Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-01-20

IN our money. The more skilled me-
chanlc, who is in great demand, is
paid from $500 to s2.75. lives in three
rooms and kitchen, for which he is
forced to pay from $500 to $500
WOODEN goods of all kinds; rubber and
metal, are very high, but a beautiful
otter fur cap, which sells in New York
Tor $3.50 can be bought here for S190
Just now there is a scarcity of GER
tain grades of the white wheat flours,
but meats are plentiful The low price
of women labor, and much of the in
terror work is done by women, keeps
low the prices of almost every article
in which labor enters large.
There is one thing here which has
shocked us American men. In order
ing bath woman appears and leads
to the bath. She does not retire but
expects you TO disrobe, enter the tub
and be massaged at her hands. To the
blasting credit of American manhood,
l can say | do not know of a single
member OF our party who did not
chase out the masseure and do his own
rubbing. | spoke about this practice
to Swedish gentleman. He seemed
surprised that this was anything I'M
usual, and justified it by saying there
were no foreign men mere VINO would
do such work: that Swedish men
would not do it; that these women
are perfectly respectable and mostly
are widows. From this one is made
to realize how vastly different are our
sex questions at home from what they
are in many foreign countries. Our
men here wonder why women serv-
ants enter their rooms to build fires.
bring in coffee, or hot water, while
the men are still in bed. 1t may all
be in getting used to it, but this is
one of the things | do not like.
The Liquor Question.
Here, too, the liquor question is also
handled differently. No one can legal
ly buy any distilled liquor unless he
is given a book and even with this
book he can buy just so much and no
more during one year. He must show
/ that his taxes have been paid and that
! his family is comfortable and that he
| is law abiding or he cannot secure a
/ book. After he gets the book, if ar
rested for being intoxicated, for quar-
reling or for committing any crime, he
loses his book and cannot secure an
| other. Beer and wine, containing
/ three per cent OF alcohol and a con-
coctiOn called Swedish punch are not
considered liquors. The retail liquor
dealers are not favored and cafes han
die the most of the liquors. The gov
eminent controls the business enacts
| high tolls, regulates as to profits, hold
ing them to not more than five per
cent and does not let the saloons open
until | O'Clock p. m. on week days.
Sundays they can be open all day ex-
cept during the morning hours for
church services. The result is there
is no money in the business, and there
is little drunkenness. The radicals
are working here for total prohibition
and say the Swedish punch is worse
than our beer.
Regulate TaXicab.
The taxicab business is just as close
ly regulated as is the liquor business.
No company or individual can run a
line of taxicabs unless granted d
number" Each number constitutes
a franchise for which the city exac1s
a stiff fee, but the number Of fran
chises are so limited that in ordinary
times, fair profits can be made. AS
| have mentioned in another letter
the charges are very low. Where the
charge in Chicago would be 90 cents
here it is IS cents; in Chicago. where
from 75c to S100 is charged for twC
or more. here it is from 81 cents to q
cent. | had a taxi for two. We drove
10 blocks, had the driver wait while
We made a Commute call: were ther
driven four more blocks and the charge
for both Va S "a cents. And the price
here of a 32x3 tire is from $50 to S10t
and many taXiCabS are going out o.
commission simply because new tire!
cannot be secured at any price Al
taXicab owners are now losing money
but their franchise is valuable in time'
of peace and they are hanging on t,
the franchise, which can be held onl,
while the cab is being regularly Oper
ated hoping that the war may soon ent
and the business again be profitable
One good feature is that the cab
have to stand at certain points AM
come only on call of policeman TIL
policemen have TO call the number
of the taXis in the order in which the,
come into the stand. This gives ever,
driver a square deal. There are II,
trusts or monopolies in Sweden TIL
government does not believe in an,
monopoly except those controlled b,
the government and even these are il
most limited form.
SENDER SHOTTT,D PITT