Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 March 1892 — In 1855 and Now. [ARTICLE]

In 1855 and Now.

Are things cheaper now than they used to be? In answer to the above question we will say they are—very much cheaper—in material and construction and in many instances price; but it is safe to say that in wear and tear the common articles of every day use sold forty years ago were much cheaper to the purchaser, for the best is always the cheapest. We have in our possession the books kept by Samuel N. Baker, who was the founder of the potteries now conducted by his sons in Rockville, and who also kept a general store for some years before his death in 1860. Below is the account of a day laborer named Franklin Stuart: 1855. Dr. Oct. 3, to 1 paper needles * .10 Oct. 6, to 0 pounds coffee at 16%c 1.00 Oot. G, % hand tobacco at 30c 23 Oct. 6, ii pound soda at 150 * 05 Oct. G, 4 mackerel at 6%c 25 Oct. 18, by 1 pair shoeß 1.25 Jan. 22,1856, 2 yards cotton and drilling..... .28 Feb. 1,1 check shirt 65 Feb. 11, tobacco and comb K 10 March 14, one hoe 30 T0ta1.....“. 6408 On page 12 of the ledger we notice an entry at James W. Beadle’s account, as follows: Oot. 31,1855,1 pad? suspenders per John..,. ..10c Also we notice that O. J. Innis bought a rake on the 18th of April, 1856, for 25 cents. Aside from all questions of superiority of goods sold thirty-five years ago, how much cheaper can the above items be bought in Rockville to-day? Some items may be purchased at a lower prioe, others will cost more. But it must always be remembered that there was not a railroad in Parke County thirty-five years ago, and every pound of goods sold in Rockville had to be hauled here in wagons. Then comes the important question of labor. In those days nearly everything was made by hand. Inventions have so cheapened the labor cost of articles that one man and a machine now does the work formerly done by 100 men. Goods ought to be sold to Reckville laborers at much lower prices than are now paid*. We also have before us a copy of the Terre Haute Journal. January 23, 1852, published just forty years ago to-day, and in the advertisements of the Prairie City store we read: “Now opened and scattering 10,000 yards heavy brown sheetings and shirtings, the price, 6 to 8 cents per yard. ” P. Nippert, in the same paper, advertises to sell “calicoes of every quality, ranging from 5 cents to 12J cents per yard.” These records are worth more than all the “witnesses” who might be called to give testimony from memory. On the single item of calico, Rockville prices at the same time show a marked difference. It can only be explained by the fact that none of the cheaper grades were sold here. In that event there is not much difference between the price of the hand-made goods of those days and the machine goods of to-day. We are told that the best calico has recently retailed at 12J cents. According to a writer In the Republican, labor about Rockville, measured from a standard of wood chopping, was paid 50 cents per cord in 1859. Exactly the same price is paid to-day, so in the matter of wages the laborer is no bettOT off after thirty years of a national system of economy that has given twothirds of the wealth produced in that time to one two-thousandth of the population. The county records tell the rest. The laborers of that day were on the tax duplicates as Self-supporting property owners, paying on an average of over $290 of property each, and paying it. Their counterparts of to-day, if assessed at all, are list d only for poll tax, and as a rule this is delinquent. The pauper expense of Park County in 1860 was $1,131.59. In 1890 it was $13,262.76. Here are some interesting figures for those who argue that the day laborer is better off than he was in 1860. —Rockville fin'd.) Tribune.