Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1918-08-28


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
is 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 Off entirely dur
ing the war. To do this requires alb
solutely 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, we are wan
ton spenders for actual merchandise
that is inferior or worthless. There Is
a great class of people to whom cheap
ness or fiashiness appeals rather than
utility and economy. A dealer in cheap
goods told me that he netred $4,000 a
year from merchandise that was prac-
tically worthless. He found it easy To
appeal to the spending instincts of his
customers.
Unnecessary Phone Calls.
Not many o. 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.
If five million people would save one
tive-cent call a day it would mean
total of over ninety million dollars a
year. Doubtless several times this sum
could be saved very easily by the gen
eral public on local and long-distance
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.
mourning tolls on each occasion that
run from five 10 forty dollars or more.
If 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 a little
planning we could commonly use
three-cent stamp instead of a ten-wOrd
message. One large wholesale house
requires all its travelling men to re-
port daily by telegram, an expendi
ture that might be eliminated. The
telegraph tolls of some Of the large in
dustrial and commercial establish
ments are so big that they seem in
credible.
The night letter is, in a measure. a
luxury, at least we could do away
with the social phase of 1t and
much Of the domestic. ! hap
pen to know one business man. who
on his frequent and long absences
from home, gets a night letter from his
wife every morning and sends one each
night. Nor are these messages con-
fined to fifty words, but often run sew
erai times that length. Baby had the
collie; Freddy fell downstairs and
skinned his knee, Jeanette had her
hair washed
l happen to be acquainted also with
with a young man who revels in night
letters TO his fiancee. They are real let
tiers, 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 still? :"
A certain business man, the head OF
a large concern. goes away at intervals
TO rest for week or two, but insists
on having a night letter every morn
ing. narrating the substance Of the
previous days business. These mes
sages run into hundreds of words every
day.
would not belittle the night letter:
hut in the present stress we need to
curtail whatever part of this expense
may be unnecessary, and loan the
money to the government.
The Taxieab Mania.
We Americans also have the taxi
cab mania. There is very large class
of men and women who ride in cabs
habitually. and let 90 immense sums in
the aggregate They take taxicabs 10
go few blocks. In a group Of twenty
leading cities there ere abOut four hun
dred thousand of these vehicles. and II
each of them absorbed ten dollars ev-
cry day in unnecessary fares the az
gregate would be over fourteen million
dollars a year. What would be the
total for the whole United States? II
is luxury TO jump into a cab when
ever ones wants t. move about but
these are stern times and we need 10
be move iron-minded. The boys in
France do not ride in cabs. and the
money we waste on this form of luxury
might better go into gas masks for
them.
We American men saturate ourselves
with many kinds Of soft indulgences-
as in the barber shops. These places
in the high class hotels. as well as the
better shops outside. take from us Inn
mense sums-for whatf Here is a
typical list: Shave. 25c: haircut soc:
shampoo. 35c; bay run, 15c; face mas
sage, Doc; manicure. 50c; shine, Zoe;
tips. 20c: total $40. II is not I'M
cornmon for men 10 go through the
whole list. and to pay additional money
for hair tonics and other fancy frills.
When we analyze this list we find
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