Pomeroy weekly telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio) 1860-1866, 1865-05-18
A Virtue Needed i'm America.

We Americans are the most wasteful and
extravagant people in the world We waste
fearfhlly in food, in clothing, and in extras
We waste on every secular day of the week,
and waste double amount on SHndavs. Men
waste shamefully, women shockingly; boys
and girls, too are permitted to waste wofuly
Wastefulncss is one of our worst national vi
ces, for if economy be virtue, then cxtrava-
gance must be vice The English don t
waste half as much as we do; the French not
a quarter, and the Germans (while in Germu-
| ny) don't waste at ALL - tGF sefsagIs
Hundreds of leading hotels throughout the
country prepare daily from twenty to fifty diff
ferent dishes for dinner, and out of these from
n half to two-thirds are regularly wasted Thus
not only is food wasted, but also labor at the
same time. In ordinary famliesunwholcsom
meals Of kali a dozen dishes are gotten up
where plain meal would at once be more
economical and wholesome. We gorge our
seh es with great numbers of articles, which
are neither nutritious nor delicious, but sim
ply costly. Men buy four hats year, where
one ought to last them four years They throw
away coat and pants when they are but little
the worse for wear; and instead of having
their shirts mended and stockings darned they
purchase new ones and fling away the old.
Women wear very expensive articles of dress
without wearinsthem out and, wehave heard,
are inclined to spend and waste money and
material without stint. n,.. fIi. ,.H
The present is a most excellent time for the
whole people to begin to learn and practice
the virtue of economy If those men whoare
striking for higher wages because of the high
price of living, would instead of this, waste
less in their homes, their clothing and their
"sundries, it would,be much better for them
selves and the country. If dealers would live
less extravagantly, and waste less, they could
sell more cheaply If rich men would squan
der less on their tables, their taiors their
wine merchants, their fast horses, big houses
and fancy tixings, they would set a better ex-
ample, would better enjoy life, enjoy good
health, and be more able to help their country
If the fair sex would pay some attention to
this matte.-and we refer not merely to the
wealthy classes, but those in the common
walks Of life-they would be thrice blessed
themselves and would confer blessings on the
bearded sex, ,,.. ,.
Among the mercantile, mechanic agricul-
tural and working classes of Germany, the
same garment VIII not only De worn lOf one
season or one year, but for half, life time or
more and yet they will be no less comforta-
bly, clad than our people, who wear hundred
suits Of expensive clothing during their brief
existence In Dachan, the unterrock of the
women will often be handed down and worn
for three generations is fact that
might proftably be pondered by the daughters
of America. They are no less economical in
articles of food on the European continent A
witty Frenchman asks the question, why is
pork always so dear in Paris, and he himself
answered the inquiry by saying, it is because
they can't raise swine in Paris, for the people
themselves consume all the, garbage. There
is hardly enough truth in this t6.point the joke;
but the fact is, that the nice and economical
habits Of the French, in matters Of diet, pre-
vents the vast accumulations of refuse which
are seen in some other countries i
- Our habits of waste astonish all foreigners.
We waste enough in this country, of food and
clothing, in, one year, to sustain the whole
population for five. The times are hard The
currency is deranged. We know not what
lies in the future. The whole country should
begin to learn habits of economy! And it is
a virtue, which, ifit is ever to become nation
q, should at once begin to be practiced by in
dividuals sE-e. \ 1l
n -.