St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1911-12-27

| but it must be something academi-
cally lofty and in favor of the high
ly segregated class. list. Johns
bury Republican.
In the meantime, Mr.. DeBoer ad-
dressed an audience in Burlington,
Thursday evening, composed almost
exclusively of men which the Free
Press said in it's report we'll filled
the spacious Strong theatre, the larg-
est auditorium in, Burlington. And
to that large audience Mr.. DeBoer
expressed his views on important
state issues in terms that could not
be mistaken. The News has an
idea that the people are going to like
that sort of a political campaign
/ Mortified News.
High Cost of Living.
The high cost of living is hardly
new problem though one might
think from reading the daily and
weekly press that it had been con-
fronting us in the last year or two
for the first time. But there have
been other times. We have before
US as we write, the day book of G.
M Weeks & Co., Woodsville, for the
year 1867. The Weeks store was
we'll known as having one of the
largest and best assortments of gen
era1 merchandise to be found in this
section. The prices were also rea-
sonable. A glance at them will we
think be found interesting and we
give few Of the charges found on
the books in the month of December,
making no selection except to avoid
duplication. These are:
One spool linen thread, 25 c.; u
lb. tobacco, so c.; 6A lbs. pork,
SIPS; L PIX. beans, 75c.; II lb.
Jap. tea, $65; 10 lbs. Havana sugar,
$3.50; 1 Id. young hyson tea,
$1.90; lb. ginger SO c.;
II Id. pepper, Is c.; lbs. pork,
young Tyson tea, $1.90; bl. ginger,
soc; Il lb. pepper, Is c; 9 lbs. pork,
Bingham, 70 c.; 10 yds bed
sugar, rs c.; 1 lb. candles, rs c.;
61a lbs. lard, $1.3O; 1 box salt, 8
lbs. SO c.. lbs. Goldfish, 56c.; 1
bunch matches, 12c.; 1 gal molas-
ses, rs c.; 1 1b. coffee, Is cents; IL
lbs. nails, 90c.; Tbs. rice, 60c.; II
lib. cream tartar, SO c.; 9 yds. print,
$3.50; 1 Dbl. flour, $500; 1 Id.
saleratus, 12c.; IL yds. delaine, So;
bars soap, 60c.; 1 bush. salt, 81;
81 lbs. granulated sugar, 1856; 26
yds. sheeting, $500; 1 gal. kero-
sene oil, 75c.
Of course it is not easy to COM
pare these prices with those of the
present time except for these COM
mon articles of daily household use.
| Weeks was supposed to havoc sale
everything needed, but we find no
charges for the thousand and one ar
ticles that fill the Woodsville stores
today, and find customers too.
Weeks did not have them on sale "A
years ago this month, nor did any
one else, for that matter. But for
pure necessities it cost them, as
now. The reader can decide for him
self whether it was less or more.
We also find credits and the pric-
es for commodities bought in ex-
change for goods are also interest
ing. Here are a few: 354 lbs. but
ter, at SO c., $134.52; 103 lbs. beef,
| 10 c., $1O.3O; so lbs. chickens, SO;
372 lbs. pork, 8 c., $29.76; 3 1-3
dozen eggs, 81; 881a lbs. turkey,
! 20 c., $17.7O. The credit for turkey
was dated in November, the credits
for other articles in December. Com
parison between them and now will
be found interesting.
WoOdSville was railroad center
then as now, though not quite so
much of center. Conductors were
then receiving $50 month, brakemen
$137 per day, other employees in
proportion. We have an impression
that wages are somewhat higher to-
day.
Yet complaint of the high cost of
living was never more pronounced
than it is now. But is not the above
list of articles chiefly notable for
what it does not contain? What
we're once almost unheard of luXurl-
les have become necessities. Is not
the real reason for high cost found
in the fact that there is more living?
# Woodsville News.