HOME DEPARTMENT
The Home Department welcomes suggestions, recipes, useful hints, brief articles, short accounts of what women have done in their homes and home towns, and brief, true stories of “Heroism at Home.” We are all working together and we want to put into our Department anything that will make the housewife’s life brighter and more useful. We, all of us, are the editors of “Home”; let us make it as good as we can.
Every month there will be a prize of a year’s free subscription to Watson’s Magazine, sent to any address desired, for the best contribution. There will also be, every month, a prize of another such free subscription for the best true story of “Heroism at Home.” These two prizes will not be given to the same person.
The names of those contributing recipes and suggestions will be printed with what they send in, unless they request to have their names omitted. The names of those contributing stories of “Heroism at Home” will not be printed unless in exceptional cases. The reason for not printing the names in this case is that the stories are true and the characters in them are real people who might be sensitive about having their most private affairs set forth in type with their right names appearing in it. If we published the names and addresses of the person who sends in the story about them it would be almost the same as publishing their own names. In each number there will be a note saying that such and such a story receives the prize, but no names will be given. The names in the story will be left blank or fictitious names will be supplied. Under the head of “Heroism at Home” are further particulars.
There is no need to worry about “not knowing how to write.” What our Department wants is the facts. If any corrections are really needed, they can easily be made. We aren’t trying to be “authors”—we’re just women trying to help one another.
The Editors of the Magazine tell me that it will simplify matters very much if we make a few simple rules for sending in contributions. Let us see how the following will work out:
1. Make all contributions short and to the point.
We have only a few pages altogether; there are a lot of us to contribute and there are many things to talk about.
2. Address everything carefully and in full to Mrs. Louise H. Miller, Watson’s Magazine, 121 West 42d Street, New York City.
3. Write on one side of the paper only.
4. No letters or manuscripts will be returned.
Make a copy of everything you send if you want to keep it.
May Number.—A continuation of this month’s subject for discussion.
June Number.—Our common ornamental flowers, wild and cultivated.
July Number.—What women can do toward improving and beautifying their home cities, towns, or country districts.
The Department this month is something like! The Other Editors have taken hold! I knew that I should have to write most of it for the first two months, until time enough had passed for contributions to come in from the rest of you. Now the suggestions, recipes, articles, and stories of “Heroism at Home” have begun to come from all over the country and our Department begins to take on its permanent form. Every month from now on ought to be a big improvement over all that went before.
The letters received have made me very happy, for they contain many words of praise and good wishes for the Department and prove that the writers are ready and willing to help edit it and that they can. Don’t misunderstand me. The words of praise are not for my work in the Department, but for the Department itself—for the plan of having us all work together for our common good. It is a good plan and, now that you are actually at work with me, I know we are going to work that good plan out and work it out well!
Unfortunately, some of the letters did not reach me in time for publication in this number. They will not be lost to the Department on that account, however. Also, the final date set for letters on Why Women Should be Interested in Politics came so soon after the day when the March issue was mailed out that there was hardly time for many to reach us. The Magazine was very late last month. The Editors couldn’t help it, and they are trying hard to get this April number out promptly on time. After this we will not set any particular date for letters to be in, but if, for instance, you want to say something in the May number, send it to me as soon as you can after getting this issue.
After talking with the Editors and thinking it over by myself I can see that it will not always be best to publish every letter as soon as it comes in. For example, an excellent letter has been sent to us from Nebraska telling how the women of a certain town have organized and done a great deal for the beauty, comfort and usefulness of their little city. It came in response to something I had said in the Department. Now this letter is just the kind of thing we want, but it seems to me better not to use it in this issue which is devoted chiefly to woman’s interest in politics.