In every case in this book the very best devices are discussed. If the reader feels that in any case a too expensive article has been delineated at least he (or she) will get from the discussion of the thing, an idea and ideal of what is to be demanded of this sort of device ... and if she (or he) be improvident, will immediately buy a _cheap_ thing instead of waiting until he (or she) can afford a better article if not the best. In short, the purchaser should demand in every purchase the largest collection of “best traits.” So this book, then, aims to give the purchaser an idea of what things or _qualities_ to buy; to stimulate the manufacturer who is ready to furnish them when given a reason for doing so; to make of every purchase a paying investment, not a mere expenditure; and to cheat the Crœsus-like junk-man out of his expected heritage. Due to the time it takes to print and publish a book the reader will realize that there may be new things created which could not be included herein. E. R. P. INTRODUCTION THE HOUSEWIFE AS MANAGER AND PURCHASING AGENT Several years ago we heard a great deal of talk about women’s place being in the home. The slogan was used as a campaign challenge and as a sneer. It was bandied up and down the country-side until we got pretty tired of hearing it. Since the privilege of voting has been given women and since their weight is being felt in elections, the cry has died down. The simple reason is that neither the employment of women in war-work nor the radical challenges of the ultra-feminist has altered the fundamental fact that the home is a woman’s realm. Now you can banish her to the home and make it such a place of drudgery that she loathes it; or she can abide there as a queenly figure, director of its work. Thanks to the inventive genius of our manufacturers, the home has ceased to be a place of exile for a woman. The long hours that used to obtain in housework, the wear and tear on nerves and muscles, are being cut down by labor-saving equipment. The shortage of servants is being met with the same devices. It can never be expected that a big house will be totally servantless. Utopia is still far away. But it can be reasonably expected that every house will get along with fewer servants. The hope of this expectation lies in two salient features of these times: (1) the simplifying of our home life; (2) the position of the housewife as a manager.