The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-02-17
KANSAS COAAENT
THE COST OF LIVING.


1t isn't SO hard to account for some
of the increased cost of living, if you
stop to think. Fifty years ago the
farmer had a wood beam, walking
stirring pillow, perhaps a hand corn
planter, attended to a crop with a
double shovel walking cultivator, and
shucked it with a hickory peg; sowed
his small grain broadcast by hand,
harvested it with cradle and thresh-
ed it with fail. He cut his hay with
with wooden hand rake and handled
1t with a pitchfork. Fifty dollars
would fit farmer out with full set
of farming implements Now he has
a gang pillow. listers. discs, harrows and
four horse cultivators, shucks his corn
with the latest husking gloves and
losses it into wagon with a patented
endgate, puts in his small grain with
a drill, cuts it with header or bind
er and hires a steam thresher to
thresh it; cuts his hay with the latest
mower, and has horse rakeS, bunchers
and stackers to putit away. The cost
of implements on modern farm runs
up into hundreds of dollars, probably
into the thousands Fifty years ago
the storekeeper wrapped up your pur-
chase of brown sugar or green coffee
IN brown paper, lighted his store with
tallow candles, wrote his letters with
a steel or quill pen and kept track of
his sales with a pencil. Now he lights
his store with gas or electricity, puts
your purchases in a paper bag or
hands them to you in a fancy carton,
records his sales on a cash register,
costing anywhere from one to six hum
dred dollars and writes his letters on
a machine that costs another hundred.
OF course it costs more to live now
but it is worth more.-Mankato West
ern Advocate.
THE CHIEF EVIL.
A Kansas City mother was called to
police headquarters a few days ago to
take her daughter home after the girl
had been found in an opium point.
The mother was overcome by the
news of her daughters disgrace and
her feelings in this respect were not
lessened by the comment of captain
of police who is in a position to con-
slider vice and its cause. Several
evils menace the characters and lives
of girls he said. above all others
l place the neglect of parents Rath-
er a strong statement but it is worth
the consideration of parents. A little
time spent in the training of the child,
a little care as to the character of her
associates. perhaps a little more inter-
est in her welfare might have saved
the humiliation of that trip to police
headquarters and it would have been
cheap at the price.-Salina Journal.
WASTEFULNESS IS A CRIME.
In view of the. experience in other
gas fields it would seem hardly neces-
sary to caution those connected with
the development of. the Augusta gas
field to avoid waste of gas as far as
possible, Yet a statement comes from
Augusta that because it is cheaper
to let the street lights burn all day
than to hire a man to turn them out,
they are permitted to burn. While
this is a small item, it is only one of
many that contribute to the criminal
waste of gas that has rapidly depict
ed the supply in every field in Amer
lea. IT, as many begin to think, there
is a good gas field in the vicinity of
Augusta, it may make that town as
prominent among Kansas manufactur-
ing centers as lola, Coffeyville and
independence, but unless it sets a
good example and the people follow
it in outstanding the supply of gas,
its prominence may be as short lived.
The earth yields few blessings of
greater worth than natural gas, but
it seems that few persons learn to ap-
preciate this fact till it is too late
Wichita Beacon.