Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 164, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 July 1910 — SAYS THE FELLOW ON TOP [ARTICLE]

SAYS THE FELLOW ON TOP

Wage Earner Must Cut Out Luxuries Before He Has Right to Ask for Sympathy. “How do you account for the high cost of living?" The rubicund gentleman addressed, glanced at a check for $8.85, representing the cost of his modest meal, handed the waiter $lO, with instructions to keep the change; pulled out a cigar that the interviewer recognized ts a 50-center, and leaned back in his chair. “All rubbish,’’ he said. “People live beyond their means and then growl about it. It’s their own fault.” “I see. You believe that everybody should save part of his income?" “Exactly.” “Umph-umph. Sounds reasonable. Eut what proportion of it do you think he should salt down? Suppose, for instance, the man earns sl.lO a day, and has a wife and five children, and some of the babies get sick occasionally, and thfe older ones need clothes in which to go to school, and the landlord wants his rent right on the nail, and a pair of kid’s shoes lasts a month, and the Instalment on the sewing machine is 50 cents every two weeks, and he carries enough insurance to bury him, and enough medicine for his wife is half a dollar a throw, and everything that the members of his household eat and drink and wear costs more than it used to, and gets higher all the time, do you think he ought to save a very large proportion of his income?” “You do not state the case fairly. Doubtless the man has vices. I am certain he smokes.” “I forgot that. Yes, he pays five cents a package for tobacco and a package lasts ten days.” “Ha! Shiftless fellow. And, of course, he has the nerve to complain. He’ll cut out luxuries before he gets any sympathy from me.”