The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-09-19
CHEAP LIVING
FOR COLLEGIANS

CHICAGO, August 29-It is possible
for a Chicago University student and
his wife TO live on $500 for a whole col
lege year, ,Dut it is not pleasant. This
IS the conclusion that was reached by
the University of Chicago Danes in
Foster Hall after a long and animated
discussion following a talk by Miss
Katharine Davis on How a students
family may live on $500 year" Some
OF the students wives present gave tes-
timony to the fact that the thing could
be done. but few of them looked as If
it had been regular practice in their
own households. At the conclusion Of
the discussion the danes agreed to
make experiments and compare notes
in order to ascertain just how mex
penSiVe living could be made if care
fully studied with view to economy.
Perhaps | ought to state" replied
Miss Davis, that in order to carry out
this experiment successfully ii is neces-
sary to select your husband carefully.
Some men will eat whatever is set be-
fore them without any question, and
they are the ideal husbands for an
undertaking Of this sort. Then the wife
must be a woman who has ability, pa
thence and strength. Under these con-
ditions ii is possible for two people to
live for a college year on $500.
Il have fixed on $780, said Miss
Davis, las the minimum amount for
which a man and wife can live in this
university for "a college year-that is
nine months. This does not include tut
ton. One-third of this amount would
be paid for rent. 1t is possible to Sc
cure one or two furnished rooms in this
neighborhood for so or s12 a month
Another 800 would go for clothing and
incidentals If the wife is clever with
her needle she can help a great deal by
making her own dresses.
The third $780," Miss Davis contin.
ued, II have stipulated as the amount
necessary to provide the table. 1 know
from tests actually made that goot
substantial food in proper quantitie:
can be furnished at a rate of so cents {
day for two people"
A lively discussion of this point fol
lowed, in which one of the danes sale
she and her husband were living com
fortably at an actual expense of 81
week for food. Miss Davis gave a mum
Der of bills of fare at 80 cents a day
which actually had been tested Thi:
is one of them:
Breakfast-Fried cornmeal mush
with syrup; baked potatoes.
Dinner-POtato soup, baked liver
boiled rice with cheese, bread.
Supper-ScallOped beef with hominy
bread and butter, stewed prunes.
3 This diet, Miss Davis said, could
provided for two persons for 80 cent
a day. She based her figures on an ey
pertinent with a family consisting of
! man and wife and two children. TIL
! household affairs were conducted unde
Miss Davis's careful direction and tn
= five persons lived comfortably at a
5 actual outlay for food of 80 cents eac
t a week.
u What about the social pleasures
I. the wife under these conditions aske
. young dame, who looked as if she ha
. done nothing more arduous than mai
Judges"
= There is no necessity for her
r starve intellectually or socially Mi,
$ Davis replied. There are any numb
:. of free concerts and open lectures whiC
II she can attend; there are others in Ill
situation whom she can visit, and tn
parks furnish much pleasant and abs
lutely free recreation. OF course 81
= cannot give receptions or pink teas. bl
J. she can manage TO have a pretty goo
h time without them"