Show Ma making kingTo m cu did in A s horld sy by WILLIAMS dean athe THE ithe HIGHER COST OF LIVING vienna austria l tho world today may bo be growing better batten upon that point thoro there aru are differences of at opinion tho the cost of living in tho ilia world however ta Is higher A a r today than yesterday upon ulon this thero there tire no differences ot of opinion tho the ills dla of this higher cost which Is confined to no ono country or continent but la Is worldwide of the causes land and of tho possible cures la Is general in parliaments and in chambers of commerce in pulpits and on the streets in shops and factories in work mens homes and international hotels ono one hears the discussion n every hand tho the very skies of kno ho european continent rain pamphlets on the subject and in response to inquiry at any national or municipal bureau there Is a deluge of statistics in tho major countries whore tho ilia government reports are arc comprehensive in their scope official figures showing the cost of living in smallest arn allesi detail may bo be obtained even government figures however may be untrustworthy lot us ua confirm or correct them in shop market savings bank and average home the sights of travel do not appeal peal to me it Is of far more interest Int orest to learn how the egyptians live than to see the sphinx by moonlight to observe the customs ot of the frenchman or german in his real homo home than to look down on napoleons tomb in paris or look up at the schloss in tile the most german un city of 61 derlin just this personal noto note as preface to and explanation of the homeliness of a letter for the figures of which gathered in several countries and it a dozen german towns from actual prices paid havo have been sup supplemented p le dented by those 0 W J scene in vienna p t k of official reports particularly an illuminating lumina ting ono one by george 11 II roberts a british member of ot parliament a representative of the association and his colleagues prices of necessities increased how does the other fellow assuming that he be tor for hla his dally daily bread live the disputed figures for england and wales show a gradual u al increase in wages but in the last ten years a much greater increase in prices of necessities the consumption of wheat and wheat flour a mark of a standard living in western lands b has s remained about the same in great britain decreased dec reaped in franco and increased lu in germany and the united states As to the amount of consumption prance france wines comes first the united states anit and great britain second secand and germany last the importations of meat coffee tea sugar and rice into northern european countries havo have necessarily increased in the last ten years this shows ehos an increase in the standard of life of the people which to a degree explains the higher cost which the other fellow must pay more people want more things the question of the increased cost dt D living said cald harold cox the 1 british authority la is an extraordinarily difficult problem I 1 believe however tho the general explanation is to be found sn Z be 10 fact that wages have been als rising ng throughout the world especially imong the poorer classes and tile the more backward races for example in india and in eastern europe the Is that the b labor cost of prodoc prodie ion don lias been increased this may have ave been offset to a limited extent arthe y the increased use of machinery and the wider cultivation of the new coun iries flee of the world lut L the improved conom con amic lc position of at the poorer their increased demand and in consumption la Is the root muse of it tho ilia alfo in ia prices it must bo be or 1 1 that these claason arr aro eating cating moro and dressing better than they did ten or ago it la Is it question or of supply tind and do demand malid wo always get back to that to sum tho the matter up in an instance you can call say that because tile tho poles polea who formerly li lived vedon on ryo rye broad are now demanding wheat broad bread tho the world lins has to pay moro more for its ita wheat which being interpreted ileana that living la Is higher because moro more people want more things hut but do a they got get I 1 them hem hero aro are some replies replica that each may interpret for himself german metal workers Work cro budget tile tho geraniou workman hotter better situated than his comrades in industry in other countries of tho ilia continent of jf europe Is shown at hla his best beat in a to ro port pori issued by tho ilia metal Wo Wor hers I 1 union this report gives the actual budgets of income and expense of 32 of tho ilia workmen in tills this best paid industry the average was an income of a year of 0 which was from tho the workmans work mans own labor tho the rest from that of his bis family and aids and benefits ilia hla annual expense was wab divided for food drink and tobacco 65 for rent and taxes 55 for clothing 25 for sick trades and other subscription 70 for sundries and leaving a saying saving of at about 5 6 a year budget of or unskilled laborer the figures of the tin unskilled skilled laborer ard not so BO favorable of course they are also moro more difficult to obtain A faso caso of a factory laborers labor erR homo home at dusseldorf Is IB not exceptional however and serves for testimony in this case the hat flat which waa vas the workman work mans a homo home was waa on the third floor arid and consisted of three rooms the occupants occupant a were a laborer and his fatally family a ic clfo and eight children ills wages wera war a a week of at 60 hours tho the rooms were 14 by 10 feet in size alzo tho ilia rent 7 a mouth month and the local taxes C G a year in this case therefore the laborer a received 2130 a year and paid in rent and taxes moro more than one third ills ilia wife said that they bought a little meat tor for sundays about two pounds children never aia ate tho the meat but they had the soup would like she aha said bald to got get tho the children milk and eggs but could not afford to buy them she earned a little money mail y by selling belling fruit on the streets pets sometimes as much as 75 cents cent 8 a week V e k ohp babp complained bitterly about u prices of food and goods rising was vas a loar loaf of black rye rya bread on the ilia table for it she said bald she paid carito cents a pound hard lot of a molders family another caso case Is from Chein chemnitz nitz up the concrete stairs of row of dull tenement houses bouses to tho the third story the father mother and eight children had bad three rooms 16 15 by 8 feet in size elze kitchen living room find and bed room the rent was 05 n year the father a moulder was paid 12 cents cants an hour and worked 6 hours houra a week the tha ten members of tho the fatally family occupied the otle one bed room among tho the children were three girls aged seventeen sixteen and fifteen years tho the few beds and the baby s cot took up nearly all the ilia available floor space leaving only about 15 inches for tho the occupants to walk to their beds the mother evidently endeavored to keep the place clean but what a struggle she sha von dered it the prices of food kept kepi going up what would happen the workmans work mans wife in Geri germany nany as elsewhere on the continent has 0 to spend but she makes that litile go a long way ifer her home is small but it is generally well kept she frequently supplements hf r husbands hus banda income by working for pay at homo home or outside washing sweeping tho the streets or at other employments while at the ilia same time sho eho keeps house her children aro are many but despite terrible overcrowding are clean and orderly food prices prices of foodstuffs iary vary soine somewhat what in different markets those usually paid by the ilia average mechanic or german or of the middle class may best serve as typical la in tho the meat diet pork Is a large item it ranges from 20 to 25 23 cents a pound beef may bo be bought from afi R w it 30 cents veal lt it 20 cents marm korre cicat ja la catel i iss cheapness advertised n some chop windows at 8 to 10 cents a pound dogs eiro are oaten to a small email extent not tor for cheapness but ns as a fancied cura for certain ailments the broad ordinarily dina rily consumed among tho the working classes la Is of two kinds tho the most general Is a heavy close cleao kind mado made up in shape not unlike an ordinary american brick but larger it la Is of a dark brown color baked a 0 rye ground wot wet arid and costs coats about 3 cents a pound the other bread la Is lighter in color a larger and differ shaped loaf and costs 4 conta cents a pound good train from 30 to CO 50 cents a 0 pound many wor workmen kinon buy a mixture of cheap coffee and alid chickory at 20 cents to 25 cc cents rits a pound or what la Is called malt coffee at 6 to 8 cents nutter butter Is a little used at ordinary meals A substitute butter oil soils sells at 16 10 cents 6 a pound and oleomargarine from 10 to 1 15 cents sugar sells tor for 5 to 16 6 cents a pound if it Is a n beet sugar granulated and weak sweet stuffs it if they are really sweet which la Is not often in germany aia dear milk sold from central dairies Is about 3 cents a pint vegetables are cheap potatoes a common lom nion food particularly so tho the onion oaten and the cAb cabbage bago german favorites nio aro inexpensive and as might bo be expected in a land of highly education it a delicious doll clous cauliflower which mark alark twain called a cabbage with a college education Is sold for three cents wood Is bought in small bundles a few cents worth at a time arid and coal usually in tho the form of bri quetter qu ettes ottes coot coal dust duct into brick shape to la noc not at 0 high cost except near the ilia mines but la Is ot of small heating value all these prices are 20 per cent or more higher than ton ten years acara ago cloth ing a rather interior inferior grade la Is 10 16 to IG per cent higher and renis rents ex except apt in favored localities are 20 to 30 pel cent higher figures on flit file in the or town hall at mu alu alch show increases in five years all ol 01 from 10 to 20 per cent in tho the prices of all foodstuffs 1 savings deposits increasing tho the standard of living Is increasing the average man in germany france austria hungary and great britain as ai in america Is not content to live on the samo camo level of oc expenditure as did ills his fathers despite this higher stand ard and tho the increased costico cost ho Is each year saying saving more money ten years ago the savings deposits in postal and other banks babilis in great britain averaged per capita less than today during the same period tho savings deposits in german savings banks in creased tram eight to fifteen million marks maiks two million to three and three terii fourths million dollars and the ilia num her bar ot at depositors from to 12 what la Is true in n this regard of 0 great britain and germany la Is truo true of france austria hungary holland belgium 1 14 all these countries tho the cost of by log has increased to a marked degree but at the same time there thero has been a measure able increase in the saying savings of the people as aswell well as in the stand ards of living over against this must bo be considered the ilia unemployed in ili Ber linthe strikes in belgium Cel glum and great britain and the widespread and ill concealed distress for lack ol of food that every great b european european city shows as cold weather comes yet aint so wen its ot at said a crippled workman in a london park plea for new economic science A scientist discovering disco voting iha complicated economic problem of the cost of liVi living tig argues that the time lias ban come for tho the establishment of a new constructive nc science lenco the alra aim of which would be to evolve and teach the prin caples under which economic edul albrium in vie tio life alghi bo be utta attal i congestion of population in the t towns tho the desertion desert lon of the farm low wages and the increasingly high cost coat of living are jn in his view all related the world Is capable of aup supporting all its inh inhabitants in abit abend rid tince ance its failure to do eo Is duato due to the non emergence of an organizing ti science clence every eveh lin individual Is entitled to secure an economic place in the world and every every normal individual la Is capable of filling such a place pov pay erty Is not really therefore necea sary bary we 6 need not have the poor pool always with us there Is something wrong with etli a world where cost ot of living becomes to any people opples allely high resources even old countries ov of europe as aa tn in the newer united states are undeveloped countries which now MOW import goods and export food will in time con consume their flieth own food and manufacture their own goods development of the nations resources adequate and comprehensive transportation and ari an equitable distribution distribution of the profi labor and capital may not bring prices down but will accomplish what ls la moro more to be desired sn increase In creasa of the average mans income to keep pace with the increased Increase il cost of his food and clothing living in the iba world today costs more but it Is worth anore the average or age european Is willing though tho ugh not hot anxious alo to pay the e extra price it if he ha has haa the means icons to do doto so extravagance is not a common erdl pon trait of europeans but bui with german geiman thrift and french frn galty no he wishes to get gat his moneys rao neya worth and more we he la Is becoming concerned na as to who or what la Is re for the ilia high Increased prices and why tho the benefits if t any of high prices as ag well weil as their burdens should not tall fall to td his share that Is tho the meaning of at the unrest in europe which manifests itself today in many ways political party blat fohir parliamentary discussion legislation street talk home lionne conversation 1 1 ne newspaper paper discussion and too oten hun hunger geris strikes and riots it Is the dist disturbance urbanc e under underdog ilog makes mal os anat n struggling i for a ei bigger bone copyright IMS AA by oarb joseph B D dowlea Bow lec |