--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 29 number: 3 published: 1926-01 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, “The Home: A Study for the Advanced Senior Class, M. I. A., 1925–26,” *Improvement Era* 29, no. 3 (January 1926): 286–289." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2903unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera2903unse start_page: 286 end_page: 289 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1926-01) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2903unse publication_year: 1926 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1926, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Home: A Study for the Advanced Senior Class, M. I. A., 1925–26 THE HOME A Study for the Advanced Senior Class, M. I. A., 1925-26 LESSON X— PURCHASING FOR THE HOME I. The Lecture. Purchasing for the) home requires serious thought, when the end to be attained is one of comfort, harmony, simplicity and refinement. It requires the exercise of that rare good judgment in making, selection of home equip- ment and furniture which will show that everything has been taken into consideration. It is tragic to spend money for wrong furnishings, and to be tied to them after one realizes that he has made a mistake in their selection. Furnish- ings are not bought for a day or a season, but for years, and often a lifetime. The only good furniture is that which is both beautiful and useful. In choosing furniture consider its use. If one has no use for a certain piece, it should not be bought, even if decorative. The size of the house and uses of rooms should determine what furniture is suitable, also the needs of inmates of the house should be considered. All articles in daily use must be fitted for their purpose. The true test of comfort in any house, lies in its power of tempting one to enter and work and rest. There is no influence so potent upon life as harmonious surroundings, and it is everyone's privilege, even though it may be simple and inexpensive. In fact, lack of funds often prompts careful consideration before purchases are made, and avoids the mistake of too great haste in the choosing of furnishings. There is no excuse for ugly furniture now. There are so many beauti- ful things that can be copied easily. Exclude ugly, clumsy furniture and meaningless ornaments from every room. Happily, the day of grotesque furniture in design and ornamentation is passed, as well as the green carpets profusely decorated with garlands of pink roses. "Good taste furnishes a house for peasants to live in." Good lines, simplicity of construction, and appropriateness, make for beauty. Learn to recognize good furniture when you see it, both in the matter of construction and material, and also in line and contour. Buy fewer pieces and spread the buying over a longer time. Good materials, gracefulness, and thorough workmanship are qualities to be sought for in the cottage as well as the mansion. Nothing should be chosen which is not the best of its kind at the price paid for it. Get the maximum of attractive comfort for the price you can afford to pay. In purchasing for the seemingly more important rooms — living room, dining room, bed rooms, etc., the kitchen should not be overlooked. This should be included in the whole scheme, and much artistic taste as well as practical judgment can be displayed in the equipping of this very important room. Kitchen furniture does not have to be grand or elegant, but it can be colorful and restful, and old pieces discarded from other rooms may be painted appropriately for use in the kitchen. Purchasing for the home should be one of the most painstaking of pursuits, and there is nothing more fascinating in its promise of future enjoyment. It is a bit of creative art. "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." — William Morris. If we would all follow this advice how restful our homes would be. Qualities to be sought for in the cottage as well as the mansion: II. Thought Exchange. 1. Superfluity. Over-crowding, b. Physical comfort. THE HOME 287 2. Substantiality. i a. Appearance. b. Handsome exterior should not blind one to cheap construction. 3. Appropriateness. a. Its use to man. b. Its use to the particular house in which it is to be. c. Its own construction. d. Its relation to the many needs of household life. 4. Individuality. Things to be avoided in purchasing home equipment: 1. Superfluity. Over-crowding. 2. Buying all furniture at one time. a. Should go slow with purchase. (Needs are not fully known until house has been lived in.) b. Leave some things to be "saved up for." III. Problems Suggested. 1. What do you consider the important factors in the equipping of a home? What is meant by harmonious furnishings in the home? Is it advisabh to completely furnish a home at first? What about "fads" in furniture? Discuss suitable household equipment. How can "drudgery" be eliminated from housekeeping? Does it require the expenditure of a large amount of money to furnish a house in good taste? Discuss the value of getting expert advice. Discuss danger of being bilked by the adroitness of a salesman. 2. Problems by members of the class. IV. Social Period. 1. Material suggested. Roll call; answer! with a short sentiment from each member. 2. Best humorous story or joke by a man; best humorous story or joke by a woman, on home. V. Announcements and Assignments. Song: "Our Mountain Home So Dear." Benediction. LESSON XI— THE HOME AND THE COMMUNITY CHEST I. The Lecture. Every home should recognize in making its budget that its obligations do not end with the care of its own members but include also a sharing with others in improving the home conditions of those in distress or in less fortunate circumstances than themselves. The sharing by the home in philan- thropic activities is not only desirable in that, by relieving improper condi- tions, the environment surrounding the home is improved, but also in that such activity is necessary for the development of the higher virtues of sym- pathy, co-operation, and consciousness of community responsibility in the members of the family. Social work, or the effort of society to prevent and alleviate conditions of social distress and improve the social structure has been passing through a process of rapid change and development during the past few years. Charity is no longer] conceived of as the giving of alms but rather the effort scien- tifically to discover the causes of unsocial conditions and so far as possible to aid the unfortunate in regaining the status of a self supporting member of society, and thus obviate the necessity of further help. Charity is today, therefore, less and less a matter of giving and more and more a matter of personal service by trained workers; less and less a distribution of coal, gro- ceries and clothing and more and more the securing of appropriate employ- 2 88 IMPROVEMENT ERA ment, proper medical attention, homes for the homeless and the rendering of other forms of helpful service. In former years in our own communities especially, such types of service were performed by volunteer workers through the church organiza- tions almost exclusively. With the growing complexities of city life, how- ever, there have grown up, in all urban communities to fill the social needs a great number of social service organizations employing paid workers who are trained in the new profession of social work. Our own Church is realizing the desirability and necessity of special training for this class of service and is as rapidly as possible training groups of social service workers through the Relief Society Organization. One of the greatest problems of the social service agencies is their financing. This has been usually accomplished through private contributions obtained by solicitation and so called "drives." The method is far from satisfactory. The agencies are engaged in a constant competition each with the others for securing the public contribution. This is an expensive propo- sition for the public in that from 15 to 40% of the time, energy and funds of each agency are consumed in the process of collection. In addition the contributing public is constantly subjected to the annoyance of solicitors and drives for funds. These considerations are the underlying causes behind the rapidly growing movement for "Community Chests." The community chest is an organization set up by the social agencies of a community whereby they combine their solicitations for funds into a united effort, a single drive, "once for all" each year. The proceeds of the drive are allotted to each participating agency by a central authority on the basis of budgets submitted by the agencies and checked by the central author- ity. The community chest idea is a direct outgrowth of the "war chests" created during the world war when the people of cities and towns pooled their contributions for war time philanthropies into a single fund out of which all calls for aid were met. How well the plan of financing is adapted to peace time social work is indicated by the spread of the community chest plan throughout the United States since the war. On May 31st, 1925, there were accorded to the American Association for Community Organization, 206 cities in the United States representing 22% of the population of the United States where local charitable work is financed by means of a community chest and of the "urban population," i. e., people living in cities of over 30,000 population 66% are in community chest cities. In addition 61 towns of less than 30,000 population are so served. The experience of cities with community chests demonstrates that more money is collected for philanthropic work under that plan than under the old competitive plan. Not only are individual contributions larger but a larger proportion of the population give. The public is relieved of constant solicitation for funds for charity and the time and energy of the boards of various philanthropies are released from problems of finance so that better social work results to the community. In addition there necessarily results a closer co-operation of the social agencies, a better understanding of the needs of the community in social service, a resulting elimination of duplication of work by agencies and organization of new service to meet needs that are not being cared for. Finally and perhaps most important of all the community chest is an active factor in developing a community consciousness: based on the idea that the commu- nity as a whole rather than any group whether public, private, fraternal, relig- ious or otherwise is responsible for the care of! social misfortune, it fosters and perpetuates a community point of view and habit of community action in the treatment of social problems which is a valuable asset to the community in all its activities. The formation of a community chest in a Latter-day Saint Community gives rise to problems which require the greatest care in solving. Should church organizations and institutions under church control join such federa- tions? To do so means a radical change in many respects in existing THE HOME 289 methods of relief work. To refuse to join may mean either that the church membership is deprived of the opportunity of sharing in community work for social distress and so failing to share in and develop a community con- sciousness in this work or as is more likely the case that the church mem- bership is bearing a double burden by contributing to the community chest and at the same time supporting the church agencies which are caring for cases of social distress arising among church members. An intelligent under- standing and discussion of the problem will go far toward its solution. II. Thought Exchange. 1 . Problems Suggested. 1. How does your community take care of the following cases: the unemployed; the widowed mother: the child born out of wedlock; the delinquent; other cases of need? 2. How many agencies are there in your community doing social service work? Are their workers paid? Are their workers specially trained? 3. How is social service work financed in your community? What proportion of the homes contribute to it? 4. Should Church organization, such as the Relief Society, doing social service work, join community chests where they are established? 5. To what extent is our Church a splendid example of making institu- tional provision for our charity distribution? 2. Problems Suggested by Members of the Class. III. Social Period. IV. Announcements and Assignments. Lesson XII, provided by the class, a home and acquaintance program. Lesson XII — New Home Acquaintances, and an "At Home" program. This is an opportunity for the class leader and the class to provide a program to their own liking. Fremont Stake Fathers and Sons' Outing A camp site was chosen for this three-day outing amid the pines in beautiful South Leigh's Canyon, twelve miles east of Tetonia and fifty-two miles from Rexburg. A large spring near camp, ice-cold water and a large open space, provided for the comfort and afforded room for playing games. Three days last summer were occupied in the outing. Camp arrangements and a great bonfire occupied the first evening with a program under the direction of Bishop Henry Ricks of Teton among the activities. The camp was named "Watts" in honor of J. A. Watts, chairman of the outing. The next day the company, led by Milton Mangum, spent the day in a hike up the canyon eastward, reaching Bald Point, about eight miles from camp, at an estimated elevation of 9,000 feet. Just east, the mighty Tetons lifted their craggy peaks to a height of 13,000 feet, the deep chasms separating the hikers from the Teton range. In this natural reservoir, great banks of snow fed the head of a stream flowing into Jackson's Hole. Luncheon was enjoyed on Bald Point, from which location a score of small mountain lakes could be counted within a mile. Returning to camp, another program around the camp fire was enjoyed, the feature being a talk by Mr. Haines of the Sugar-Salem High school on formations observed during the trip. On the evening of Friday, the third day, the company met at the flag pole, sang and were dismissed by benediction pronounced by William E. Gee. Then the trip home leading through the beautiful and fertile Teton valley with its broad wheat fields of the Canyon Creek dry farm county, back to the settle- ments,— Newdale, Teton, Sugar City, Rexburg, and Hibbard, in the heart of the great topper Snake River valley with its bounteous crops of grain, sugar beets, potatoes, peas and alfalfa. The whole of the trip was delightful, the fathers and sons obtaining a thrill of inspiration to be remembered through life. — J. A. Watts.