The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1901-08-24
Our Lack of Thrift.

| The extravaganza OF American house.
keepers is strikingly shown in the waste
barrel-the refuse that Is carted away
| from their houses, writes William Mat.
| thews In Success. In II will be found pa
| pers, strings. etc. that are valuable for
wrappers. pieces OF pencil steel pens half
used, bottles, tin boxes. pieces OF food.
and other articles, which. I'm any other
country. would be turned TO use. Even
those who buy their fuel, and complain
bitterly OF it's increasing cost, will throw
away their boxes and barrels that could
be used for firewood
How often articles of clothing are dis
carded before they are half worn out
simply because they are a little passe
In style, or rusty looking, when, at a
small cost, they might be renovated and
made serviceable for months. or year.
When one sees the way I'm which Ameri-
cans treat their hats and footwear, he
cannot wonder that shoe factories are So
numerous and profitable, their work form
ing the chief occupation I'm cities of nftv
or more thousand inhabitants and that.
In our large cities. about every fifth or
sixth shop Is boot and shoe store.
How rarely an American will wear a
pair OF boots, even OF the best quality,
longer than a year or two. Yet L have
known man, by adequate care of a pair
OF winter boots--by careful cleaning and
drying them after each days wear. and
by having them thoroughly oiled. to pre-
vent cracks. four or FIVE times I'm wear.
10 make them do good service. though
used exclusively, for sixteen winters. or
course, they were OF the best Partisan
manufacture-cost with new solIngs and
heelngs and straps. twelve dollars or
seventy-hve cents a year.
| once asked the proprietor Of one n, |
the great leading Back BAY hotels In |
Boston, why ne asked so high a price for |
weekly board at his table-a price. as n |
seemed 10 me, about double that az which |
IL might be proitably afforded lie re. |
piled that the seeming exorbitant price |,
was due to two things, viz: The amount
of service demanded by his boarders and
heir wastefulness In the dining room
he was Obliged 10 furnish one walter for
every three guests 10 be served. and /
igain, most Americans at hotels are very |
Nasteful on an average said my in
'ormant. each person orders twice aS
nuch food az he consumes Many dishes
,ody else.
One OF the hardest lessons for Ameri-
ans TO learn, at least practically, is that
waste is impoverishment They can All
ee, readily enough, that. ~ all the prom
rty In the country were suddenly de-
troyed. the whole human race would
hereby he made so much tho poorer: but.
when the destruction Is very sllght--as.
'hen cup or saucer IL broken-thev do
ot recognize that the loss, felt chiefly
y one person, falls. really on an man |
ind. One of the main causes OF our
'astefulncss has been. doubtless. tho ex-
seding richness " our national resources
Nhen a soil Is so wonderfully fertile as
urs has been. especially In the west. N
not strange that It's cultlvators should |
eek 10 swell their crops by increasing
ne area or culture. rather than by the |
se OF expensive dressings. subsoilins
no other thorough methods. Nature
az been 40 bountlful 10 us that tbo |
aoit of despising little savings has been
nquired BY us unconsciously. Cultivat-
~ q land nearly snothered In its own
ehness,' we have, TN recently, learned