Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1910-11-26
KANSAS TOPICS
A Solution of the High Cost of Living.

Kansas City journal.
You can get whole lot more atten-
tion from the average householder
with a suggestion to revise down
ward the high cost of living than you
can with harangue about the
cardinal tenets'' in any of the poll
teal party platforms. Reducing his
grocery bill is a subject much closer
to his heart than the reduction of
the tariff. The initiative and ref
erendum pales away into thin smoke
when set up alongside of the problem
of making the equillbrator work on
the biplane where the wings are"in-
come and outlay
Il think that good deal of the high
cost of living is due to the fact that
the grocery wagon come about once
a three or four times day. was a
declaration made the other day.
The listeners looked at him blank
ly. That's no talk to give an limo
cent bystander,,' suggested one
when the prices were low the groc-
cry wagon came to our house just
about as often as it comes now
But l mean,' retorted the sug-
gestor,' ito change the programme
and have the grocery wagon come
about once a week.
''Starve to death the rest of the
time?' asked one of them. Il guess
we could cut down the cost by eating
one day in a week.
NO" was the reply the grocery
4, I
nature on that one trip to last a
whole week. In other words, all
such things that you can buy that
way, buy in bulk
Then you mean that you can re-
duce the price of living by having
the groceryman come once week, y
was the retort, land not that the
high prices are caused by having him
come two to four times a day
''Have it that way was the
answer, IF you want to. But my
dope is safe to bet on. / tried it and
/ know"
OF course, that started an argu-
ment of the pro and con nature, and
the man who was brave enough to
make the suggestion was given ample
opportunity to prove his statement,
and he proceeded to do it. 1t is
worth investigating anyway, and the
experiment entails no added expense.
"You get at that telephone" he
proceeded, getting his defense under
way. ON give you the names and
telephone numbers of grocers, and
you ask them the questions / tell you
to ask. The rest of you fellows keep
the books. Wen try this out and
the smokes will be on the rest of
you.''
So they started in on the program
The man at the telephone got a first
class grocery store on the wire "Ask
him the price of a bushel of potatoes,
bought by the bushel,'' was the ques-
ton.
1t was asked. He says 80 cents a
bushel," was the answer.
Chow much by the peck?. The
question was asked The answer was
80 cents.
''There is one point said the man
who made the original suggestion
you can buy bushel of potatoes in
one lump and get it for 80 cents Po-
tatoes will keep. You use up bushel
soon enough. Now buy four pecks at
four different times at 80 cents a
peck. In that way the bushel costs
you S1.2O. You save 40 cents bushel
on potatoes in that way
''Call up this number he said, di-
recting the man at the telephone
Ask him tie price of ham, bought
in the whole ham, and how much he
will have to pay for ham by the
slice"
The information showed that the
best ham on the market, bought in
the whole ham, is about Is cents a
pound, while sliced ham costs 35 cents
pound. An average ham will weigh
about ten pounds.
Figure that went on the sug-
gestor, land you will pay $3.50 for a
whole ham of ten pounds and $3.50 if
you buy it by the pound in slices.
Savvy?"
go ahead with your blissful idea, .
they said.
He directed that another grocer be
called up, and the question asked
concerned bacon. This didn't show a
great saving in buying whole side
of bacon at a time. In buying a
whole side bacon can be bought for
about 35 cents a pound, and by the
separate pound at 40 cents a pound
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