1442 
TV RURAL NEW-YORKER 
September 11, 1020 
Home Conveniences 
Wiring the House for Electric Light* 
It. may interest some who are thinking 
of putting electric light into their homes 
to know what it recently cost the writer 
to wire his own house and install the 
ordinary electric equipment. We have 
wanted for some time to connect with the 
light and power wires which bring the 
current from a village six miles away, hut 
have postponed the job because of the 
high and increasing costs of everything 
involved. The war. of course, sent cooper 
out of sight, and copper is to all things 
electrical what leather is to the shoe¬ 
maker. We are fortunate, however, in 
having a dealer in electric supplies in the 
family, and so in being able to get all 
needed materials and equipment at trade 
prices. If we could do the work ourselves, 
a low cost record might be established. 
To the average man the ways of elec¬ 
tricity are altogether too mysterious to 
permit of his dabbling in volts, amperes 
and watts, and it is perhaps well that this 
is so. for an apparently small mistake 
may lead to very serious consequences 
where powerful currents are involved. To 
wire a .house and install the ordinary 
lighting fixtures and equipment is really 
a very simple thing, however, if the prin¬ 
ciples are understood and a few rules of 
the Underwriters’ Association are known. 
Perhaps the best way to learn these is to 
inspect carefully a job already done and 
to talk with some friendly electrician who 
is willing to reveal the secrets of his trade. 
Our eight-room house would need Ifi 
“outlets.” as places for the attachment of 
fixtures are called. We wanted one or 
more lights in each living room, in the at¬ 
tic. woodshed and cellar, and several wall 
sockets for the convenient attachment of 
vacuum cleaner and electric iron. At I he 
rate charged by local electricians. $1 per 
outlet, the wiring for these would cost 
$G0, with all fixtures and appliances yet 
to be purchased. We didn’t feel that we 
could alTord this, and decided to do the 
work ourselves at such times as we could 
give to it. and to take full advantage of 
our exceptional opportunity to secure ma¬ 
terials at wholesale prices. Doing this, 
we wired the house throughout, placed 
lights wherever they could possibly be 
needed, and purchased a vacuum cleaner 
and electric iron, all at a total cost of less 
than .$100. This included the purchase of 
a meter from the lighting company and 
wire for the street connection, though 
making the connection was done by the 
company. 
A few items of cost may be interesting 
by way of comparison: Four hundred 
feet of Xo. 1 1 rubber-covered wire, used 
in interior wiring. $1.40; 250 feet of No.. 
10 wire, for street connection. $5; 175 15- 
in. porcelain tubes for floor joists. 57c; 
100 porcelain knobs. $3.20; service switch 
with iron box, 05c: four rolls rubber and 
cotton tape. 00c; 1 lb. solder. 30c. The 
meter cost $0.75, but, exclusive of this, 
the total cost of the wiring was hut little 
more than $15; a saving of $45 if we gave 
our labor. We did not keep any record 
of the time spent in this work, and it is 
probably well that we did not; still, we 
bad the fun of doing it, and the time 
might otherwise have been spent to less 
advantage. 
It is unnecessary to tell anyone who 
has recently purchased electric fixtures 
that they are high in price; some are also 
bard to get. Dealers tell us that glass¬ 
ware ordered a year ago has not yet been 
delivered, and that it is more difficult to 
obtain other materials than it was during 
the war. We found that a very modest 
three-light chandelier would cost us $S at 
wholesale, and from that up. Fortunately, 
our other household furniture didn’t re¬ 
quire any up-ness in chandeliers, and 
something lower in price wouldn’t look 
out of place. Upon inquiry, we found that 
n friend had recently removed some very 
pretty gas fixtures from his house and 
stored them in his at.tic. Gas fixtures 
work equally well with electricity when 
wired and fitted with sockets, lamps and 
shapes. More work, but then, of course, 
more fun; that is. if that’s your idea of 
fun. Wiring gas fixtures is something of 
an art. but. the novice can do it if lie is 
possessed of a little ingenuity and is will¬ 
ing to use time, patience ami muscle. The 
fixtures must be taken apart and gas 
cocks and other openings drilled out to 
admit wires. After we had wired three, 
wo felt that we knew how and will pass 
on a hint here that would have saved us 
time, money and many earnest thoughts if 
it had occurred to us when we began the 
work instead of just as we were finishing 
the last chandelier. Before attempting to 
draw sticky rubber-covered wires through 
holes and passages much too small for 
them, lubricate them well with a wet cake 
of hard soap. 
We bought, three chandeliers for $0. one 
three-light one was a really handsome af¬ 
fair that would undoubtedly now cost, 
new, at least $.‘50. When wired and fitted 
with sockets. Limps and shades, it actual¬ 
ly cost us $7.50; labor again disregarded. 
The others cost, less, but are well suited to 
their places. It isn’t: wise to install any 
one piece of furniture that will embarrass 
the family financially in an attempt to 
live up to it. Our vacuum cleaner cost 
the dealer’s commission less than $55. the 
retail price. None could do better work, 
and it is doubtful if any have a better 
motor, the heart of the machine. It is 
evidently unnecessary to purchase the 
highest-priced machines on the market, if 
service rather than appearance is what is 
wanted. It is bard to understand how a 
small electric motor and fan can create a 
current of air that will suck dirt that a 
broom cannot remove from a carpet or 
rug. One can hardly believe that they do 
until he has emptied (he machine once or 
twice and wondered where all the dirt 
could have come from. An electric iron 
at $4.50 is a convenience that has not yet 
•been tested. It is quite evident from trial, 
however, that an electric iron is a com¬ 
paratively expensive household conven¬ 
ience in use. Power and light take rela¬ 
tively little current, hut heating with elec¬ 
tricity is expensive. 
The worth of the comfort and conven¬ 
ience of electric lights ready to tiood any 
room at the turn of a switch or the pull 
of a cord can hardly-he estimated. Hob¬ 
goblins desert the cellar and woodshed 
and even the ghosts leave the attic, and 
the cost need not be excessive. We paid 
the lighting company $1.53 per month for 
each of the two Winter months; this at 
IS cents per kilowatt hour. No waste is 
permitted, however; a light not in actual 
use is immediately turned off. and the 
accusation. “You left the cellar light on 
all night" is a terrible one to the guilty 
member of the family. M. B. n. 
Building a Fireplace 
I «am writing fiat on my back in bed, 
having gotten in the way of an automo¬ 
bile that knocked me down, fractured my 
right hip and right lower leg. laeenating 
leg below knee; in fact, making of me a 
general wreck for the past 2K weeks. 
to allow this neighbor to continue going 
on the premises and taking water from 
the well? If juy neighbor sold his place, 
could new owner use the water without 
my permission ? Neighbor has always 
looked after the well, cleaning it, out, etc. 
Pennsylvania. C. a. m. 
By crossing your land for more than 20 
years without let or hindrance, your 
neighbor has undoubtedly obtained a pre¬ 
scriptive right to continue to do so, and 
if you sold your property, the purchaser 
would he obliged to allow him to continue 
going on the premises and taking water 
from the well. In the event* the neigh¬ 
bor sold, the new owner would succeed 
to his right, and could use the water with¬ 
out your permission. The right he has 
runs with the land, and inures to each 
succeeding owner. 
The Wife’s Property Right 
1. What part of the cream money is a 
woman supposed to use to keep house on? 
2. Gan a man use all of his money he 
earns in the Winter as he likes, and not 
give his wife any to keep house on or 
buy clothes?. 3. Does all of the personal 
property belong to a man? 4. Can a 
woman sell anything from the farm, such 
as a cow or some chickens? 5. What 
part of the property does a woman get 
when she gets a divorce? 6. Gan a man 
take the children away from the .mother? 
We have 1(10 acres of land and eight 
cows, two pigs, three horses and some 
chickens .beside the machinery. 7. Does 
the man get all the machinery and does 
a woman get the household goods or fur¬ 
niture? 8. What! punishment does a 
*s| 
k 
o 
WRONG W.A V 
R/GHT WAY 
J'lun of Fireplace 
< hie of your subscribers, who is also a 
patient, in (his hospital, received his It. 
X.-Y. and loaned this week's copy to me 
to look over, and I ran across the article 
on fireplaces, page 1254. Having had 
an experience with a fireplace that had 
been built as you suggest, I felt that I 
must tell you about mine. 
In 19(M» my wife bought, an old house 
that bad this fireplace, bur no one had 
been able to build a fire in it and stay in - 
the room on account of its smoking so 
much. In a copy of C auntry l.ifc in 
America. 1000 or 1010. I think, was an 
article, "Fireplaces That Smoke," and 
two drawings. One fireplace, built the 
right way, and one of the wrong way, 
which latter was the way ours was built. 
T. G. F. says his is an old farmhouse. 
So is ours. Your reply is all right so far 
as il goes, but it leaves out a very im¬ 
portant. part, if he is (o have a fireplace 
that will not smoke. One important 
thing you do not mention is the smoke 
shelf. See my rough drawing and the 
proportion of fireplace opening to due. 
11iilo is 139 sq. in. of Hue to each square 
foot opening (144 sq. in.). If T. E. F. 
makes opening 32 in. wide, as in yoair 
cross section, it would have to be 31% in. 
high to be in correct proportion ; not a 
bad size. 
As for smoke shelf, back wall of fire¬ 
place drawn over as shown lo within 
4 in. of the front wall above opening. 
Gold air comes down flue, strikes shelf 
and is turned so that hot air and smoke 
strike it in front and take it up front of 
flue. If shelf is not put in, smoke, etc., 
is carried out into room. I corrected 
ours (at 1 a total cost of 90c) by getting 
tinner to cut me a piece of galvanized 
iron for shelf and a piece of tin to reduce 
opening to correct proportion. When 
new chimney is built it. should be. done 
by a mason (and lie sure hi* does it ; he 
may say it is nonsense, but it. is not). 
My wife was so well pleased slio made 
me open up an old one in living mom and 
fix it. There I built shelf of reinforced 
concrete, and faced it with Pompeian 
brick. joiin makes l. black. 
Pennsylvania. 
Use of Well 
There is a well on my property to 
which a neighbor has had free access for 
years without any written agreement ; in 
fact, long before the property came into 
my possession. In ease I made sale of 
my holdings, would purchaser be obliged 
man get for beating a woman? M. F. S. 
Michigan. 
1. Neither law nor custom gives the 
wife any particular shave of any money 
coming in on the farm, such as cream 
money or chicken or egg money. The 
husband is hound to support the wife and 
lo furnish sufficient money to maintain 
I lie home in a proper manner, and if he 
does not do this, the wife should complain 
to court, that her husband does not sup¬ 
port her, and the court, after a hearing, 
will compel the husband to support her 
properly. 
2. No. he cannot. Tic must give his 
wife sufficient money to buy her clothes 
and maintain the home. If he does not, 
proceed to court as directed above. 
3. That all depends. As a general 
thing the husband has purchased all the 
personal property with his own money, 
and then tlie* property belongs to him. If 
(Ik* wife purchased any of the property 
with her own money, those particular ar¬ 
ticles would belong to her. The personal 
property belongs to the person whose 
money is used to purchase it. 
4. Tf the husband is away from home 
earning money and giving none to the 
wife for the support of herself and the 
home, I think the wife is justified in sell¬ 
ing whatever is necessary to provide her 
with funds for the support of herself and 
the home, and the court would probably 
uphold her in it. The husband should 
first lie requested to provide the funds. 
5. When the wife sues for divorce the 
court grants her a certain sum, called 
alimony, which she gets even before trial 
to pay for carrying on the litigation, and 
then if she wins her divorce she gets a 
permanent sum at regular intervals for 
lier support. She gets no other share of 
his property—except she retains her 
dower right in his real property. 
(». When a divorce is - granted the court 
allows that parent to have the custody 
of the children whom lie thinks the best 
interests of the children requires. If the 
wife gets the divorce for cause, and the 
husband is found to be at fault, the wife 
would probably be given the care and cus¬ 
tody of the children, and the husband 
would he required to support thepi. 
7. If a divorce is granted, the machin¬ 
ery and household goods would go to that 
person whose money was used to pur¬ 
chase it. If the household goods belong 
to (lie husband, he nevertheless would he 
compelled to provide a home and furniture 
for his wife and children. 
8. That would depend somewhat on 
how hard he heat her; but it: is a crime 
and ought to land him in the peniten¬ 
tiary. If your husband is treating you 
in the way this letter would seem to indi¬ 
cate, you should inquire immediately f or 
the best; most upright, attorney in your 
vicinity and put your case before him and 
seek his advice. Your husband must 
provide von a home with sufficient food 
and clothes. And he has no more right 
to bent you than a stranger has. Get the 
best, local advice immediately, and then 
follow it. Y'our husband will have to 
pay for it if he is in the wrong—or if he 
is in the right, either. if. p. 
Right to Devise Children by Will 
I am a member of a household where 
your paper is taken, and wish to ask a 
question. Is it true that there are States 
in the Union that still have a law permit¬ 
ting a man to will his children, even the 
tinhorn, away from their mother? If so, 
what States are they? If not so, when' 
was the law repealed in the last State? 
Is there any Federal law that would 
render such State law void? If so, when 
was it passed? header. 
New York. 
This question was referred to the Chil¬ 
dren's Bureau of the United States De¬ 
partment. of Labor, and the report is: 
“We have not made an exhaustive study 
of this subject, and are therefore unable 
to give you a definite statement, hut of 
the 31 States, the laws of which have 
been searched for this subject, there is 
none which makes this provision. North 
Carolina did have such a provision, hut 
it was amended in 1911, making the con¬ 
sent of the mother necessary. 
"Following is a list of States, the laws 
of which we have searched ; California, 
Colorado. Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, 
Idaho. Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, 
Kentucky. Maine, Maryland, Massachu¬ 
setts. Michigan. Minnesota. Missouri, 
Montana. Nebraska, Nevada, New Hamp¬ 
shire. New Jersey. New Mexico, Now 
York. North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, 
Oregon. South Carolina, Wisconsin, Wyo¬ 
ming. 
“I know of no Federal statute which 
would apply to this subject.” 
Adopting a Child in Pennsylvania 
We have taken a child from the 
“home"; had him 25 months. The rela¬ 
tives have not paid anything to the home 
for his support since a year ago last 
December. When approached the mother 
refused to give up the child, but did not 
take him. nor send any cash. A friend 
has told us we could take the child before 
the poor hoard, put him upon the town, 
and immediately take out adoption 
papers. This has been done twice in 
Chenango County, N. Y. Can we do this 
in Pennsylvania, inasmuch ns the mother 
lias for 1f» continuous months paid noth¬ 
in". and previous to this spasmodic pay¬ 
ments for four years? w. 0. 
Pennsylvania. 
Tf the parents or relatives do not offer 
any support whatever, or even insufficient 
support to maintain the child, the sug¬ 
gested procedure could he carried out, 
namely, putting him as a public charge 
upon the poor directors or the town. If 
then the relatives would not offer to make 
a proper home for him, application to 
have the child on parole could he filed, 
and later papers of adoption could be 
asked from the court. The adoption pro¬ 
ceedings can he contested by the parents 
nr relatives, who in bringing these pro¬ 
ceedings would have to prove that they 
contemplate making a proper home for 
the child so that it would not again be¬ 
come a public charge. These procedures 
would vary according to the various legal 
methods in effect in the different counties, 
and the proper thing to do would he to 
consult some reliable attorney of your 
county. E. J. w. 
Pennsylvania. 
Learning the Automobile Business 
The letter on page 1208. inquiring about. ( 
tin* automobile course, is answered cor¬ 
rectly, when it. comes to learning the auto-1 
mobile business. The greatest trouble, 
with those learning from apprenticeship 
is that they do not study from good text¬ 
books. and a great deal of stress is put 
upon the advantage that the students 
have over the self-made mechanic, as be¬ 
ing able to become foremen, whereas the 
mechanic who has just learned how to do i 
the work from experience never gets any 1 
higher than just n common mechanic. | 
While that is true to a great extent, there | 
is no reason why anybody cannot study i 
at homo just as well, for so much work , 
is crowded into a small amount of time 
that most of your studying is done at 
your room anyway. Tf anybody will just 
locate a first-class garage where they are 
willing to help explain the fundamental 
parts, ho will he ahead, both as a me¬ 
chanic and in the saving in money. 1 
have learned this by experience, for I at¬ 
tended ns good a school as there is. 
Michigan. E- n< 
At the local club they were comparing 
notes as to the speed and other qualities 
of their cars, when Stevenson remarked: 
“That man Smythe, who has a suburban 
•real estate development, has the fastest 
car in this part of the country, Ij® 
makes 70 miles nil hour." Great Scott . 
exclaimed a listener. “What does he 
want a ear like that for?” “Tie’s got. to 
have it when lie’s advertising his property 
as being five minutes from the station. ■ 
New York Globe. 
