The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-01-15
WHY THRIFT PROPAGANDA FAILS.

service to his own country.
WHY THRIFT PROPAGANDA FAILS.
/ 1t has been the governments constant pie
for some months that people aid in bringing
down living costs by buying substantials rattle
than non-essentaIs; that, for instance, clothin.
and shoes be purchased for their serviceabilit.
and durability rather than for their attractive
mess because of style qualities; that foods, ane
.iI particular meats, be purchased with a view
Ito their essential value as food rather than al
Idelicacies appealing to appetite. The net re
suit of this publicity in behalf of thriftful buy
ing is confessed in recent government bulletin
to be disappointing; the demand for expensive
clothing and shoes is greater than ever; package
foods are selling in greater quantity and food
stuffs in bulk are less in demand Manufac
turers say that the market demands for theil
products have greatly changed in the past year
and that this change adds to cost of production
which seems reasonable and consistent with
facts
The failure of the publicity in behalf of thrift
full buying is not hard to understand. 1t is be
cause of the paradox of publicity when it is di
rected to advising persons to forego privileges
unquestionably theirs in behalf of their future
welfare; it is all of piece with the publicity
of "uplift.' The moment people are advised
OF their advantage IN foregoing certain things
that others can have, they instinctively rebel
1t is probable that if clothing manufacturers
had put upon the market a standard line of gar.
ments with comparatively small range in
styles; that if shoe manufacturers had done
likewise; that if our food purveyors had made
special provision to supply the public with the
cheaper and wholesome varieties of food pro
ducts, and that if the whole thing had been done
without publicity further than that of routine
newspaper advertising, the public would have
bought thrifty and would by now have been
entirely satisfied and much richer in purse II
is one of the paradoxes Of publicity that a plain
purpose to advise people as to personal conduct
makes it futile of it's purpose.
a correspondent of the Boston Transcript
writes that 1.-THE miserable pay of many teach
ers is making anarchists Of them" 1t is gen
orally admitted that teachers are among those
professional workers who deserve more wage
than is generally paid them. But there are
large numbers of professional workers the land
over who are Ill paid and who are notwithstand-
ing good and loyal citizens. Teachers who be-
cause of low wage turn to radicalism are best
out Of the teaching profession; they should get
out Of it in all decency to the public if they pub
hcly or privately profess anarchic sympathies
and if they will not voluntarily withdraw, they
should be put out Of the schools.
''Let each citizen who wants cheaper eggs
adopt six hens advises poultry expert. But
what II the six adopted hens do not lay any
eggsl A lot Of people who have hens already
annexed say they are not laying eggs 4 Keo-
kuk householder is authority for the statement
that ne is keeping twenty-three hens, feeding
them according to the best advice Of the poul-
try experts and getting an average Weld of
three eggs week Six hens are not enough to
adopt at this rate if a family wants~eggs for
other than curiosites
Some of the deported 'reds" are now worry
ing over what is to become Of their property in
the United States. We don't know if thew ask
US, but some Of it ought to be used to pay their
passage back to the lands from whence thew
came.
The sugar situation is being competentlv
handled, the supply Of excuses for every in
crease In price being apparently inexhaustible