364 AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS October, 1907 



Monthly Comment 



HE latest word in building fashions is one 

 fraught with the saddest woe. The foyer 

 hall, it appears, must go, and for the very 

 good and practical reason that it is not 

 suited to courting uses! A pretty state oi 

 affairs, forsooth, and one that calls for in- 

 stant remedying. The parlor, the old- 

 fashioned parlor, if you please, seems to be an indispensable 

 adjunct of the most noble art of love-making. And the par- 

 lor has been on the decline, lo, these years and days. In 

 many cases it has utterly disappeared from the modern house 

 plan, and in others it has survived as a "reception-room" of 

 the smallest possible dimensions. These narrow quarters 

 might be supposed to be ample for such delectable proceed- 

 ings, but even they are not without their undesirable qualifica- 

 tions, and the only safety, the only absolute safety, seems to 

 be in the immediate and complete extermination of the foyer 

 hall with its open stairway, its spacious hospitable dimensions, 

 its utter freedom, its elegance, its convenience to every one 

 not engaged in the aforsaid occupation which cries aloud for 

 its extermination. 



The truth of the matter seems to be that bashful young 

 men will not even so much as enter such spacious and semi- 

 public apartments. The proud possessor of one of these new- 

 fangled rooms, therefore, finds his daughters on his hands in- 

 definitely, while the maiden who once rejoiced in the latest 

 thing in family rooms finds herself compelled to pass her 

 evenings in solitary loneliness or surrounded by such unin- 

 teresting company as is provided by her immediate family. 

 Rural regions, it is said, feel these distressing circumstances 

 much more keenly than the cities, for in rural regions the 

 parlor has a historic place in the art of courting that the 

 foyer hall utterly refuses to supply. Everyone knows how 

 important courting is, and the end of this very useful apart- 

 ment is not only in sight, but would appear to have actually 

 arrived. Fathers with marriageable daughters and foyer 

 halls — perish the combination — may, therefore, be expected 

 to place their houses in the market for immediate sale at 

 marked-down prices. 



The scarcity of rural help of all kinds was never more 

 marked than at present. That the farmers have been in a 

 bad way for help of all kinds for several years is very gen- 

 erally known; but the scarcity has now extended to every 

 form of rural help, and rests quite as heavily upon the well- 

 to-do in places near the large cities as upon those residing at 

 remote spots. The satisfied dependable servant is becoming 

 so rare an article as to have almost completely disappeared. 

 The changing of plans to suit the convenience of servants has 

 long ceased to be a joke, and has become a grim reality. One 

 may, indeed, descend on one's country seat with a full retinue 

 of retainers, but one is fortunate if the return in the fall is 

 made in the same triumphal fashion. Nor is this all. A 

 really much more serious problem is the difficulty of employ- 

 ing local labor for any purpose whatsoever. The man and 

 woman who could be hired by the day for odd jobs, or even 

 for extended jobs, is no longer to be had for love or money. 

 Vast areas of rural communities everywhere are absolutely 

 devoid of laborers, while the skilled workman, the carpenter 

 and the plumber, are apt to be so much occupied with steady 

 work that their services can only be had at odd hours and 

 at most highly advanced compensation. This state of affairs 

 doubtless reflects a general prosperity, and certainly ind'cates 

 a very general activity, but it greatly increases the difficulty 



of rural and suburban living, and is one of the many hard- 

 ships one must undergo in the effort to be comfortable. And 

 it is a condition that affects the rich as well as those less well 

 off. Money can not hire men when there are no men to be 

 hired. 



No ONE should imagine that the country is a cheap place 

 in which to live. One can, of course, for a given sum, acquire 

 more land and a more commodious house than one could own 

 in a city for an equal amount. One may pay actually less in 

 taxes, but almost all other expenses are likely to be higher. 

 There is no saving in meats and vegetables; there is no saving 

 in the cost of help; there is no saving in merchandise supplies; 

 there is no saving in the cost of fuel. Oil will cost less 

 than electricity, but where the latter is to be had it will be 

 invariably preferred. One actually needs more things in the 

 country to be comfortable than were deemed essential in the 

 city. If one's place is of any size at all a man must be kept 

 for the outdoor work, and at least one horse, while two or 

 three may not be too many. If the vegetable bill is small in 

 the middle of summer, it is only because various other ex- 

 penses have been incurred in the cultivation of the market 

 garden. The truth is, there is a considerable number of spe- 

 cial expenses that must be incurred if one is to be comfortable 

 and satisfied with rural life, and almost every one of these is 

 absolutely unavoidable. 



But for this increased expense there are many compensa- 

 tions. It is much more important to get as much wholesome 

 enjoyment out of life than to keep expenses down to the low- 

 est possible limit. And it is because these compensations are 

 so many and so obvious that great crowds of city folk are 

 annually deserting the cities with the avowed intention of 

 never returning. It is true the price of rent and the costli- 

 ness of real estate is the great moving impetus, but, after all, 

 there is a very wide appreciation of the more healthful life, 

 and greater personal freedom, the ample spaces and the purer 

 air that characterize every rural spot, and which help to 

 bring about that contentment and satisfaction for which rural 

 life is so admirably fitted. 



The house painting season is now at its height, and all 

 sorts of transformations are in progress everywhere. There 

 are few matters connected with the house that call for more 

 complete reform than this. Comparatively few persons have 

 any realizing sense of the value of color on the exterior of 

 a house, and many an excellent design has been ruined by 

 improper painting and unjudicious choice in the selection of 

 colors. Nor is the problem one that can readily be solved. 

 The color problem of a house is an individual problem, each 

 house calling for an individual solution in an individual way. 

 Generalities help, in a measure, of course, but their practical 

 utility is comparatively small. Only one general rule seems 

 available, and that is to use as few different colors and tones 

 as possible. Do not make your house an exhibit of the possi- 

 bilities of house paint. It is a common error to introduce as 

 many different colors as possible to emphasize every mold- 

 ing, to pick out every piece of detail. It is not only unneces- 

 sary to do that, but often most distressful. One must, of 

 course, depend on one's painter to a very large extent, espe- 

 cially in rural communities. There one does not always find 

 competent men trained in an artistic way; but often enough it 

 Is the only available material. It is difficult to advise further, 

 in a general way, than to avoid indiscriminate colors and 

 garish tones. 



