Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-12-19
COST OF LIVING
Discussion May BeIp People Iu
 All Walks Oi Life.

The agitation for more pay in the schools will help people who do not look to teaching as means of earn ing livelihood. In the first place 1t will emphasize the benefit of or ganized effort for mutual benefit and put folks in other walks of life who in the past have been criticized for getting together with view to help ing themselves in much more favor- able light than ever before. The dis cussion with reference to the cost or living cannot help opening every body's eyes to q realization of the fact that If the cost of living keeps advancing those who earn a living by their heads or their hands must get more wages or fall to a standard of living which would not be desirable from any standpoint. It has often been said and probably truthfully, so, too, that Waterbury pays it's help less than any other town in the state, but no organized effort ever was made to put the matter before the public in an intelligent way, and as result whenever anybody mention ed such thing few took any notice of it except to say that 1t was all politics.
 Everybody is interested in the chil- dren. They represent everything most people have and it is only nat ural that they should be deeply in terested in all that pertains to their welfare We are told that the train ing of the youth should begin while they are in the cradle, or at least be- fore they are able to leave their own homes. This much being admit ted, it must be plain to everybody who is at all familiar with the cost of living that it is out of the ques- . ton to provide suitable environment, food raiment and other things for family of four or five children on $1.75 day, especially when you take into consideration that the bread winner loses considerable time during the year for which he receives no compensation. This is the minimum wage paid by city departments. At the present time some of them are on seven hour day and a great many Illoio dl lcilb oli anu piSboS'J 'A'' not earn a dollar until next spring.
 All these men are taxpayers. They meet you on the street and appear l,efore you in city meetings and con- plain of a high rate of taxation and excessive water rents. The school board does not furnish all supplies needed in the schools Pads and white paper are still bought by the parents and in an effort to keep down expenses the board has not asked that this item be provided for but Mir Tinker did say that he should be pleased to see it added to the budget. The amount needed for thls purpose is about $500. Don't you think it would be move towards the betterment of the rising genera tion to make up that deficit and give the school children all the supplies they need? Don't you think it would help the children some If then parents had SIP q week in their en' velopes instead of s9 or S1O? II would enable their mothers to buy hetter steak for the little ones and give them the brawn and muscle they ought to have when they enter the school room. What makes most children pale-faced, and sickly? ASK the family physician, who, Wher called in prescribes something 1T the way of diet which an indulgen' mother knows she cannot afford tC provide. What is the reason that q boys toes are out through his shoes Why is that nice little girl in need of sufficient clothing to make hel as comfortable as she ought to be: Is it because their parents don think enough of them to provide these things? You may say people should not Lave more children thar they can care for properly, but-wel let the many public utterances o President Roosevelt take care 0 that.
 But one might go on until he was tired and then he would not be hal through explaining the need of ; higher wage. Nobody disputes thi but the question is how to apply th remedy. There is no remedy eXcep by an increase of the rate of taxation and it is in the power of the peopl to do this any time they say so, an( when they decide to do this it i; hoped that it will be done ill sucl way that fathers and mothers 0 the school children who are in th' employ of the city will not be over looked. In addition to helping then