The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1890-10-02
WHAT A FAMILY COSTS.
Extract from the Diary of Practical Man
Shoes Beat Everything.
I From the Indianapolis News.

L
What does it cost to bring up fam
lily? A gentleman, whose experience
will be recognized as having points in
common with other householders,
has preserved an account of the ex-
pense to which he has been in rearing
family of four children. To-day he
entered the following statement in his
diary. 1t might be valuable fact for
the census takers:
To-day I close my diary. Twenty
six years ago to-day I undertook to
keep an accurate statement of all my
earnings and expenses, so that I might
know actually how much it costs to
live in married state. Then all was
anticipation. and my young wife
counted our resources and our expecta-
tions. received SIS a week, with the
promise of more.
II owned a house comfortable enough
for frugal young people to begin life
in. We were spared house rent, there
fore, and our expenses have never in
cluded this item. Retrospectively, I
see that we have brought up four chill
dren in comparatively easy circum-
stances. My health has been good, and
my earnings have been constantly re-
ceived.
~ now receive $50 week, and we
still own the homestead, without any
great additions to its wealth, except in
an increased amount of furniture. I
have little more money then I had
when first married. Perhaps, all told,
I have $500 now of assets, then 1 had
perhaps $1,000. We have never wanted
for bresd. Sometimes we have felt in
need of more money. Three of the
children are now making their own
way. Next week the fourth graduates
at the high school, having received the
same schooling that the others have
had, and will begin to look out for him
self.
II shall not necessarily be at any
more expense on account of my chill
dren, and the diary properly ends now.
Would I be able to go through the
same experience again of raising a FAM
lily? I asked my companion, who had
borne the greater part, this question,
and know that she spoke with heart
full of love, but was compelled to say:
Not for all that money could buy
would 1 go through again what has
been necessary to rear family.
"Expressed in dollars the totals are
these: In twenty=six years we have re-
ceived from my wages and incidental
moneys that came through my wife
and the children, $40, ,900-or, say S40,-
0O0-besides the amount of increase in
the permanent assets. Given a plan:
of about $4,000 and two employees, a
man and wife, it has taken, therefore,
about $4,000 to each man produced.
This, of course, included all employees
expenses. The plant is slightly en-
hanced in value, but the employees
have seen their best days. The quality
of the goods is yet to be demonstrated.
Prospects happily point to cessation of
labor aud an increase of receipts, but
there is no certainty about this. The
employees are proud of their work but
don't want another job.
"Some of the items of expense have
been these: Doctors bills twenty
seven years., s2,1OO land all paid, pos
sibly the only instance on record); gro
ceries, average per week first five years,
81; next three, 80; remainder of the
twenty-siX years, Sl3 a week. For ten
years it has taken on an average one
pair of shoes per week for the family,
including myself and wife. The most
annoying thing I have ever known is
the rapidity with which children wear
out shoes. Only one thing approaches
1.-THE high price of children's shoes.
1 never could understand how, with
all the civilization of the age, and the
demand for cheaper results, children's
shoes have not been reduced in price.
The human shoe is failure. No man
not rich can afford to buy shoes for a
family, and if I had it to do I would 60
to Timbuctoo, where neither horses,
mules, camels, nor men are shod."