The state herald., 1918-08-23

OF 1t 10 fraud stun. Wooden articles
are reputed to be made from trees that
grow on historic spots, but are really
bogus. Strings Of beads are manufac-
tured by the mile and sold to the pub
lie as the work Of Indians. The same
10 true Of moccasins, toy canoes and
the like.
At best the bulk Of these goods Is
rubbish, and our outgo for this pur-
pose might well be cut of entirely dur.
ing the war. To do this requires alb
se,utely no sacrifice. The people en-
gagged in this business will simply have
to do what so many Of US have already
done, adjust themselves to war.
Aside from souvenirs, VIC are wan
ton spenders for actual merchandise
that is inferior OF worthless. There is
a great class of people to whom cheap
ness or flashiness appeals. rather than
utility md economy. A dealer In cheap
goods told me that he netted $25, 1000
year from merchandise that was prac-
tically worthless. He found 1t easy to
appeal to the spending instincts of his
customers.
Unnecessary Phone Calls.
Not many Of us ever stop to think
of the immense amount of money that
Is spent for unnecessary telephone
calls. Wherever you go the telephone
booths are occupied and when you
catch fragments of the conversations
YOU usually find them unImportant
Reginald calls up his best girl to tell
her he still loves her, Maude calls Al
gernon to thank him for the chocolates
No matter how trivial the occasion,
our first impulse Is to step into tele-
phone booth.
II Ave million people would save one
iive-cent call day 1t would mean a
total of over ninety million dollars n
year. Doubtless several times this sum
could be saved very easily by the gen
eral public on local and long-dlstance
calls. We are lavishly extravagant in
the use of the telephone. know of
business houses that talk several times
a day between New York and Chicago,
.ncurring tolls on each occasion that
run from five to forty dollars or more.
II there is one thing that the Ameri-
cans haven't learned 1t is economy Of
talk-which In these days Of war need
might well mean millions Of dollars In
Liberty Bonds. The telephone wires
are heavily overtaxed, anyhow.
Then there is the telegraph. We
have this habit, too. With little
planning we could commonly use n
three-cent stamp instead OF n ten-word
message. One large wholesale house
requires all Its travelling men to re
port daily by telegram. IN expend
ture that might be eliminated. The
telegraph tolls OF some of the large In
dustrlal and commercial establish
ments ARE so big that they seen In
credible.
The night letter IL. In n measure, n
luxury. ut least we could do away
with the social phase Of II and
much Of the domestic. I hap
pen TO know one business man. who
on his frequent and long absences
Aiphh hpihTs kNtS u ihktih i'tt'i
wife every morning and sends one eacl,
night. Nor are these messages con
fined to fifty words. but often run scv.
eral times that length. Baby had the
collie; Freddy fell downstairs and
skinned his knee. Jeanette had her
hair washed.
happen to be acquainted also with
with young man who revels In night
letters to his finncee. They nre renl let
ters, too, beginning like this: ''Darl-
Ing sue-I love you more than ever.
| couldn't sleep last night thinking Of
YOU. Do you love me siilll ="
A certain business man. the hend OF
a lnrge concern. goes away Mt intervals
to rest for week or two. but insists
on having night letter every morn.
Ing. nnrrntlng the substance Of the
previous days business. These mes.
Sages run into hundreds Of words every
day.
I would not bellttle tho night letter:
hut In the present stress We need 10
curtall whatever part Of this expense
may he unnecessary, and loan the
money TO the government.
The TasIeab Mania.
We Americans also have the taxi.
cab mania. There is very large class
of men and women who ride In cabs
hnbItuslly. md let go immense sums In
the aggregate. They take tnxicnbs 10
20 few blocks. In group Of twenty
leading cities there nrc about four hun.
drcd thousand Of these vehicles. and II
each Of them absorbed ten dollars ev.
cry day In unnecessary fnres the ng.
grcrntc would be over fourteen million
dollars n ycnr. wbnt would be the
totnl for the whole United Stntcsf II
is luxury 10 jump into cab when.
ever ones wants 10 move nbout. but
these nrc stern times and we need TO
be more iron.mindcd. The boys In
France do not ride In cabs. and the
money we wnste on this form Of luxury
might better 20 into gns masks for
them.