Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-11-02
Where Money Goes.
BY GRAHAM HOOD.

For several years the periodicals of this
country have been filed with articles
dealing with the high cost of living and
the possible remedies for this evil. There
Is no question as to the fact that the cost
of living is increasing. and that. in some
cases at least. prices are rising. not
gradually by any means. but by leaps
and bounds.
or course. there is a reason for this.
but l don't propose TO try to tell you
what this reason is. Men far more
learned than I am differ widely when
they come to determining the reason for
the constantly increasing prices. Some
say that it Is the tariff: others that it is
the cheapening Of god: that it is any
one OF a dozen or more reasons that
have been suggested. L don't know
which is right don't know If any OF
the experts are right. What l do know.
however. is that the problem of living
could be made very much easier for all
of us If We went to work Systematically
to solve teach one for himself.
For example, you would be surprised
ii you We're to learn how much money
Is spent extravagantly. even by those
who can i'll afford to waste anything.
Millions of dollars are expended an
nually for the privilege of witnessing
lars are spent annually for candy and
soda and other products of the confec-
toners art. Millions of dollars are
thrown away every year in the purchase
OF beer and strong drinks.
or course. l do not mean to imply that
all Of this money is spent by people who
cannot afford to purchase such articles
But. as any sOciologist will tell you, the
poor" spend a far larger proportion or
their means in these directions than the
rich. The poor" do not buy champagne,
yet. considering the amount of money
they have t. spend. the beer and whisky
a larger proportion of their income.
Yet these 'luxuries' do not begin to
include all the avenues through which
our money is wasted. There is right
way and a wrong way to do everything
in life, and the purchase and utilization
of household supplies is no exception to
this rule. The right way to buy from
the butcher. the grocer and the green
other way in which you can be certain
that you are getting the cuts of meat
and the other articles of food that YOU
desire, or that you are getting the weight
you order. An ounce or two in shortage
may pass without detection when the
goods are delivered, but at the end of
the year this ounce or two has accumu-
lated to such proportions that Ii repre-
sents a very siZeable factor in the an
nual outlay.
Knowledge, too, counts in the pur-
chase of household commodities just as
much as It, does in the conduct of any
business enterprise. If you are to buy
the right kind of goods you must know
what kind Of goods you want to purchase
and how to recognize such commodities
when you see them. There are countless
| ways of saving money by wise methods
Of marketing. Buying goods in small
quantities is not one of them. Buying
goods in packages is often another source
of waste. Buying ready-cooked meats
and other dishes already prepared is still
another. 1t may be argued that ready
cooked foods require no fuel in theii
| preparation for the table. yet it must
| not be forgotten that they have require
fuel. ana that this cost is already 1nclud.
ed in their price, as well as an additional
profit to cover the trouble that the shop
keeper has taken in preparing them.
1t is frequently asserted that the
smaller wages paid for work a quarter
of a century ago really represented a
higher rate of wage because the amount
of money received went further. Dc
you know why 1t went further? Ii
| is because it was expended more wisely.
In those days there was less temptation
| to become wasteful in the purchase and
preparation of goods for the table
People bought their supplies themselves
| and kept an eye upon the work of pre-
pairing them. We could make our money
| go Just as far today as it did twenty
| five years ago. if we were to exercise
as much care in matters of economy as
did o,1r mothers and grandmotherS