Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-08-27

from the shoe-shining business. Among
them are some large tenement owners
one reputed to be worth rillions.
There are more than fifty t,ousand
bootblack places in the United States,
some of them employing dozen or
more men. The majority of these
bootblacks are within the fighting age,
at least they ought to be doing some
sort of war service, instead of shining
shoes-while American blood runs so
freely on the other side.
Women Big MASTERS.
But when it comes to this kind of
self-pampering women spend far more
money than men. Figures secured from
one large department store give some
interesting sidelights on possible eco
Monies. It's sales of toilet goods lasl
year ran about 1.3 per cent of It's total
sales. Thus for every million dollars
in sales Its customers buy $4,000
worth Of toilet articles. Apply this
rate to all the stores in the United
States and you have a total of unnum-
bered millions. The term toilet goods
is very elastic. including both neces-
sary and unnecessary articles, but the
conscientious war saver no doubt
would class one-third of these items as
partly diSpensable. such as perfumery,
certain soaps, powders, rouge, toilet
waters. so-called beauty compounds,
and the like.
Americas women are highly scent
ed. We live in an atmosphere redol-
ent with ambrosia. From almost every
woman one passes on the parade"
streets Of the cities there comes an
aura of roses, or perhaps violets. Our
girls demand scents, in infinite variety,
not only In perfumery itself, but in
hundreds of products. Merely to graft
fly our sense of olfactory luxury we
spend tens of millions Of dollars an
nually. Yet in France the husbands,
brothers and sweethearts of our wom-
en- and girls are sweating and fighting
in noisome places amid the stencil of
disease and death. The odors they get
are Of gunpowder and blood. Surely
we can spare some of our perfumery
money in the cause for which we sent
them abroad.
II 1t were possible to estimate the
money spent by women in New York
alone for hairdressing and beauty cul-
ture 1t would undoubtedly run into the
tens of millions. One hairdresser in
the metropolitan district states that
within eighteen months, or since. Amer
lea entered the war, he has built up
business that nets him seven hundred
dollars month.
A woman proprietor Of q so-called
beauty establishment says that fifty
customers bring her revenue of $780,
900 year, that she realized a clear
profit of $4,000 on powders, creams
and perfumes, that she sold sets of
cosmetics at seven hundred dollars
each. Thousands of women pay fancy
fees for hair waving, tinting and
bleaching. One concern announces
twelve colors, ranging from black to
golden blonde. Much money also goes
for removal of freckles, wrinkles treat
ment, face bleaching ant so on. The
manicure bill in New York is enor-
nous, and the chirOpody outgo large.
These places are furnished in the ut
most luxury. If only we could i'm
press on women Of this class the dread
full hardships our American youths are
undergoing In the great cause!
The lesson ought to sink home to all
women in America, who la greater or
lesser degree, let their good money go
for such futile vanities.
1t is estimated that a million men
and women throughout the country are
giving to the Turkish baths an aver
age of dollar a day. Thus we have
a total of 1866, 100000 a year. To this
we can add perhaps half as much for
massage, attendant fees, special treat
ment and incidentals.
Bathing is commended, but most of
US, at least those who have the Turk
ish bath habit, can take our additions
at home. The soldiers in Europe don't
have Turkish baths. We imagine we
need them here. We eat big dinners
and fill ourselves with rheumatic de-
posits, poison ourselves by gormandiz-
ling. We contract colds because our
systems are too badly clogged to throw
off the germs. 1t is when we are stuff
fed with rich viands and all sorts of
luxuries that we turn to the Turkish
bath for relief. Why not discipline
ourselves during the war and transfer
all these millions of dollars into the
fund that is going to beat autocracy
and the German perili
l have touched on merely a few of
the items of unnecessary outgo. The
list might be extended indefinitely. But
there ought to be enough here to set us
thinking, and we can make the ex-
tensions ourselves. There is no use
denying the fact that the people have
not yet put themselvesNon a war basis
financially. We are still wasting mil
lions on trifles. The war would be
over now If we had taken ourselves In