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I i I 2t Am sttatT I
IjlJHHio UUJ3 i&; Uilrlsiys
There is no time in the life of a man when he is
more susceptible to training, to discipline, than dur
ing boyhood days.
Many a successful business man of today owes
success in large measure to proper training as a boy.
Don't you think your boy's future is worth the
starting of a bank account for him today?
lie ibk Mil
HIGH-CLASS WORK DONE PROMPTLY.
COLLECTIONS AND DELIVERIES IN ALL
PARTS OF THE CITY
Weems Agency
JOE COOK, Bell Phone 215
Plea for the Pocketbook
By Theo H. Price
The rapidity with which retail
prices are being advanced is, we are
sure, making a great many men of
family extremely unhappy, especial
ly on the first or second of the
month when the bills come in
What we are about to write is in
spired by a sympathy for them that
is quickened by our own experi
ence We recall having seen, many
years ago, a farce in which the mar
ried women had organized them
selves into a society called "The
Tiger Lilies" for the subjection of
their husbands The object of this
society was almost achieved when
the men revolted and formed a de
fensive association named "The
Dandelions."
We think the time has arrived
when the heads of families, or at
least those who pay the bills, wheth
er they be "heads" or not, ought to
organize a movement to check the
rapacity of the retailers.
There has been so much talk
about inflation, high wages and the
increased cost of living that the
women who do most of the buying
for our American homes bav be
come more or less terrorized and
are paying the higher and still
higher prices demanded by moBt
tsbopkeepers without protest simply
(because they have neither the
courage nor the knowledge with
which to combat the extortion that
is being practiced in many cases.
According to the Index Numbers,
wholesale prices are lower than
they were last October just before
the armistice was signed but there
is not, so far as we have been able
to discover, the slightest abatement
in the prices asked by the retailers
and in the case of many articles the
figures at which they are marked
and sold include what we know to
be an outrageous profit.
When the war commenced the
slogan "business as usual" was gen
erally adopted both in this country
and in Europe. We knew that it
was wrong from the standpoint of
both patriotism and economics, and
we protested against it.
For a time we were criticised by
the profiteers but it was not long
before the Government found it
necessary to step in and stop "bus
iness as usual" so that our troops
and allies could be supplied with
what they needed.
Now that the war has ended a
similar mistake is being made.
With the cry "Let's go." people are
being urged to spend all and more
than all they can afford with the
specious plea that it is their duty to
speed up industry by buying every
thing they think they need and a
great deal they don't need without
regard to price. The result is a con
gested and unsatisfied demand and
a situation in which it is easy to
mark up prices to the necessitous
purchaser. This is all wrong. Amer
ica is prosperous but it can not long
remain so if people continue to live
Deyona tneir income as we verily
believe most of our fellow citizens
are doing in this year of grace.
1919. .
The remedy for this condition is
within the reach of every one It is
to stop buying what we are not im
mediately in real need of. The
lines that we have quoted as a
foreword contain advice that is al
ways good, but it is especially ' ap
propriate at a time when both prices
and taxes are higher than they
have ever been in the history of the
world
Let us all ask ourselves and de
mand that those who spend what
we earn ask themselves whether it
is absolutely uecessary that they
should have the particular thing
that they are about to purchase.
During the war we learnt that we
were better off in denying ourselves
a great many luxuries that were
previously considered indispensable.
We wore old clothes instead of pur
chasing the new suit or new dress
that were in the habit of buying
once in so often.
We discharged our chauffeur, put
away the motor and rode in the
street cars or walked. We stayed
at home or went to some nearby
resort for our holidays instead of
taking an expensive journey. Some
of us at least paid for what we
bought in cash instead of mortgag
ing our incomes by running ac
counts which is one of the most
effective ways of fostering extrava
gance that was ever invented. It
will require moral courage and a
good deal of it at first to say "No, I
can't afford it" when everyone else
seems to take a pride in spending
but, unless we put the brakes on
now, we will certainly have a col
lision and a smash up soon for we
are running at a dangerous speed.
We have an enormous bill to pay
The national debt of the United
States is about $25,000,000,000
This means about $1,000 per capita
for every man in the country who
is over twenty-one years of age It
is approximately half our national
income for the year. Let us get at
least a part of this debt paid before
we spend all we are making, for it
is certain that we can not eat our
cake and have it too. The theory
that wealth is created by extrava
gance is as untrue of a nation as jt
is of an individual. It is as much
our duty to save now as it was
during the war and if we neglect
this duty the money that we are
now spending will procure for us
only unhappiness and embarrass
ment. The United States government is
considering building a barbed wire
fence along the Mexican border as
an additional protection against
bandits. And, it is presumed, any
Mexican bandit caught close to the
fence with a pair of wire cutters on
his person will receive a severe
scolding from our secretary of state
Men and Acres
There is a scarcity of men on the
farms.
This is not news to any one. It is
a subject which has evoked much
lamentation for a considerable
period. But there is ray of sunshine
piercing the gloom.
After the Civil War vast tracts of
land were offered to discharged sol
diers. Men found themselves in
possession of large portions of the
terrestrial crust which they could
not cultivate because there was too
much of it. So they set their brains
to work.
The result was farm machinery.
The binder and the threshing ma
chine made their appearance. The
gang plow, the seed drill, and vari
ous other products of the machine
shop were soon in evidence. The
flail and scythe were superceded.
There were not enough men to
balance the acreage, so machines
made up the deficit.
This process seems likely to hap
pen again. In the last census period
the number of farms of 50 to 175
acres increased only 6 per cent,
while those of 500 to 1,000 acres
grew 22 per cent.
As a result, the tractor.
But it will not stop here. Not
only is the farmer now a mechanic,
he is also an accountant. One of
the firms which supplies goods al
most exclusively to farmers has
listed in its catalogues fourteen
different styles of office desks. The
farmer in his office with a' tele
phone at his elbow is now more
than a fantastic dream.
Cheer up. The scarcity of men
compared with acreage will stimu
late an ingenuity and beget a pro
gressive attitude that otherwise
would never have come to birth.
Nation-wide use of narcotic drugs,
for other than legitimate medical
purposes, steadily increases despite
vigorous efforts in the last four years
to enforce the federal law. The
number of drug addicts in the
United States was estimated by the
Treasury's special investigating com
mittee to be in excess of one million.
When you get all "het up" over
discussing the pros and cons of the
war, just drift out to the woodshed
and wield a buck saw. It will add
a few more degrees to your heat
and assist weary nature in boiling
out the cussedness.
The Fatted Calf
The policy of the allied representa
tives toward the end of the peac
negotiations seems to have been in
the direction of leniency toward
Germany. It can hardly have been,
a manifestation of affection.
Clemenceau has not shown very
much of this spirit. It was hardly
natural, that he should. The sight
of northern France is a nightmare,
and is an ever present suggestion of
another era of devastation ' only to
be postponed by the prolonged en
feeblement of Germany. A French,
premier who declared that Germany
was being too severely punished
would not be a premier long.
But President Wilson and Lloyd
George seem to have been singular
ly in accord in their willingness to
reduce Germany's debt. And it can
hardly be the outcotre of a compas '
sionate feeling toward the unrepen
tant culprit.
Germany, we are told, was to be
admitted to the league of nations.
At first this privilege was to be
denied her, but later on it was so
conceded. Not after a , number of
years, but within a few months.
Why? Because she intimated that
otherwise she would be driven to
form a league of her own.
Here is the sublime peak of ab
surdity. What kind of a league
contains both the condemned
criminal and the jailers, the con-
l . 1 j . i . a '
viui uuu me presiuing juagei
The establishment of a league of
nations is toq exalted an ideal to be
encumbered with a group of absurd
associations. Fantastic many of
its features must appear, but the
whimsical elements must be reduc
ed to a minimum. It would be a
calamity to let it exhibit the tradi
tional characteristics of a farce.
A Kansas man is advocating gov
ernment supervision of styles in
women's dress. If the plan should
be adopted, we have a statesman
picked out who would be eminently
fitted for the position of Director
General of Cold Cream and Powder
Puffs.
Chilhcothe and Carrollton au
thorities announce that hereafter
there is to be strict enforcement of
the automobile laws in those towns.
If the experiment should prove a
success perhaps other Missouri
towns may try it.
A
Me
About
ADVERTISING
From U. S. Dept. of Labor
IF you are not advertising, then advertise, because it saves money for you and
it reduces the cost to the consumer. Advertising prevents profiteering. It
insures honest profits and makes them permanent. The message of the U.
S. Department of Labor to merchants and manufacturers and to all progres
sive business men is to advertise. Tell the public about YOUR goods. The
consumer has money. He is willing to spend it and we want him to spend it on
American made products. The easiest, quickest and most economical way in
which this can be accomplished is by advertising.
START YOUR CAMPAIGN NOW
ILL S. Dep. of Labor.
W. B. WILSON, Secretary
if.
