Evening journal., 1892-12-14
LIVING ONLOW WAGE.
How TWO YOUNG FELLOWS MAN
AGED TO EXIST IN NEW YORK.

A magazine writer, who claimed to |
have investigated the subject, recently
stated that there are several hundreds
of young and old bachelors in this town
who spend all the way from $4,000 to
$4,000 year for their personal comfort.
There is a certain delirious excitation
even in reading the details Of how these
fortune favored chaps get rid of the
time and enrich the community. To an
ingenious youth who earns twenty dol
lars a week, for instance, the account of
how a $75, 900 per annum bachelor wards
off ennui and retains his flesh reads like
a saturnalia.
know the effect of all this on 500
week man, because l myself belong to
the $50 week class. Twenty dollars a
week is about 81, 900 a year, and have
had lot of fun out Of life for the past
three years on that sum. know lot
of other fellows who do the same thing,
for $50 week is about the average in
come of half the neat looking chaps
wearing chrysanthemums pinned to ker-
sey top coats that you run across in the
course of a day.
When cameto this town from farm
in western New York, l thought the
man who offered me permanent job as
salesman at a salary Of $12 week was
widely extravagant, for l had already
learned some scrimping lessons. 1t did
not take me long to find out my mistake,
and so l devised a system Of expendi-
lures, and though in five yeares my in
come has increased, as have told you,
have stuck to it ever since. Here it is:
discovered to my complete satisfac-
tion that single man can't get any sort
of nourishment, comfort or repose in a
boarding house in New York city for
less than eight dollars a week. Even
the eight dollar variety of New York
board is not in all respects desirable,
and when some dismal experiences had
hammered this knowledge into me l set
about to find better scheme. In the
same store with me was another young
fellow, who was contributing his colos-
sal intellect and energies for twelve dol
lars a week, and we entered into a con-
spiracy to shake off forever the land
ladies who were getting most Of our pay.
We decided to hire room together
and to get our meals in pot luck fashion
-"hustle for our grub on the outside"
as my chum put it. After pretty care
full search we hit upon a large, comfort
able ground floor rear room in the home
of an elderly widow in Harlem, whom
we soon iollied into the belief that we
were the salt of the earth, with the re-
suit that she couldn't take too good care
of us. We agreed to pay her five dollars
week for that room, which took $3.50
of my wages. When we had stuck up
on the walls the cabinet photos Of all
the girls we knew, and had distributed
the knickknacks which these girls had
given us, the room looked simply i'm
mense. ~~~yf
The eating problem was then to be
overcome. After sundry experiences we
adjusted it on this basis: Breakfast of
rolls and good coffee in little shop
block from where We lived, 10 cents;
luncheon of a sandwich, glass Of milk
and piece Of pie, in lunchroom near
the store, 10 cents; first class entire din
ner, from soup to French coffee, in a
neat little obscure restaurant which we
ran across, 35 cents. Total for days
eating, 65 cents; for the week (of six
working days., $500. On Sunday we
stuck to the week day programme as far
as breakfast and luncheon were con-
cerned, and paid fifty cents for good
Sunday dinner. Thus weeks good,
substantial food costs me $4.70, which,
with the $3.50 room rent, amounts to
$3.50.
1t costs me sixty cents week to ride
to and from my work. Figuring at ten
cents week for my Press, seventy cents
is added to the $72O. Ny smoking is
confined to a couple of pipes every even
ing, and a ten cent package of tobacco
sees me through the week. Total, eight
dollars.
have a permanent arrangement with
Celtic lady to do my washing for fifty
cents week, and have my collars and
cuffs polished at a laundry at a weekly
outlay of twenty-five cents. Total, SIS. 75.
Once every week l invest one dollar
for two balcony seats at first class
theater-S9.75. / invariably lay aside
two dollars a week for raiment Of all
sorts, fixed on this basis: Two dollars a
week is $104 year. have two suits Of
clothes every twelve months, each sur
costing me twenty dollars, and can gel
natty clothes made to order at that fig
ure. don't get new overcoat every
winter, but when 1 do get a good, wei
made heavy one for fifteen dollars. Cal
it fifty-hve dollars. Two pairs of shoe
at four dollars pair get me through Z
year, and two hats, also at four dollar
each, are my allowance for the twelve
months. Two pairs Of gloves a winter
at one dollar a pair, keep my hand
sheltered from the blasts, and eigh
fifty cent cravats are enough for tn
year This figures up seventy-sevei
dollars. and heremaining twenty-sevei
of my dress allowance of Si04 a year ar
spent in collars, cuffs, underwear an
so on.
The SIS. 600 a year bachelor will b
astorished to read that am frequentl
referred to as man who ''lools a
though he had just jumped out of
bandbox.