Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-09-05


whole people, there is a great deal of
truth in what this distinguished for
eigner says.
In New York City and at Washington
there have been established bureaus of
standards, which are bringing about
a Standardization of quality, quantity
and price in materials and supplies
which is resulting in an enormous saw
ing of the peoples money.
The New York Bureau of Standards
has been in existence only about two
years, but already, on account of the
immense economics effected, it has not
only amply justified its establishment,
but it has attracted the attention of
persons everywhere who are interested
in the public welfare Efforts are be.
ing made to establish similar bureaus
in other cities and for the benefit of
the different departments of state gov.
erment. The state of New York has u
commissioner of efficiency and econ
omy who is expected to save thousands
and hundreds of thousands of dollars
every year to the taxpayers of the
state by the waste and the extrava-
gances he will stop and the economies
he will institute.
Officers of the government are be.
ginning to realize the necessity for
economy in this era of prodigality.
Business men are waking up, too, and
scientific management and economy are
becoming the watchwords. An exam
pie is the big department store which
employs a man whose sole duty it is to
go around and turn off electric light
not in use. He saves the store more
than his wages.
1t will take a long time, however, for
this leaven of economy to leaven the
whole lump of our commercial and in
dustrial extravaganza, which, it is as.
serted, costs the consumer forty cent on
every dollar. An interesting commen.
tary on this subject is the fact that the
humble junk business, the trade of un.
considered trifles, has prospered in
America more than in all other coun-
tries. In Boston lives a dealer who
has accumulated more than a million
dollars, The leading dealer in Provi
dence, who handles nothing but scrap
iron, is worth half million, while
Philadelphia has two junk milIionaires
and a cluster of near.millionaires in the
same business.
But, primarily, it is the individual
citizen who is to blame for the extrav.
agance, which seems to be in our blood
The whole American public is wild
with spending Public economy is q
lost art, says James j. Hill. "Ex
travagance is our national curse,p says
John D, Rockefeller.
Men and women who are living on
salaries and whose income seems as
sured, do not stop to think where they
would be if for any reason that income
should cease, while times and condi
tions like the present incite them tt
spend and spend. Living costs much;
luXuries are common-in fact, they arc
necessities" with many. The demand
is always for more and more and
morel
II Americans economical in gooc
earnest for awhile, they could do some
amazing things.
BY cutting their liquor bills in hall
they would save $5OOOOO,OOO in year
The people of this country pay $57.
550,59l a year to foreigners for thei,
supply of coffee. Should they drinl
one cup of coffee instead of two. the,
would save $2S,770795.
If Americans should buy one.half tn,
hats they do the saving would amount
to S24,OOO,OO0 in one year.
Let the men smoke pipes, if they
like, but as for cigars-well smok,
one cigar where you now smoke two
and see what happens. The aggrepat,
saving would easily amount to $lO6,
100000 in a year.
The "World's Work" sums nm tb,
case in this way;
Three or four things are Ger.
tain; First, the problem of max.
ing both ends meet is, as it has
always been, very hard problem
for the average man and the aver.
age family; second, the average
American man and family live
great deal better now than half
century ago; third, larger pro.
portion Of Americans than of anv
other nation live well, and, fourth,
stlll larger proportion might live
well II we had developed thrift and
good management as several Eu.
| rOpean peonlaa have w