The Red Cloud chief., 1882-08-25

For . sumber Of ,ean past there hiss
been . general and gradual increasr ii
personal and household expenses In
families Of ali degrees At wealth and 80
siai standing. One BY q new ~asss
have arisen. msking new and larger de-
mands upon the resources Of the pocket
In no other particular IL the contrast
between The present and the past great
er or more marked than in the style and
cost Of living. The plain. simple. but
substantial fare of the Golden time"
has been superseded by the production
Of yiands and costly dishes which almost
rival the famous seasts Of pagan an
tiquify. when 10 eat. drink aad earo,ise
constituted one Of the principal objects
Of life. Il this increase simply y result
OF reckless and thoaghtless cxtraya-
gsnce On the part ii the people, or is IL
one Of the inevitable necessities growing
out OF IN advanced civilization II IS
usually attributed 10 the former cause.
but q little reflection will convince al
most n mind. we think. that the last
mentioned cause Is really the more
potent Of the two.
Tic WITH Gttfltkdhtpu HAY NC t3ktu
10 express or embody the combined re-
suits Of intellectual and moral growth.
The simplest form Of life il the nomadic
or wandering stage II development
The desert Arab. the American indian.
as he was before the advent of the
white man on this continent, the un-
educated p~easantry in MANY parts Of
Europe, and the natives Of Africa. NAV
be instauced as examples 81 this class
Their range Of thought and desire is
exceedingly limited. their tastes simple
and their wants few. A tent or rude
hut for q habita;ion. garments enough
TO shield them from climatic changes. n
dog or horse for service and companion
ship. and some kind Of weapons for
hunting and fighting. constitute about
all they need or care for rs means or in
struments Of life. To eat, sleep. hunt
and 60 to war make up their principal
occupations.
OF course, the cost OF living in this
primitive stage Of development Is cx-
ceedingly small. The existence and
uses Of money with such people are
either unknown or very much restricted.
But take any one Of these classes desig-
mated and bring them up into a higher
state OF civilization. and their personal
and household expenses will al once be-
gin TO multiply in exact proportion to
their elevation or advancement.
The philosophy of such a movement
would seem to be that the physical ma
ture of mankind everywhere strives TO
keep pace with the improvement in the
upper departments Of being. As new
light and knowledge flow into the brain
and expand and quicken the feelings,
these internal forces Of life seize upon
their lower and external concomitants
and pull them up to their own new level.
Consequently, new and varied physical
wants arise. wants In regard to eating
and clothing, which necessitate an in
creased expenditure. And thus the
cost Of living multiplies with the area Of
intellectual requirement and the cnlti-
walton Of finer and nobler feelings in
the heart.
There is. no doubt. a great deal OF
unnecessary and wasteful extravaganza
in the prevailing methods of American
household life. but all OF the present in
creased cost Of living cannot Justly BE-
laid to that account. A part Of it is She
inevitable result Of our present advanced
civilization. The range of human wants
- legitimately much greater now than
fifty or n hundred years ago. The exc
tcrnal must try ut least to keep up with
the internal in development and prog
ress. And this fact makes poverty seem
tenfOld more harsh and unbeatable than
and makes labOrers strike for high
er wages because they cannot meet the
multiplied demands Of their households
and families. There is little prospect of
any decrease in this respect until abso-
lutte want compels it. As long as peo-
pie a have what they want they will
in some way manage tOprocure it or 60