The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1906-08-24
DEBT AND POVERTY.

That many people are living be
yond their means seems settled b,
the evidence gathered by the stat
bureau of labor statistics of Massa
chusetts and published in the Jul,
Labor Bulletin. 1T relates to non
collectible Indebtedness as found from
an investigation among dealers il
groceries, clothing, furniture and rea
estate in the city of Boston. We cal
only give the summary figures, which
represent matters as they stood some
thing over a year ago, and are excIu
sive Of debts that had become out
lawed:
Number of dealers reporting, 1888
number of debtors reported, 72,54O
amount of debts, s1,064,3S debt con
tracted by wage-earning class, s704
433; trading class, s276,116; profes
sional class, $4,000; moneyed class
$SS,S45.
"The trading class comprehend
clerks, statesmen, bookkeepers, etc,
and the other groupings describe
themselves. There may be much du
plication here-that is, one person
may be reported as indebted to the
grocer and the furniture dealer, anC
so appear as two persons in the mum
Der of debtors reported; but the con
clusion nevertheless seems to be war
ranted that no less than 10 per cent
of the people of Boston are owing fol
such necessaries of living as cloth
| ing and food, which debts are held
by the dealers as hopelessly noncol
lectible. for this was the only kind
of Indebtedness considered in the in
quiry."
There is no reason to believe that
the people Of Boston are any more
extravagant than other cities and
doubtless similar conditions exist
everywhere.
The question is, what makes these
people contract debts they can not
pay? Our boasted prosperity must be
a myth, to at least 10 per cent of the
people. for to be in debt that one can.
not pay, is not prosperity, but disas-
ter. AS much more than half of this
Indebtedness stands against the wage
earning class, it implies that condi-
tons Of labor compensation are in
sufficient to meet the bare necessities
of living.
Duns Index figures show conclu-
sively that the cost of living has adj
vanced 4S per cent since 1897 when
the present trust fostering tariff law
was enacted; it is therefore fair to
assume that wages have not kept pace
with the cost of living and that this
discrepancy accounts for many not
being able to pay their bills. In fact.
wages have only increased 16 per
cent during the same period.
The task of the wage-earner, with
a family to support, under this re-
publican system that plumbers the
many for the benefit of the few, is
hard one There is on all hands an
era of extravaganza and he finds him.
self unable to stem the current that
the demands of wife and children
heap up. They see others living and
dressing in comfort and naturally
long for similar good cheer and en-
joyment. They want to appear as
well dressed as their companions at
school and elsewhere, and the wage
Garner strives to satisfy them.
But that constant daily drag of As
per cent above the normal for every
thing he buys, drags him down to
either pinching economy, or debt.
Meanwhile the trusts and combines
are greatly prospecting under this 4S
per cent advance in prices, of which
they monopolize the lions share. But
the great mass of the people are only
making both ends meet and yet a
republican congress has refused to
even discuss this plundering tariff
law that is the main cause of this in
equality of great prosperity of few
and fair living for others and grind
ing poverty for thousands.