TWENTIETH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VI 515 



an income of ten times that amount, but for a man with an income of 

 $2,500, it would be the height of folly. The same thing holds in the 

 purchase of clothing and other commodities. The wife of a man in only 

 moderate circumstances is doing herself and her family a great injustice 

 by attempting to vie with the wife of a wealthy man, in making purchases. 

 Unfortunately, there appears to be a strong tendency toward this very 

 thing, and this competition is encountered in all strata of our social 

 system. 



Labor for the most part, is receiving more money than ever before, but 

 it is also spending more — and this increased expenditure does not appear 

 to be entirely a matter of increased living costs. The wives of laboring 

 men are spending money freely for things which they, themselves, would 

 have considered undreamed luxui'les a few years ago. It is not my desire 

 to appear to favor any lowering of the standard of living in the country. 

 I fully believe that the working man is entitled to a good living and a 

 decent amount of recreation, but I !Jelieve just as firmly that the amount 

 he or anyone else spends for his living and this recreation, should be 

 in accordance with the income he now receives and may reasonably 

 expect to continue to receive. In other words, I believe that before any 

 man should raise a cry against high prices, he should make an examination 

 of his income and out-go. If an addition of $10 a week to his wage means 

 to him only an additional $10 to be spent for the theatre, motion picture 

 show, clothing, etc., he has little cause to protest against the "high cost 

 of living" w^hen just such procedures as this is one of the important con- 

 tributing factors to Increased living costs. I firmly believe that if 

 every wage earner would keep a careful record of his expenditures he 

 would be disagreeably surprised at the large amount of money he is 

 spending for things other than necessities — and at the comparatively 

 small percentage of his salary he is saving. 



I do not condone high prices nor do I wish to intimate that all of 

 the financial difficulties which the wage earner is today encountering are 

 matters over which he has control, but, as stated. 1 do believe that we 

 are now witnessing a time when extravagance is running riot. That 

 money is being spent freely for articles which border perilously near the 

 line of the non-essential is evidenced by the flourishing business being 

 done by fashionable shops for women, (and men), jewelry stores, and food 

 dealers handling expensive delicacies, to say nothing of motion picture 

 theatres, de luxe restaurants, etc., and a surprisingly large share of the 

 money being spent in these establishments is being spent by people who 

 work on a per diem basis. 



Old time practices of economy will be a big factor in relieving the 

 situation. The empty garbage can in the city, and the empty swill pail 

 on the farm helped win the war, and they will both help in the battle 

 of the high cost of living. As long as we indulge in our present extrava- 

 gant tastes, it ill-behooves us to wail about high costs. The wearing of 

 half-soled shoes and patched or threadbare clothes should not be con- 

 sidered a disgrace. But the casting aside of half worn clothes is not 

 the only foolish thing we do; we buy the most expensive things we 

 can find to replace them. Brown or chocolate colored shoes cost about 

 $1.50 more per pair than black shoes of the same make, materials and 



