The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1900-05-05
LIVING EXPENSES IN PARIS

Enumerated.

Paris, Special Correspondence, April 81. 4
What will it cost to live in Paris dur
/ ing the exposition? Such is the cry
\ coming out of Mandom, otherwise the
4 United States. Americans at home are
appealing to compatriots in the City of
| Laughter for a straight tip Ameri-
cans in Paris are in despair, for one
might as well ask them: What Will it
cost to build a house?' It depends. The
man who can go it on the hang tlle-ex-
1 pense scale will be able to find accomno-
dations at good hoteds at So a day and
upward, according to the degree of COM
Z! fort and luxury ne demands. But that
does not solve the problem for the multi
| tude of persons of modest means who
must economic on expenditures and arc
| willing to sacrifice comfort in order to
see the great fair. Before going into de-
tails let me- advise no American to dream
i of living in Paris this summer on less
than ~ day. In imagination 1 hear a
chorus of "Oh, dears." Can't it be done
\ for less? Perhaps, but with such food
| and accommodations as the visitor from
across the Atlantic would not tolerate
at home Let me add that if an .Ameri-
can wishes to live in comfort even on a
modest scale he should count on SPEND
ig So day. That is for necessaries, and
does not include theaters or the side
shows of the exposition. =
Some writer's have been telling-on pa
per-how cheaply one can live, but their
schemes do not bear scrutiny. One of
these men figures up total of $40 a
week. He. puts the room at So, but on
the assumption that it will be occupied
by two persons. Breakfast he figures at
10 cents q day, but it is to consist only
of coffee and bread That is the uni
versal breakfast in Paris but if an Amer
| lean can do without his fruits, cereals,
| eggs and chops, he can get his little de-
jeuner for 10 cents at his lodging place
| or at a modest cafe: If he goes outside,
| however, he should count on an extra
cent, or even cents, for a tip to the
i garcon, and he must not count on a clean
4 cafe. Neither must he expect table,
I cloth or napkin. If he finds within
reasonable distance a restaurant equipped
1, with table linen he will probably have to
pay 10 cents or more for his morning
coffee.
X The writer in question advises the mod
& est American to follow. the example of
the provincial Frenchman who "eats
sandwiches on the grass for his noon
day lunch at cost of 10 cents. This
may be alluring to French peasant, but
to an .Ame;-ican-ugh Besides there will
not be g. s. enough on the exposition
grounds to go around among the natives
themselves. - z-@ "
4 After feeding the healthy Yankee on
tWo-cent meals, the economist sends him
two miles into the Latin quarter to get a
bo-c7nt dinner. Even in ordinary times
q 3O-cent dinner in Paris is not repast
to tempt any American, except stud
ent under the spell Of Bohemianism. The
economist jauntily calls it "gypsying''
which looks nice" in print, but it is not
I hllln Two or three days of this
unkempt, underfed existence will give the
average American all the "gypsying'' he
can digest. If he expects to go back to
that restaurant he should give the garcon
2cent tip or make up his mind to
change
The economist also forgot to include
transportation. IT the gypsy pro tenn
should find his cheap restaurant near the
seine. the fare on the river boat will
COST two cents on week days and four
cents OF Sundays and holidays. If forced
to use an omnibus or a tramway the trip
Will cost him at least three cents and
probably six cents, because he may have
to use two lines. But there is vet
another difficulty with this gypsy
q scheme. If the visitor leaves the ex-
position grounds to get his 3O-cent even
Ing dinner in the Latin Quarter he will
not only have to pay two transporta ton
q fares. but he will find double charge
for admission to the fair after 6 D. m.
Hence he will probably dine on the
II grounds and HID % fond foro,,oT
Bohemian joy to be had in a shabby
, restaurant for a franc and a half.
The economist includes an admission
ticket to the Exposition each day at 20
4 cents. Now the chances are that one
3 may buy tickets at 10 cents EACH and at
some seasons for even less That would
I, make small, very small reduction in
The account. On the other hand, it will
REQUIRE two tickets to get In before 10
o'clock In the morning or after O'clock
In the evening. This double price will
also hold good for Sundays and holidays,
and the manager reserves, the right to
demand as many as five tickets when
ever fete is under way. This Is the
tine visitor Is most eager to see the
show. and 1t is therefore probable 20
cents a day will not cover the cost OF his
admission to the Exposition.
Once inside the grounds the visitor will
ind forty or more spectacles tempting
his eyes. ears and imagination Each
g of these will demand an admission rang
Ing from one franc go cents up to ten
8 francs ($2). Inside each side show we
. will find additional admission charges
ranging from 10 cents to s1.2O. One can
easily spend 81 or SIS day on these minor
attractions and keep it up for two weeks.
i but the gypsy" scheme does not allow
u a cent for such pleasures. Tt figures
. laundry expenses at SO cents week.
but as, the charges Of Partisan blanch-
isseuses is practically the same as those
of American laundries the allowance is
too small. especially for summer.
The schedule of this economist has
81 many weak points, as the reader has al
Il. ready discovered, but there are others.
4 He allows nothing for baths, omnibuses,
q newspapers, tips, caps, cleaning of shoes,
!, shaving matches, lights, and dozen
other necessities. each triiIe In itself,
but in the aggregate making alarming
!, Inroads into The contents of slender
purse. None but expensive houses have
bath rooms. One must go out to public
tafh house, bYt the cost is 90 to % cents.
g To the average American male visitor a
q daily newspaper will he necessity, and
these Of English cost 2 or 3 cents. In
n French boarding places the price Of the
room Goes not Include light or heat. The
81 lodger mast pay extra for fire, extra
IS ss0r e lamp. or g candle, and often extra
z