The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1917-09-05

',E.Ess.r-s Ss.-=s....-a
cost of our four years fighting in
the Civil War.
Soft drinks might be listed under
liquid luxuries," too. We use up
about $10,000,O00 worth of soda-watcr
apparatus every year. The value Of
soda and mineral waters produced is
something like $75,000,0O0, not count
ing the syrups that go into the ice
cream sodas nor the ingredients of the
ice cream.
Nor is it stretching it to include
perfumery in the list of "liquid luxu-
ries." The consumption of sweet
scented colognes has gone up by leaps
and bounds. In the year 1914 we i'm
ported $2,300,000 worth of perfumcry,
which was three times the amount
imported in 1904. Since the war,
however, we have had to make our
own or go without.
Hair tonics, massage creams, toilet
waters and other dainty things the
ladies love Ito say nothing of the
concoctions used on mere man in the
modern barber shop) are likely to be
included in such list. Only a few
days ago some one proposed to launch
a movement to abolish shampoos be-
cause Of the millions of eggs so used
every year.
So much for 'liquid luxuries." Let
us consider tobaccos. The nations bill
last year for tobacco was something
like $800,0O0,000, or about SO worth
of tobacco for every living soul in
the country. With So every person
could buy 160 fve-cent cigars or
eighty ten-cent packages of ciga-
rettes. For the year 1915 the Gov
ernment collected $77,47O,757.1 in
ternal revenue. Half the Governments
revenue tax in a year comes off to-
bacco and drink.
We like diamond rings and precious
stones in our dress, So much so that
in 1913, the year before the war
started, we imported something like
$50,000,000 worth Of precious stones.
The war cut into imports in 1914,
but even at that, during the seven
months that preceded the beginning of
hostilities in late summer, we import
cd about $35,0OO,0O0 worth of pre-
cious stones.
Would you believe that we paid
something like $1O,00O,OOO a year to
look at ourselves? Or, as Bobbie
Burns would say, "to see ourselves as
others see u.s." But It's fact, any
way; we spend that much money for
mirrors--the mirrormakcrs turn out
products to that value.
And candy! During the year 1916
we consumed more than 8,0O0,000,000
pounds Of sugar in the United States.
The per capita consumption was 1904
pounds of sugar. Our candy bill ran
along something like half billion dol
lars. At the recent convention of the
candy salesman, held in Atlantic City,
it was reported that the nation had
chcwcd, sucked, dissolved or otherwise
masticated more than a billion pounds
of candy during the year 1916. The
estimate of ten pounds to every person
in the country seems not extravagant.
We know some people who eat ten
pounds of candy in less than year
and others, however, who never eat
bite of sweets.
Candy is not likely longer to be held
rigidly in the luxury class. Medical
science has proved Enthusiastically that
candy contributes to the muscular
energy of the body when taken pure
and wholesome and is responsible also
for the stimulation Of mental energy.
The Boy Scout knows that he will not
starve on long hike provided he has
cake of chocolate in his kit. Like
wise, Uncle Sam sees to it that his
bows in France pet plentv of CANDY