No. 5. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 175 



when a man cannot have running water in his home by his own in- 

 genuity or the use of his own brains and labor, if he chose to put 

 the brains and labor into it. Water can be brought by gravity into 

 many of our homes and wells and springs exist that are being used 

 for generations, that at small cost could be connected with the 

 house, the old oaken bucket and pump handle being anything but 

 things of the past. The water from them could and should be 

 pumped into tanks or reservoirs or better yet, air pressure tanks by 

 rams and wind mills, gasoline engines or motors and thus forced 

 into the homes of the farmer. Most of the digging and pipe laying, 

 much even of the piping and actual plumbing and connections could 

 be done by the man himself, if he only regards the result as worth 

 while. It does not need to be done all at once, indeed my advice 

 would be to "go slow," so as to be sure of getting what we want and 

 the way we v/ant it. But there is no reason why every house that has 

 a pump, well or spring nearby should not have at least a kitchen 

 sink with running water and a drain connected so as to give sani- 

 tary care to the kitchen waste at least. 



This is the first step to what we farmers seem to regard as the 

 privilege of the city man only — a home with modern sanitary con- 

 veniences, bathroom, closets, washstands, sinks, etc. Three-fourths 

 inch pipe may be had for six cents a foot at wholesale or retail from 

 seven and one-half to nine cents, the price varying slightly from 

 time to time and according to quality used. When neighbors or 

 granges and clubs buy together, the price could be much reduced 

 by buying in large lots. First class gasoline engines with pump 

 may be had for from |50 and up while engines of a less high grade 

 may be had for as low as |20. A 500 gallon galvanized tank may be 

 bought for |70 and up to the large air tanks which cost from flOO 

 up. Therefore, I hope before long that no man will have the face 

 to say, and that no woman will agree to it if he does, that they can- 

 not afford to have running water in their home. The United States 

 Government has lately issued a bulletin regarding this matter in 

 which it states that the average farm woman lifts a ton of water 

 daily as an item of her household tasks. Surely so much strength 

 and vitality could be better spent. So much that stands for youth 

 and energy, that might be used for better purposes, such as being 

 better mothers and better wives and neighbors, — better women in- 

 deed, is vrorth conserving. It is this sort of work that makes house 

 work "drudgery," — that makes our girls want to leave the farm 

 homes to become business women, and that strikes at and destroys 

 the very root of human love and companionship between the hus- 

 bands and wives, — we become toilers and forget to be lovers. 



Because our duty to our neighbors is as our duty to ourselves and 

 because the law has stepped in to see that we perform both these du- 

 ties, the question of what to do with the sewage or waste from our 

 houses, how to protect our own Avater supply and also our neighbors 

 from pollution, has heretofore been a very difficult one. In fact 

 until very recently, none has seemed to have any plan, that the De- 

 partment of Health could accept that was within the reach of per- 

 sons of moderate means. We were told of the endless dangers of 

 pollution from well and pump drains, from cess pools and privies, 

 from barn yards, pig pens, etc., but no feasible methods as to how 

 to avoid these risks and do our duty were suggested, none indeed, 

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