Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-03-05
ECONOMICAL CHINESE.
Living on . Penny n Day They Have
Solved the Problem Of Cheap Existence.

Living on . Penny Day They Have
Solved the Problem Of Cheap Existence.
The Chinese are pre-eminently economical,
whether 1t be in limiting the number Of
wants. in preventing waste, OF in adjusting
fosces in such a MANNER as to make a little
represent q great deal The universal diet
consists OF rice, beans, millet, garden vege-
tables and fish, with q little meat on high fes-
tivals Wholesome food in abundance may
be supplied at less than a penny day for
each adult, and even In famine times thou
sands Of persons have been kept alive for
months on about q halfpenny a day each.
This implies the existence of high degree Of
culinary skill in the Chinese. Their modes Of
preparing food are thorough and various
There is no waste; everything is made to do
as much duty as possible What is left is the
veriest triie The physical condition Of the
Chinese dog or cat who has 10 live on the
leavinss Of the family shows this; they are
clearly kept on starvation allowances.
The Chinese are not extremely fastidious
N regard TO food; all is fish that comes TO
their net, and most things come there sooner
or later. Certain disturbances Of the human
organization, due to eating diseased meat,
are well recognized among the people; but it
Is considered better to eat the meat, the
cheapness OF which is certain, and run the
risk OF the consequences, which are not quite
certain, than TO buy dear meat even with the
assurance OF no evil results Indeed, the
meat Of animals which have died Of ordinary
ailments is rather dearer than that of those
which have died in an epidemic such a. pleuro-
pneumonia.
Another example of careful, calculating
economy IS the construction OF the cooking
pots and boilers, the bottoms of which are as
thin as possible that the contents NAV boil all
the sooner, for fuel is scarce and dear, aud
consists generally Of nothing but the stalks
and roots Of the crops, which make a rapid
blaze and disappear. The business Of gather
ing fuel is committed to children, for one
who can do nothing else can at least pick up
straws and leaves and weeds In autumn
and winter vast army of fuel gatherers
spread over the land Bows ascend trees and
beat them with clubs to shake of the leaves;
the very straws get no time to show which
way the wind blows before they are annexed
by some enterprising collector Similarly
professional manure collectors swarm over all
the roads Of the country.
Chinese women carry this minute economy
into their dress; nothing comes amiss to them:
If IL Is not used in one place it is in another
where it sppears thing of beauty. Foreign
residents who give their cast or clothes away
to Chinese may be assured that the career OF
usefulness at these garments Is at last about
70 commence. Chinese MISCELLANEOUS squeak
for the want Of a few drops of oil, but TO
people who have no nerves the squeak Is
cheaper than the oil Similarly. dirt Is
cheaper than hot water, and 50, as a rule, the
people do not wash; the motto Cheaper than
dirt, which the soap dealer puts in his win
dows, could not be made intelligible to the
Chinese. To them the average foreigners are
mere soap wasrers
Scarcely any tool can be got ready made:
1t Il 50 much cheaper TO buy the parts and put
them together for yourself, and as almost
everybody takes this view ready made tools
are not 10 be got. Two rooms are dinily
lighted with single lamp deity placed in q
hole in the dividing wall Chinese, in fact,
seem 70 be capable of doing almost anything
by means of almost nothing They will give
you an iron foundry on minute scale Of
completeness in a backyard, and Will make in
an hour cooking range, OF strong and per
feet draft, out of pile OF mud bricks. lasting
indefinitely, operating perfectly and costing
nothing
The old woman who in her last moments
hobbled as near as possible to the family
graveyard In order to die 30 as to avoid the
expense Of coffin bearers was Chinese North
China Herald