The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1911-05-18
CHAPTER XIV.
Fifteen Dollars a Week.

first thought when receiver
NH my advance in pay was that
N 1 could now relieve Ruth of
some of her burdens. There
was no longer any need of her spend
ing SO much time in trottirg around the
markets and the department stores.
Nor was there any need Of her doing
SO much plotting and planning In her
endeavor to save penny. furthermore
! was determined that she should now
enjoy some of the little Injuries OF lie
in the way of better things to wear and
better things TO eat. But that idea was
taken out of me in short order.
NO" she said, as soonsas she recov.
cred from the good news. We mustn't
spend one cent more than we've been
But look here" I said; what's the
good of raise if we don't use it?'
spend it?" she asked me. Wen
Use it, Billy, but we'll use II
wisely. How many times have you tod
me that If you had your lie to nve
over again you wouldn't spend one cent
over the first salary you received, If 1t
was only three dollars week, until you
had a bank account"
Il know that" l said. But when a
man has wire and boy like you and
Dick
He doesn't want to turn them into
burdens that will hold him down al his
Mfe," she broke in. 1t isn't fair 10
the wife and boy" she said.
couldn't quite follow her reasoning,
but / didn't have to. When l came
home the next Saturday night win Si2
in my pocket instead of nine she calmly
took out three for the rent hVe Tor
household expenses, and put seven IN
the ginger jar;
celebration and with the boy go to the
little French restaurant we USED 10
visit, but she held up her hands in hor-
ror: -. a 60 IN far
why, Billy, you wouldn't; .r,,.
nd like TO spend ten," I said. I'd
like to go there to DINER and buy you a
half-dozen roses and get the three pest
seats in the best theater in town.
She came to my side and patted my
arm. -, ,a ..R,t
honest-its just as much fun to have
YOU want to do those things as to really
do them" ,,5,. ho
lieve it of anyone else, but Tor a WEEK
she talked about that dinner ana moss
flowers and the theater until she mao
me wondering If We hadn't actudhS
gone. Dick thought We were crazy.
And So lust as usual, after this she q
take her basket and start out two or
three mornings a week and walk VITA
me as far as the market She spenI
an hour here, and then, II she neeueo
the big Stores. and wander around here
But Saturday nights was her great
bargain opportunity. II l couldn 20
1vitb her. she'd take Dick, and the TWO
would plan to get there at about
o'clock. From this time on she otten
picked up for a song odd ends OIL In ma
and good vegetables when the IilS w. re-
men didn't want to carry over u Null
day. ou ont these
things, as their stock at the beginning
of the week had to be 1T Tfana Of day
would be a good deal Of hardship LOT
those living in the suburbs, but II "de
a regular lark for her. -, cot-
Most everyone is good natured on S "a
urdsy night il on no other night. Inc
weeks work is done, and people nave
enough money from their pay envelopes
to feel rich for a few hours ahg%aS;.
Then there were the lights ana tne
crowd, and the shouting so that 1t was
like twenty country fairs roueo lh'o
one. ,. -. ,o,,,ins, home
Saturdays with so much money wore
off. l began to forget that l was earn h5
Ing fifteen instead Of nine. If Ruth had
spent it on the table I'm sure Ia nave
forgotten It even more a G pted ~ eat. was
warm, and had a good clean pea 70
sleep in and what more can man
have even if he's earning hundred
week? -. a.. for,.+
that after all, a millionaire can spehu
only about so much on hlInsen: AnG
after the newness of tresh Toys So! ne
cars-he is forced TO be satisned VIII
lust what l had, no matter how much
more money he makes.
ne has only his five senses ana once
these are satisfied he's no better OF
than a man who satisfies these same
senses on eight dollars week. Gener-
ally he's worse off because IN a year OF
SO he has probably dulled them all.
Rockefeller himself probably never IN
his life got half the fun out OF ahylh!n
that / did in just crawling INTO my
clean bed at night with .,, every a ur req
muscle purring contentedly, ana my
mind at rest about the next day. l
doubt if he knows the JOY of waking UP
in the morning rested and hungry,
that 1 can see is the power he had to
help others. In way don't beheVe
be found any greater opportunity even
for that than Ruth found right here:
For those interested in the d. tails l m
going to give another quotation from
Ruth's note book. But to my mind
these details aren't the important part
of our venture. The thing that counted
was the spirit back of them.
1t isn't the fact that We lived on
from six to eight dollars week or the
statistics of how We lived on that Whlch
makes my life worth telling about # 1t
place prices vary in different localities
and shift from year to year. In TACT
since we began they have almost dou-
bled.
In the second place people have lived
and are living today on less than We
did. / give our figures simply to satisfy
the curious and to show how Rutn
planned. But no one could do as she
did or do as We did merely by aping
her little economies, or accepting the
result of them.
Either they would find the task i'm
possible or look upon it as privation
and endure it as martyrs. In this
mood they wouldn't last a week.
know that people who read this with
out at least a germ of the pioneer in
them will either smile or shrug their
shoulders.
rye met plenty of this sort met
them by the dozen down here AS l
said, you can find them in every bread
line, ir every Salvation Army barracks,
or the Associated Charities Will fur
,nish you a list of as many as you
want.
You'll find them in the suburbs or
you'll find them marching in line the
eli Of = he