The discussion may be on the point: How shall we reduce the size of the family wash? Are there short cuts in laundry work?
VI—SERVICE
Service in the Home is the general theme for the sixth club meeting.
As in other meetings, it is well to begin with a paper on other days, perhaps from Colonial times down, and to speak of the difference in servants in their social position then and now, and the contrast in wages.
The second paper may mention the scarcity of servants to-day, and the reasons why there are so few; of the dissatisfaction with domestic service; the rise in wages for untrained service; of immigrants; the foreign servants in the West and the negro in the South.
The third paper may be on employment bureaus, references, and the relation of one employer to another; the relation of mistress and servant is most interesting. Speak of the question of the responsibility of a mistress for her maid's morals, for one, and the old and sick servant, for another.
The last paper may be on the servantless home and how to manage it. This will take up the division of work between parents and children, the possibility of entertaining, the advantages and disadvantages of doing one's own work, and a statement of the saving of money by the plan. Contrast the loss of other things, of time certainly, and possibly of social life and physical strength. Discuss: Is it an extravagance or an economy to hire the hard work of the family?
VII—CLOTHING
The first paper on this subject is to discuss the real and apparent difference in the cost of dressing a family a generation ago and now. Are materials more, or less, expensive? Is the cost in the making? Do we have too many clothes? Does not the trouble lie in the fact that we need so many different clothes, thus increasing the size of the wardrobe, rather than in the cost of each individual garment?
The following paper may be on shopping. It should be very practical and suggest that shopping out of season is economical; that too much shopping is extravagant in time and car fares; that a bargain counter is seldom a good place to buy anything; that good materials wear longer than poor ones.