King's Business - 1917-10

872

THE KING’S BUSINESS less these things look like economy to these women, but with all the economy that they are practising they set forth a style of living that to the average working man and his family looks like excessive gluttony, especially when the poor are urged by the President and Mr. Hoover to add to the economy which they have been forced to practice by the rising cost of food products still more rigid economy, and economy that means serious detriment to the health of themselves and families. This sort of thing if paraded before the poor and forced upon their attention will add to the increasing social discontent in this country and will help on the cause of unreasonable socialism and will strengthen the hands of the wildest anarchists. The best thing that society people can do at this time is to show as little as possible of their home life and methods of living. Instead of parading their imaginary economy and self- sacrifice they better go way back and sit down and keep quiet. could be put into exercise at once that really would count. For example, eight hundred and sixty-five million dollars could be saved in America if the people would give up the use of candy. That is what our American candy costs. Sugar is one of the things in which there is a serious shortage and the rising price of sugar has been one of the things that has perplexed, and much per­ plexed, the American house-wife. If people would only give up the use of candy for the present, the sugar situation would be saved. Then there could be an economy that would count by giving up the use of soft drinks, especially ice-cream sodas. We have not the figures at hand as to the exact amount spent in this country in this way, but it is very large. No one is any better physically and most people are worse by the use of these soft drinks. Pure water is a much better beverage. Another economy that would save many millions of dollars for this country would .be in the giving up. of the use of chewing gum. The manufacturers of chewing gum have tried to make us think that its use is good for digestion and also for the teeth, but the best hygienists are agreed that this is absolutely untrue; that so far as it has any effect upon digestion, it is bad and that it is not beneficial for the teeth. If an intelligent economy was practiced in these things there would be no need of urging the underfed poor to practice a still more rigid economy in the matter of wholesome food stuffs. There are many ways in which the average American is squandering money wholesale, in things that do him no good. Let every Christian and patriot forego absolutely at this present time of need, the use of candy, chewing gum and soda and let him also abstain from all unnecessary expenditure of any kind. . The people of this country are being urged, sometimes almost in a frantic way, to economies that have not been thoroughly thought out, and which would not accomplish a great deal. But there are economies that Economies That Would Count.

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