The Monticellonian., 1918-08-30

selves. Some of this expense undouot-
 edly Is necessary, but while the war
 lasts we need not be ashamed of any
 form of Spartan economy. We can be
 tight handed and rigorous with our
 nickels and dimes without being open
 to the charge of stinginess-provided
 we use the money for government
 needs. We can shine our own shoes
 for tenth of this hundred million dol
 lars. There are in New York number
 of men who have grown very wealthy
 from the shoe-shining business. Among
 them are some large tenement owners
 one reputed to be worth millions.
 There are more than fifty thousand | 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 sice.
 Women Big Masters.
 But when it comes to this kind of
 elf-pampering women spend far more 1 money than men. Figures secured from
 one large department store give some interesting sidelights on possible eco | monies. Its sales of toilet goods last
 year ran about 1.3 per cent of Its total 1 sales. Thus for every million dollars in sales it's customers buy S13,000
 worth of toilet articles. Apply this rate to all the stores in the United 1 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 1 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
 l Ameriea's women are highly scent ed. We live in an atmosphere redol- l ent with ambrosla. From almost every woman one passes on the parade" 1 streets of the cities there comes an aura of roses, or perhaps violets. Our 1 girls demand scents, in infinite variety, l not only in perfumery itself, but In | hundreds Of products. Merely to grati- 1 fy our sense of olfactory luxury we l spend tens of millions Of dollars an 1 nually. Yet in France the husbands, 1 brothers and sweethearts of our wom- l en and girls are sweating and fighting in noisome places amid the stench of 1 disease and death The odors they get l are of gunpowder and blood. Surely 1 We can spare some of our perfumery l money in the cause for which we sent 1 them abroad.
 If 1t were possible to estimate the money spent by women Tn 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 a business that nets him seven hundred | dollars n month.
 A woman proprietor of so-called beauty establishment says that fifty customers bring her a revenue of ESQ., | 900 a year, that she realized clear profit of $20000 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 and so on. The manicure bill in New York Is enor- mous and the chlropody outgo large. These places are furnished in the ut l most luxury. If only we could im- press on women of this class the dread ful hardships our American youths are undergoing in the great causel
 The lesson ought to sink home to all women in America, who Tn greater or lesser degree. let their good money go for such futile vanities.
 It is estimated that 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 $365. 5.000000 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 abutions 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- ing We contract colds because our systems are too badly elogged to throw eff the germs. It 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 l ourselves during the war and transfer all these millions of dollars into the | fund that Is going to beat autocracy and the German peril?
 I have touched on merely 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 themselves on q war basis financially. We are still wasting mil lions on trifles The war would be | over now If We had taken ourselves in l hand at the beginning.
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