The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-11-10
LIVING IN AMERICA AND IN
EUROPE

EUhOPE.
1t has recently been pointed out
that it is not the "high cost of liv-
ing" but high living that costs" and
this has been further demonstrated
by the observations of Thomas A.
Edison, the Wizard of Menlo Park"
during his recent tour through Eu-
rope. He was struck by the extrav-
agance of Americans as compared
with the living expenses of Euro
peans, Americans being satisfied with
nothing but the best whatever the
cost, whether it be in food, dress or
pleasure Mr.. Edison said recently
in an interview:
The cost of living throughout Eu-
rope, is higher than it is in the Unit
ed States-that is, it would be high
er if the Europeans lived on the same
scale which we insist upon. For
tunately for themselves they do not
do SO. They are far more sensible
in their expenditures.
THE average European who can
not afford that thing which happens,
for one reason or another, to be alb
normally high-priced meets the stu
alton simply by getting on without
it. Thus the high price does not
drive him into bankruptcy.
Il looked over market reports,
while | was in Europe, with consid-
cradle care, and found little differ
ence between American and Euro
pean wholesale prices. Their mid
dlemen exact smaller profits, prob
ably, than ours do; but the chief
difference between the peoples on the
two sides of the Atlantic is that, in
America, when a thing comes very
much too high is when our people
cannot get along without it; where
as, in Europe, an abnormally high
price is a signal for the people to
deny themselves till prices drop
again. One sure result of this is
prompt readjustment of the prices"
DO they also eat more sensibly
than we do?" he was asked.
Very much less sensibly," said
Mr.. Edison. "At German restaurants
the general tendency toward over
eating is a painful sight to witness,
really, Americans, as a rule, l have
observed, eat about twice as much
as they need; Germans eat twice as
much as Americans, which is four
times as much as they need. The
prosperity of the German nation is
in spite of the most extraordinary
overeating. And a people who take
into their systems, every day, 70 per
cent. more food than is necessary
to give the proper strength and
weight must necessarily suffer from
it.
Il made an interesting, but neces-
sarily crude, calculation in Germany.
If Germany ate as she ought to she
could export food products instead of
importing them at the rate of $2,-
00,000,000 annually. She pays,
therefore, far more than $2,000,000,-
600 every year for the food which
she consumes in plain excess of her
needs.
This is an era of progress along
most scientific and commercial lines,
is a startling contradiction-an as
tonishing instance of extravaganza
and foolishness in the midst of care
ful economics and common sense"
From the German he turned to the
economy OF the French, which is
based upon their skill in cooking,
and in answer to the question as to
the superiority of the French, who,
it is claimed, can live On what Amer
leans waste, said:
"Oh first of all and more than any
thing else, French cooking. The
cooking in France is far superior to
ours, not only in the large cities, but
in the smallest, meanest town. 1t
has its effect upon the national
health, the national temper, the ma
tional prosperity. Not only is it far
more palatable than the cooking in
this country, on the average, but it
is far more sanitary We were al
ways encountering surprising merits
in the cooking, no matter where we
went in France.
Generally European cooking is
much better than American, but that
in France is infinitely superior. They
can give us lessons, too, in culinary
economics. An average French cook
will take what an average American
housewife would waste and make a
good and wholesome meal of it,
"Our cook could learn from
France some lessons which would
make the average American home
much happier and healthier French
cooking introduced here would pre-
vent in years time at least a small
proportion of our numerous divorce
suits, and reduce our death rate"
OUR GROWTH IN FIGURES,