The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-12-20


were discussing the other day.
not exactly in the usual way. They
were not considering some possible
relief for lives of privation and
misery; they were puzzling over the
problem of how people live, with comfort
and dignity. raise a family and acquire
property on an income of ten or twelve
dollars a week. These women were not rich
themselves, they thought they knew well
how to be careful and economical. and some
of them were gifted in those ingenious and
inventive methods by which female Edisons
gar auld claes'' and old carpets, look
amaist as weers the new" but the problem
of living on five or six hundred dollars
wear looked as impossible to them as flying.
They observed that the families which ac-
complish this economic feat are usually
either of foreign birth or of foreign par
entage; it is lost art to the universal
Yankee nation"
One of the women resolved to make some
discreet inquiries on the subject. But whom
should she ask? She fancied lady whom
she had recently met, of German descent
an earnest church worker, and person
of very wide acquaintance in the city, could
tell her of some families who were living
who would be willing to try to communi-
cate the secret.
When asked if she could point out such a
person, the lady and her husband looked at
each other and smiled. as those smile who
have a pleasant secret between them. Then
she said:
| If anybody can"
yod
| an income? / didn't mean that didn't
dream of that. / only thought that perhaps
| you knew Of some one."
.sWell. that is the one I really know
| about" smiled Mrs. Smith (whose name is
really not SMITH. That's about what we
| had, isn't 1t, John?"
Eyes" replied her husband, II didn't earn
more than two dollars day in the early
years of our marriage"
"And now you have all this property"
| CThe Smiths own many pretty cottages,
some rather preteniious ones) Didn't 1t
come to you from your relatives?'
mo we gradually got 1t all ourselves"
But how did you do it?'
'sWell. we couldn't do ii now-everything
is so much more expensive. But when we
were first married things were different.
Our fathers Werent as Wen dpie 10 ueip
us then as they would be now. and, any
| how, we wanted to be independent The
| first three years after our marriage we
| lived in two rooms. at a rent OF IS a
| month"
'In those three years." said Mr.. Smith.
| 1T saved up $200-paid up in the building
association. Then / got chance to buy
| three lots away out here for 500 each.
had one piece of good fortune that others
| didn't in having relative from whom
could borrow the $500 on my note, without
| a mortgage. So 1 could give the building
| association mortgage to cover the ex-
| pense of building. / built our first house
| myself after hours, and the association fur
! nished the materials. IL was double house
/ and we rented one side while We lived III
/ the other.
"And it didn't cost US anything for street
| car tickets in those days." laughed his
| wife "for there wasn't any street car.
| couldn't get out much of course. i seldom
| went down town-and you can't spend
| money IL you don't go TO the stores.
| scarcely ever went to church. even, for
| wears and years. / was raising up my little
family, you know: the children were all
| small together, and couldn't leave them
| and was so busy at home I didn't care
| II didn't go out. And Ii didn't cost me
| much for dress. naturally. Mr.. Smith used
| to do my marketing He had to go down
town to his work. anyhow. and he might