The Louisiana populist., 1897-02-19
sPENDTHRiFT NEW YORK.
X pours Forth Millions for the Things It
Considers Fun,

llcu, Wv Ncl-IuAs, luA III 'loN1AS O'S WV h'
Poor folk and rich folk alike work
hard. but goodness knows they play
hard too In New York N lney is made
faster than in any other metropolis on
earth. but when the purse string IS
loosed, how the dollars fly
If the aggregate wealth Of the Great.
er New York were divided pro rata
among its 3,J0O,000 inhabitants he
share Of each would be about $500.
This is the largest per capita of wealth
shown in any city in the world. Rich
est Of all cities, it is the most luxurious
as well. In the items of wine, beer
and spirits, cigarS and tobacco in vari-
GUS FERNS theatre patronage, pleasure
vehicles and fine horses, cut flowers
and ornamental plants, European trav
cl. diamonds, jewelry and bicycles.
there is annually expended in New
York the colossal sum Of SIS. 100000.
or about S53 per capita. The unit II
comparison is the figure representing
the total population, or the cnbodi-
ment Of s. 100000. Accepting the ar
gument Of the prohibitiouISt that all
manner Of malt. vinous and spirituous
beverages are luXuries pure and sin
pie, it would appear that a total OF
$1O0,OCO,OO0 is spent on the beverages
that cheer aud also nebrIate. OF ,h;S
total $30,0y0,000 is paid for lager beer.
1t represents 3,TJO, 600 barrels of thir.
tT-tWo gallons each, or one barrel and
a fraction over for every man, woman
and child on Manhattan and Long Is.
lands.
The $7000O.0O0 that pays for the
wine and spirits consumed in the me-
tr0pOlls towers over the contraStal
IuXuries. New York is essentially the
home OF the wine opener and stati-
elan connected with the leading whole
sale liquor dealers newspaper says
that one-fOurth of all tie wine import
ed from Europe and made in Calif0r-
MIA is swallowed on Farther Knicker-
bocker's island.
Next in the scale of luxuries is to-
baccO. The figure of $3O,000,O00 is
agreed upon as approximately correct
by. manufacturers and experts in the
trade. It may be subdivided in this
wise: Cigars, $17,G00,O00; cigarettes,
@,000.o00; smoking TOBACCO, $3,0000o0,
and chewing tobacco, $1,000,Ooo.
There is but scant inducement to the
purchase Of trOtters in New York.
There is no place to trot them. Some
day there will be a speedway on the
banks of the Harlem: some day we will
see 1t. but notwithstanding the fact
that most fourth and fifth class towns
have more true ''boulevardS" than can
be found within the limits of the
Greater New York, the annual sales OF
high-bred roadSters, trottcrs and pac.
ers and thoroughbred saddle horses,
averages, according to the testimony
of the veteran William Easton, ST.
00o,000 annually The traffic in car
rlage horses and pleasure vehicles Of
all sorts will aggregate twice this
amount .and the harness makers, feed
dealers, grooms, trainers, coachmen,
footmen and stable boys swell the to-
tai Of expenditure to $15,00O,0OO.
The annual sales of diamonds and
jewelry have been known to reach
S30,000000 in singel year. but that
was in the good old times of which we
hear so much now but did not appreci.
ate at the time. A conservative esti.
mate by Maiden Lane and upper
Broadway dealers place the local sales
at $20.000,000..
The complaint Of the socialistic agl.
tatol that the American makes his
money at home and spends it in Eu-
rope is partially borne ont by the fig
ures. The sales of steamship tickets
at this port alone amount to $4,000, 900
annually. The agent of one of the old.
est transatlantic lines states that at
least IS per cent. of this amount is sold
to citizens of New York who 90 abroad
for pleasure The amount of money
taken out of New York for this one
luxury alone is conservatively estimat-
ed at $2O,00U,00O.
There will be sold in the Greater
New York during 1897 not less than
125,000 bicycles, which may be aver
aged at $50 each, and there is a cool
$7,5O0,000 more.
New Workers are theatre going lot
as is shown by the fact that full &c.
100000 is annually passed into the box
offices of the places of amusement, in
which this city abounds as does no 9th.
er city in the world.
New York must have flowers on all
festal occasions and al all social func-
tions. The more out of season the
flower the more imperatively does New
York demand it, and for the gratiflca.
ton of this most luxurious Of appetites
she pays every year a round $780,
000.-New York Journal.