The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1882-05-11
A STORY OF HARD TINES.


owned it I'd build on an addition and stay
there; but Peck says he can let it just as it
is, and he don't want to enlarge; SO / sup
pose we will have to look for a bigger house
Tillie says you are going to move, too"
"Yes, we're in the same fix; not half room
enough. I've thought good many times I'd
like to own house, but the taxes are SO
plaguey high its good deal cheaper to hire.
What's the reason they can't let poor fellows
like US put thousand or two into little
home without paying taxes on it!"
"'Twould be kind of encourag ging, wouldn't
I'll And let them that live in palaces pay the
| taxes, chs We wouldn't ask anything very
| grand; only something we could fix up nice
| and cozy and call our own, and not think
some landlord could come and say: This
| plsce is worth more now than twas when you
| hired It, and I'll have to put your rent up
| httle.' / don't know, but 'twould be enough
| better to pay. even If it does cost a little
more. nice strawberry bed and a grape
| vine, and two or three pear trees help out
| where there's youngsters"
"'Spose we try it. Wages are good and
work plenty. I should think We might con-
| triye to pay for place"
~ wonder if Peck would sell the place 1
live onP
enough. Have you got anything laid up.''
'In the bank, you mean"
"Not cent. You see, Tillie is kind of
queer about that She says she believes the
Bible means what it says about laying up
treasures ON earth. She thinks the best way
| to lay up money is to do good with 1t, to put
| 1t into yourself by getting knowledge and
| taking care Of yodr health, and so on; and I've
always let her have her way. You know she
bought piano for Caroline, and she sent her
and Jessie to the Kinder garten for two or
three years.
"Seems to me she must be pretty extrava-
gant"-then, seeing the fush on his compan-
IONS face, he added hastily: 81 don't mean
no offeDse; only you don't take beer nor
tobacco, and thought you must have quite
sum in the bank. We've been putting in five
dollars month, till now, with the interest,
we've got nearly three hundred dollars Jane
says we might have twice as much if I'd join
the temperance society and quit using tobacco.
i think likely she's right, but a fellow must
have some good of his money. Goodnight" /"
and the companions separated.
They were Ellis Harvey and Mansfield
Strong. Their homes were not far apart and
they often walked together to and from their
work The time in which the conversation
Just related took place was the spring OF 1s!2
, Harvey was receiving four dollars per day for
his work, and Strong three dollars and fifty
cents. Neither owned home, and, as we
have just heard, both realized the disadvan-
tages of hiring That night Ellis said:
"Tillie, what do you think about buying
this placei"
, 'i don't know. I've thought of it a great
, deal, and the only reason l haven't spoken
about it before is that there is only half an
8 acre Of ground. 1t does seem if in such a
g big world ours every family with children
ought to have at least six or eight acres so as
} TO furnish romping ground for them and pas
ture Tor COW o,,.sa, .,u IT,
liiIioi. bar hTshoDS ansnerad an holt
a seriously, half IN jest.
81 shouldn't be satisfied then unless could
find out why so much land Is unimproved anc
@ why so many things lie idle, while so many
. people are suffering Tor want oil them. l an
: : sure something must be wrong"
!, "Undoubtedly great many things are
wrong, but don't think we can right them
Don't 90 soaring on aIter the uhreacnaple
n come down TO business, ana tell me what yot
O think about buying the house"
"How can we pay for II
. THAT'S for you tosay. III earn the money
?, ] think l do my part without troubling m,
| head about spending 1t. we pay fifteen dol
% lars month forrent-one hundred and eight.
s dollars year. Now, II he'd let us have th
place for eighteen hundred, and let us pa,
twenty-five dollars month in installments, til
the eighteen hundred was paid, I'd try to Dor
, row thousand and let it remain on interest
X Then what Improvements we put on the plae
, would be for us and not for him, and thinl
I, we would fix it up so that it would fetch NOR
u than we pay IL we get hard pushed and hav
4 TO sell it; so don't see as we could lose any
e thing, anyway"
u "But about the additions" Tillie ques
" toned
= Cant we squeeze along another year !!
e asked Ellis, dubously.
sitting room, and, if really thought we coul
II have home of our own, I'd be willing to d
it. You know VIII Carlton says:
d. A man can thrive and roam
But women are skeery critters unless the
10 have home:
10 and do think, as general thing, women al
ie preciate homes more than men do. You ar
it an exception tnougn, ana Kd know you VIII q
a in several ways. Caroline can give up he
. music lessons for five or six years without an
is disadvantage. She has learned enough in he
two quarters so that she can practice and kee
a her fingers flexible and think that is all tt
% gain there is In having child play. Only fl
that should not have cared to have her tai
IN lessons before sne was htteen; III we can g
washing-machine,s such as mrs. Johnsonh ma
and you viii turn IT Tor me about twenty mil
utes IN tne morning before you go 10 work.
d. will try to dispense with awashwoman Yc
"a see Pve turned these matters over in my mir
ne good many times. With what we can sa'
IL in these ways, and by having fast day and Ii
ing on bread and water one day in the week,
Up think we can pay the lnstallments and lntere
on thousand The children and are pret
ao well OIL for clothes, and Tor year we can g
,+o along with very little expense"
nj Peck tomorrow and find out his best term
/ don't know about living on bread and wat
ch one day in seven, but il there is any sacrih
20 can make shall be glad to do II"
III There Is no other that can think OF
11hfe answered You spend no more rig
aiOhS oh'sn yVu ~ 'o oA'S Lieu vi
M, bread and water plan when not feeling we
and always thought it did me good"
ia When Mansfield Strong spoke to his wi
about buying home, she said:
er- Il suppose the children and will have
:. do all the scrimping, just we always hay
IL for you would stick to your beer and tobacc
M believe you use more now than you die
year ago. But !, In !. Ws,iiiing 10 Scflnp II
The next morning the two men met on tn,
way to work, and Mansfield said:
"Pve about half concluded to buy O
shanty, though Tom Francis, at The Frier
w. says he's known lots of men buy hous
.c- and get them half paid for, and then lose
;, they'd paid in; and he thinks the best way
TO put your money IN t SAVINGS sn oank I'LL
uVeII " oneweraJ the bonefuI Ellis q T,