Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1874-05-02

ers, druggists, etc. Yet, after ma
king that allowance for all the fore
going sources of employment, and
adding in the military and naval ex-
penditHres, it is still puzzle to ac-
count for the substance of 100000
human beings. And it can only be
done on the basis of the hypothesis
and each person consumes but very
little; that everything is cheap, and
that the wants of the masses are
FEW, SIMPLE, AND EASILY SATISFIED.
There is no winter in Naples to
begin with, although the latitude is
nearly that of Chicago. House-rent
is not o'ae-qosarter as high as in
American cities. Fuel costs but a
trihe, as no fires are maintained, ex-
sept for purposes of cooking; and a
handful of twigs or few pounds of
prepared heat are sufficient to boil
the pot or vegetables and coffee and
cook the macaroni. All bread is
bought from the baker. Fish are
plentiful and cheap; eggs not dear.
Meats is rarely eaten. A very little
money will provide all the clothes
that are needed IN this warm climate;
and clothing and tailoring costs less
than half; hardly a third, as much
as in America. The people who 90
barefooted the year round Outnum-
Der those who are shod. In short
a franc will go as far in the support
or a laboring mans family as a dol
lar will in Chicago; and 1t requires
here as many hours work to earn a
franc as it takes to earn a dollar at
home. l was assured that the
wealthier class of families-the no
bility-need not necessarily expend
more than 10000 to 10000 francs
per annum, or $4,000 to 1900, to
maintain their position in society.
Among the economies practiced is
the
EXPENDITURES FOR STIAIULANTs.
The people drink wine, which the
masses obtain for less than half
franc bottle; that is, a quart OF
wine for eight or ten cents. The
best qualities cost 1 to ? francs
bottle, which is the sort the mobiles
consume. Wine here is as cheap as
cider in America. A few persons
drink brandy, which is cheaper here
than whisky in the States. Beer is
not consumed by the natives here,
or indeed, in any part of Italy,
The Italians never acquired taste
for malt iqnors, but have loved wine
from the earliest ages. 1t is only
the Teutonic races, including their
British half-cousins, who have con-
suming passion for brewery-pro-
ducts. But, while wine is the COM
mon beverage of the NeapOitans,
they are rarely or ever seen intoxl-
Gated. In the month Ihave been in
this city, l have not yet seen
drunken man or woman; nor can l
hear of any. Italians assure me
that it is a very rare occurrence, and
almost wholly restricted to sailors.
Drunkenness is regarded with a spe-
cies of horror and astOnishment, and
sinks the person guilty of it to the
level of a criminal
As the Government levies small
tax on wine, the aggregate of this
impost exhibits by computation the
total consumption in Naples, which
appears to be about 100000 OF
francs worth per annum, which is
81, 100000 worth for 100000 inhab-
itants, or $1.66 per capita. Com
pare this expenditure with the S1O,-
OOO,OOO a year, spent IN Chicago,
mainly for whisky, by population
only twO-thirds of that Of Naples
There are about 1000 places IN Ma
pies where wines are sold, against
5000 saloons in Chicago. The Ma
pies wines contain an average OF -
per cent. of alcohol, which is about
0ne-tenth of that contained In CHI
cago ardent, though substantially
the same as that in lager-beer.-
Throughout Italy this mild stimu-
lant is the common beverage, in con
nection with coffee and milk; and the
people think it is no more harmful
to imbibe the one than the other,
for the simple reason that neither
the fact nor the idea of intOxicatlon
is connected with the drinking OF
wine, more than with drinking cof-
fee. One may travel over Italy
in every direction for a whole year,
and
NOT SEE Oh HEAR
of a native in state of intoxicatiOn.
The best test of the matter is found
in the police reports. In the cities
of the United States, nine-tenths of
the arrests made by the police are
for "drunk and disOrderly," and
other assigned causes traceable t"
whisky. In Italy not one arrest IN
a hundred is, or can be, attributed TO
intoxication; and the few ''drunks
are mostly sailors, and they ehleny
English, Irish, and American seamen'
The national police reports, made up
for all Italy for 1873, and recently
published, classified the Offenses- The