Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-12-10
Small Leaks.

Our article last week on Honest
Change" has elected no little favor
able comment, and a correspondent
this week gives his views on the sub
iect. But this embraces but a single
suggestion of the many which may
be made to reduce the expenses OF
living to the lowest possible figure.
The mariner during stress of weather
shortens sail, and the wise man when
the waves of business adversely
threaten to overwhelm, regulates his
expenses accordingly, and endeav-
ors to keep his expenditures abso-
lutely within the amount of his earn
ings. Any other course would ulti-
mately lead to poverty and distress,
as surely as the descending bucket
must in time reach the bottom of the
we'll.
How to save money in the minor
transactions of life is the subject of
this thesis. Let us take the ordinary
staples of everyday life. If you pay
cash for your beef-steak you not
only get the choicest cuts and the
best weight, but the odd change is
likely to be in your favor, thing
which never occurs when the trans
action goes upon the day-book and
ledger, where it is just as easy to en-
ter the exact amount, which may be
q cents, as it would be~ 25, the
amount which would be received as
full settlement in cash. We have
already, in previous article, referred
to lightweight two-pound" roll of
butter. Buy that article only by the
honest pound, and it would not be
long until our dairy producers would
scrape their moulds until they could
hold the required weight. Then
they, and other consumers, should
insist that the "pound" package of
tea, which comes with the firm name
printed in gorgeous style on the
wrapper, should contain sixteen
ounces, that saleratus, soda, cream
of tartar and starch, should be
weighed in the scales and not found
wanting; that 6ve-gallons of pickles
should not be put up in four gal
Ion key; that twenty pounds of soap
should not shrink to eighteen; that
it shall take eight candles, though
they may be marked 6's, to weigh
pound, and so on through all tho
everyday necessities, and the time
would soon come when this achole-
sale stealage in the retail trade
would be brought to a close. The
plan to adopt, it seems to us, would
be to buy from the bulk, whenever
it is practical to do SO, and reject all
articles which are placed in the mar
ket with the evident intention to de.
fraud.
Let us stop the small leaks wher-
ever they are to be found. 1t is not
parsimony to do SO, but principle.
The people are numerically feeced.
but in such manner that, although
the aggregate in the course of the
year may be quite large enough to
absorb all the profits which should
he laid up to meet possible contin-.
gencies the details are SO small as
to escape notice. Everybody knows
what an immense revenue the Gov
ernment derives from small stamp
duty placed upon any article of gen
eral use, but here we have innumer-
able instances in which dishonest
importers and manufactures in the
American cities, have instituted
perfect system for increasing their
already enormous profits at the ex-
pense of the people. Much as may
be said against the Heather Chi
nee," they have never attempted
such dishonest practices in their
commercial dealings with us. Nor
have our civilized neighbors adopted
it. Itispurely" American, and has
become almost universal, within the
past few years. English goods, Of
almost every description bear a bet
ter reputation and bring larger
price, in our own markets, than
American products, simply because
the producers seem to have consid-
cred it a duty to give full value in
all commodities for which a stated
nvica 10 douoodoJ