The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1913-09-25
"ACOMPT" OF 1856
Yankee Blacksmith Was Exact in
His Bookkeeping.
Many Pages of the Book Deal With
the Setting of Shoes, Mending
Axes and Tools, and the Trans
portation of Hay.

John S. Cole of West Springfield
Mass, is the possessor of very inter-
esting and very old book-the account,
book of Eleazer Loomis of Partridge
field. The book was begun by that per.
son in 1856, or ten years after the sign
ing of the Declaration of independence.
LOOMS was a blacksmith, and many OF.
the pages of the book deal with the:
setting of shoes, mending axes and
tools, and the transportation of hay.
All the "acompts" in the first part
of the book are reckoned in pounds,
shillings and pence, but toward the
end the present system seems to have
come into general use and the accounts,
are then kept in dollars and cents.
The accounts, which are carried on
through a long period of years that
were in themselves hazardous ones,
show a painstaking care and an exact
ness to business detail which might
we'll be followed today. That Loomis
was a careful business man is shown
by the fact that he kept all his re-
C0lDIS Ill tnS dCCOAAC bOOh.
The book at frequent intervals was
audited by LOOMS and an assistant
and is so signed. Besides being of his
torical value as a relic of post revolu-
tionary days, it affords an excellent
means of comparing the cost of living
and the price of labor then and now.
So much is heard today of the in
| Of living of thn nXnrhi-
tant prices demanded by manufac-
! turers and of the ever increasing de-
mands for better wages and less hours
by both skilled and unskilled labor
that it would be interesting to note the
difference in the values Of LOOMS
time and the values of today. In the
beginning of his "acompt" he values
his hired labor at 62 cents daily. This
suddenly jumps to rs cents daily To
day the laborer, with pick and shovel,
is getting from So to $3.50 daily or
practically three times as much as
LOOMS paid his assistants in black
smithing. This is really a comparison
between skilled and unskilled labor.
The difference in the price of food
stuffs is also very marked. LOOMS
bought 4O3 pounds of beef for an
amount slightly over $21, or at about
five cents a pound. Today he would
have been obliged to pay several timex
| that amount a pound for it, He got
| butter at IL cents pound, now 1t is 80
! Potatoes came at 80 cents bushel or
| less than one-third of what they are to-
day. Since the west opened up there
has been but little change in the price
of oats, for our blacksmith paid so
cents a bushel for them, while they
are quoted at 46 cents today.
| In the rental of his horse and teams
! it looks as if Loomis used very poor
| Judgment or else the ruling prices
were very low, for he took a load Of
hay to Pittsfeld for so cents, dis
lance of 40 miles each way. At an
other time he rented his boss to a
man for a day for shilling, or %
cents. A ton of hay cost him 81, about
one-fourth of what it is today.
There ere Number of amusing en-
| tries in the book, such as 5000 pounds
of coal for So and days work for
bushel of potatoes. He shoed a
1
"hoss," mended a handel" made
| ferrel and mended shovel, all for 81
cents The spelling of great many of
the words Is strange-for instance,
horse, boss; sleigh, Stay; moving, mo-
! ing; full, fool; kettle, kettel.
These are only instances from many
hundreds in the account and they go
to show What a remarkable change has
taken place since revolutionary days
! The book is in a remarkable state OF
preservation for such an old one. 1t
is bound in calf. The paper is of
/ good quality and is well preserved
The ink has yellowed ard in some
places almost faded away, but for the
! most part one is able to read all the
| items.
There are only few persons today
who would have the patience to keep
such an exact account of receipts and
| expenditures as LOOMS did, especially
| through such long period Of years.
Everything is set down, even the
smallest of items and the whole at
| frequent intervals is balanced. At the
bottom of each balance is the receipt
of the debtor or creditor, whichever
he was. usually signed by a witness