v -c. (Jentralised plants will heat all our homes, just as such plants now supply electric light and water These domestic utility corporations will solve the servant iiroblem, just as the great public corporations have in a way solved the labour problem. Expert service will be demanded and furnished. Each servant will be an expert in

some part of the domestic ait, and six or eight, and e\en 10, persons will perform the work now assigned tc a single servant. In Bergen, Norway, all t' c householders get their food from a geneiui kitchen, and t're plan is being successlully opeiated i-i Mobile, Alabama. In Paris a special yeontrived dinner kettle is in general u«e This kettle is made of two tin buckets separated by a thick band of felt. The

I French workman must have hot soup for | ! his dinner, and with this kettle he gets it. Hot soup can be sent a d-iy's journey in i one of these kettles without losing a degree ' of heat, so that the problem of transportation has been solved As a proposition in economy the cential | kitchen admits of no argument. It can | easily be demonstrated that the waste of 20 I families would support a dozen more. In j 1 the great centralised kitchen of the future

there will le no such (hi' g a- v a*?o 'I he "od will be the \ery be-t. and all byproducts now designated as waste will be utilised in a thoroughly scientific and com.l erciallv correct manner

Dys>l cp -a .vill be unknown when the cent -al kiteho i comes into general u c o By means of tho te'ephone and instant delivery service and p oper table attction the articles of food will be prepared properly in

the first phce, -erved properly, and, above all, promptly, »o that the diner may have all the time necessary for the proper mastication of his food and a period of rest for | digestion without giving up any more time > than at present Experts must be trained who will do all of thD work that must be done in the hemes far better than any ordinary housekeeper could do it. We must have expert j swoepeis, expert dusters, expert window

clc.i „■•-. i- \ pert be i( makers, expert u-ut-resse-. e\|.e.-t chid nurses, expert scrub! ers. and evrori- in e\cry other line of h uisc- \\ ark All of thc^e must come to us from a contra] office, aiid bring with thorn the toO.b of their trade— such as hydraulic sweepers and dusters, scrubbing brush.- and window-cleaning appliances, — and tal e them away with thorn when the necessary sen ice has bee 1 ! i erformed. A corps of

inspectors will pass the work when done, and payment will be made to the central office. The geneial adoption of this plan will elevate women generally, and solve all of the vexing problems in our home life. It will also save us money and prolong our li\e>. Women will be brighter and better, our homes will hi cleaner and better, and the food we eat will be the best than can be procured at any cost.