Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1919-11-14
Girls WITH $50
1 WEEKW WEARING
$500 EUR COATS
INVESTIGATORS FIND VALID REA.
AN FOR THE HIGH COST
n OF LIVING.
sENsELEss SPENDING HURTS
Economy and Increased Production 10
Hope Of Nation, Says Ambassa-
=. dor D. r. FrancIs. n

When It was discovered that girls
earning less than SIS per week were
buying coats costing all the way from
$125 to $500 each. paying down and
pledging their meagre incomes for
months and years to come. economists
gasped.
It was while committee from the
Connecticut War Savings Organiza-
ton. working in cooperation with
Robert Scoyille, state food admins
traitor. in an. attempt to track the high
cost Of living to its lair, made the
discovery.
"a woman representative OF one OF
the stores in Hartford is reported to
have taken orders for $50 fur coats
from girl employees of one insurance
company, on 81 week basis" says
statement issued by the committee.
These coats cost from $125 to $500
each, but in this insurance office they
were purchased by girls earning prob
ably SIS per week or less Some OF
the girls will be paying on their coats
for three or four years. BY such reck-
less extravaganza as this the prices
Of Injuries are made to soar, and to
some extent the prices Of necessities
follow"
The statement also declared, that
the owner of the department store has
told other merchants Of Hartford that
the spreading of the gospel Of thrift
among the people would be bad busi-
ness" $50 -
The statement also cites the in.
stance of young women employees OF
the American Thread Mills at VIII
limantic who. when they were work
ing only SO hours per week. sold their
Liberty Bonds and, War Savings
Stamps to buy expensive clothing.
Last winter, 1t is estimated by the
committee, 25 per cent Of the bonds
sold were by girl employees In various
factories to make initial payments on
fur coats. sax
The committee points out there is
prohteering. undoubtedly. but that
pronteerins ID by NO means the whole
story.
The work Of the Connecticut thrift
campaigners might well be emulated
| by War Savings committees in, other
states. The American people are not
likely to persist In foolish policy as
regards their individual spending II
| the obvious foolishness Of that policy
| IL n0inted ont to them.
Mr.. Scoville says that even the poor
people Judge the quality Of the goods
they buy by the price rather than by
common sense. What merchant, in
such case, would not charge high
prices for goods that would otherwise
be left on his shelves?
Every large city could stand an in
vestigation along these lines. The PEG.
pie got the thrift lesson during the
war. They got it very quickly and they
adhered to 1t admirably But the end
| ing of hostilities seemed to them, also.
90 be the ending Of their responsible
ity. 1t was not the end-not by any
means. And the people will respond
to the appeal II the sound common
sense Of it is made clear to them.
David r. Francis of st. Louis, Am
bassador to Russia, in recent addresses
IN his home city. has taken occasion
to point out the fact that Germany is
certain to recover quickly from the
setback of the war, and If Americans
| do not guard themselves Germany will
surpass this country and gain COM
mercial supremacy.
On all hands 1t is conceded that the
high prices prevalent everywhere may
be attributed more to lack Of produc-
ton than any one thing. Ambassador
Francis shows that the thrifty Ger
mans are now asking that they be
permitted to work 10 hours day in.
stead Of eight hours, and the first
| thing the German does Is to begin to
save and accumulate fund to pay of
! the debt and rehabilitate himself in
commercial way.
| The U. s. government plan to save
is ideal, and is made to reach all
classes. The child saver is provided
with the 25 cent Thrift Stamp. Then
in successive steps come the IS War
Savings Stamp and the 500 and $1,000
Treasury Savings Certificate. These
securities pay APT per cent il held
until maturity, on January !, 1924. a
more profitable investment than the
government Of any other nation can
/ offer its people. an lfis-
And no investment on earth can be
safer, as the entire wealth Of every
\ state in the Union is behind these
Stamps and Certificates.
/ IA 500 Certificate may be bought in
October for 1920. and any banker
will be glad to give any person all the
information necessary to thorough,
understanding II he really wants to
invest and save. 4