The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1870-12-14
The Present Cost Of Living.

The Present Cost OF LIVING
From he PTOridEHes Journal.
1t is very common opinion that the
great increase in the cost Of living Is
specially true Of this country in distinction
from Others, and that II Is mainly to be
asCribed to our diSoTderOd currency and
other financial agencies Of our civil war.
The fact, however, Is different There
has been q general rise Of prices over the
civilized world, though il Is by no means
the same in all countries This is per.
haps in part to be ascribed to the increase
of the precious metals In which prices are
everywhere at least nOminally expressed.
There Is also an increased consumption Of
all articles that enter into the comfort Of
daily lie, and this has also tended TO en-.
hance their prices. But the real increase
in the cost OF living arises from the TACT
that Giving" now includes 90 much more
than II formerly did, and this Is not true Of
any one country alone, but Of all coun.
tries, though perhaps in different degrees.
Among ourselves every one must be
impressed with the great number OF new
articles which have lately been added 10
the list Of household or personal neceSst'
ties. No fRmily-sCarccly any person, in
decd-now lives ailer the standard that
was entirely satisfactory few years ago.
That standard has been abandoned, and
another, on a far moro expensive scale,
has been substituted in its place The
new standard, too, Is far more imperious
than the old, and il can be disregarded
only BY the practice OF selt.denial and
personal and family independence which
are becoming exceedingly rare among us,
The British government not long since,
sent q circular, pertaining TO this subject
TO its several legations in all parts Of the
world, in order to ascertain the rate at
which its diplomatic service ought to be
paid. ThereIurns which were made have
lately been published, and they show very
fully that the cost Of living in all countries
has greatly increased within the past
twenty years, for II was in relation to this
period that the enquiries were made. In
Florence, for example, the expense Of liv'
ing has nearly tre6led since 1850, when
Florence was really one Of the cheapest
cities in Europe. In Vienna, house rent
has doubled since 1850, and so have
such luXurieS rs horses, carriages,
furniture, &c, while most articles
OF food have advanced seventy or
eighty per cent In Paris, Rome, Ber'
lin and ST. Petersburg, the cost OF living,
including house rent, has doubled. Cor
responding returns were made from the
capitals Of the American continent In
Buenos Ayre, Rio de Janeiro, Guatemala
and other places where British diplomats
are Obliged to reside, they report an in
crease OF household expenses of at least o
hundred per cent, within the period nam.
cd. Not only IS this the fact, but there is
an immense growth Of luxurious habits.
The whole style Of life in these new
American capitals has departed from early
simplicity, and grown extravagant and
waSteiul with the same npidity and in
corresponding proportions, as in the Oldest
cities Of Europe.
1t is Of no use, We long ago discovered,
TO utter any warnings or to preach any
sermons on a subject like this. Fashion
has done away with economy, and has
subjugated morality and even Christiani'
" to itself. The ten commandments are
interpreted very much as it may dictate,
and so Is the Sermon on the Mount But
after all it will do no harm for people to
know not only that it costs great deal
more 10 live than it did twenty years ago,
even though the living be unchanged, but
also that living itself IS growing luxurious
and extravagant, and that Il consists more
and more oil empty show and the gratiti.
cation Of merely artificial wants These
artificial wants are rapidly multi.
plying. They grow out OF the
education which We receive as
children, out Of the civilization which we
have inherited, out OF the material inter
eSls with which We are so largely en-.
crossed. The consuming class in any
country are growing more numerous and
the producing classes less numerous in
their ratio 10 each other. The change
that is going on is probably more cOu.
spicuouS in this country than in most
others, because We have never had here
any hereditary class devoted to idleneSs
and luxury. That it is already putting
stain on our industrial capabilities is evil
dent enough. 1t is not difficult to foreSee
the influence which IL must exert over our
character and destiny ass people. No
one likes to think OF what this influence
will be or Of the results twill produce in
our social condition. -a.