The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1905-11-28
LONDON LIFE
ONE SIDE OF 1T THAT iMPREssEs
AMERICANS.
The Universal THANK You" May
Mean What It Says, or Some
thing Widely Different.
s. Fred Baskerville.

The stranger in England is bewil-
dered by the redundant thanks Wnlch
greet MIN or assan hin, according
10 circumstances, on every possible
occasion. 1t is thank you" il he
does and thank YOU Is he doesn't.
thank YOU il ne Will and thank you
il he won't. THANK" is injected
downward, you" upward. THANK
you" means gratitude, request, assent,
command, even imprecation, as var
! lousIy applied. A Iayor conferred clio
its it, or course. but the street car
conductor, entering to collect fares,
begins with general thank you,
anu often repeats it as the pennies
drop into his hand.
between 4 and S, afternoon, every
body must have tea. The very busy
man has it brought from nearby res
taurant TO his once OF store. Without
this post-meridian draught the aver
age man or woman would be irritable,
unfit Tor business, incapable of enjoy.
ment.
Street, railways, gas an electric
plants, waterworks, art galleries.
schools, colleges, gardens rented to
workingmen, even lodging houses, are
owned and operated by cities.
Doctors ices for ordinary visits
vary with the supposed income of the
! patient, which is indicated by the rent
OF the rentable value OF his residence.
Consequently, the ordinary fee may be
anywhere from fifty cents to i've dol
lars--occasionally more. In London,
| the locale of a doctor also affects his
fee. Removal from east to west in.
creases it, as a rule.
Empty dwellings, are not taxed. No
direct tax is paid on an unoccupied
dwelling" The landlord pays an in.
come tax on the rent received, or on
the rentable value of his own house
which he occupies. The tenant pays
a house duty TO the general govern
ment and rates to the town. The
amount of these Is based on the rent
he pays, and the aggregate is usually
about third of the rent. Thus, If a
tenants rent be $500. his taxes will be
about 500. English rents are there.
fore not SO low as they may seem TO
the uninitiated foreigner, accustom'
ed to other systems of taxation. The
landlord, in perfect good faith, does
not mention rates in letting a house,
for they are no more his concern than
gas or water charges. SO the unin-
formed renter is unpieasantly Jared
as the demands for payment of rates
| for divers uses are dropped into his
letter box at different times by diff
| ferent officials The demands cannot
be evaded except by secretly fleeing
with ones effects. The rates do not
attach as lien upon the premises.
To escape from them altogether one
must lodge in hotel or boarding
house. But in any event the tax on
incomes exceeding $500 year must
be met.
Relatively few people own the resi-
tdences which they occupy. II Is not
unusual for one to live in rented
house who owns several as good or
better dwellings,. 1t Is less a ques-
ton of means than of preference, de.
spite tho fact that the landlord, as a
rule, provides little beyond bare walls
for his tenant. He may install gas
pipes or electric wires, but the ten
ant must in general decorate the in
terror and always provide gas and elec.
trio fittings. These he sells to the next
tenant, If he can, at discount on cost
price. The renter who moves fire.
quently is thus heavily mulcted, both
coming and going. II premises are
! out of repair, the landlord rarely un-
dertakes to put them in order, at the
best merely offering to allow, out of
the rent, a percentage Of the essen
tial cost of repairs.
A general election for members Of
new Parliament consumes several
weeks. Balloting in each district is
| finished in one day, but all districts
DO not vote the same day. A man
OWING land In different districts
may vote in all of them. Excluding
this class, man must have been
an occupier of dwelling or a place
of business twelve months In O dis
/ trict to entitle him TO vote. A son
of age cannot vote II he lives with
and is entirely dependent ON his faith
er, and does him no service, A coach