Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-09-16
THE GOWNSMAN
The Story Of a MoedpIIe

If The Gownsman took himself as serl-
L ously as some people he knows, he would
call this piece of research into political
economy-the only kind of acouomy now
left us--og into economy of high finance
the oulv kind of finance now extant. But
being only of the plain folk he will tell a
llan story. And this reminds him OF nm
6nccdote which will bear retelling IL the
reader will bear IL.
Tn ONE of those truly practical college
L courses in which the students really do
things. such as make the furniture for the
Young Mems Brahminicnl Society or paint
the college chapel-let us hope. red--thcre
was long ago an inquiry conducted by the
class into the momentous question: How
to live on S3.ST week and keep dog.
Just think of an age in which study wts
directed into the low cost Of living. Truly
the world wags and we are ct the other
end of the wag. Well. this particular in.
Quiry became so interesting that letters be-
gan to appear in the town paper, from cor
respondents far and wide. Slas Showdown.
Of kalamszoOk, Wisconsin. testified that
h" had tried it, especially on the dog. and
that S3.SI was an ample outlay for board,
lodging, clothing. amuscmcnts and such
modest charities as became person in such
GrrcumstanceS Mrs. Mchrtabcl Jorah, Of
Jerusalem. Georgia had experimental On
tho hired girl who unfortunately died just
about the time when the experiment was
likely tn be crowned with success. And Miss
Annabel Leigh. of Kennebunkcry, Maine,
new woman in that old age--she had been
new long time-had reduced her living
expenses together with her flesh to tbn pre-
else sum of S4.03. but could not. she con-
Tossed. further lower the record: and in
that case it was the dog that died. One
day 1t happened that the CGlow young
professor who was in charge Of this notable
inquiry met Il journalist friend and boastcd
of the wide attention which his researches
w"r" attracting in the press "Why don't
you know, you gump,' rctortcc the news.
papcrcr. I'VE write Ip all that stuff in the
ofiiCcT Alas for economical research
PUT LET us return to the wood pile.
- Some years ago the Gownsman sent
three men and a team into his wood lot to
cut him some frewood. He engaged that
they were to put in five days of work. in
Guiding hauling, but that the saving and
splitting was to be an additional job. They
were to cut as much wood as they could
in five fair days work and were to be paid
81 day for each man, and $3.50 addi-
tonal for one day of hauling. The saving
and splitting, not to be tedious. was pro-
portionablc and the lot of wood inesti
mable in cords. lasted the none too frugal
Cnwnsman in this respect fer three or four
years. On the estimation Of an expert N
such matters, this wood cost. frll"d sawed,
Snlit and stacked in the wood house, less
than 81 cord and this to the summer
folk. fair butts of all eXtOrtiOn
T AST year this store was all but ex-
- haustcd, and arrangement was made for
more. An energetic man folled the trees.
cut them up and had them haulcG with the
first snow. Then, for, reasons yet to be
determined by the court. but in no wiSe
connected with the Gownsman wood pile,
he was shot dead by an iratC ncighbor For
this work on ten cords of wood, cut in his
own woods. the Gownsman had already
paid SO. Later it appeared, though it Is
quite unprovablC. that the energetic de-
ceased had cut about twice as many trees.
in, the GOwnsman' wood lot as. on excel
lent testimony, would make ten cords. But
this might be charged to the account Of
profit and loss, more especially to the lat
ter. And now the trouble began. There
are two sawyors in town. and in the old
days they bid against each other for the
privilege of saving your wood, stacking
and splitting it at a dollar cord. Brt
one of these sawyerS is waxing old and has
the rhrumatism He didn't know exactly
that he'd get round to it, this winter and
"calculated' that if he did the job was
"woth five dollar day" and the days
| end early in winter. The other sawyr"
has recently set up as an expert in tho
| anatomy of the tlivvcr and pcddlcs gasoline
| all summer at excessive rates. But he is
an expansive, humorous fellow and will
promise anything. oh. ycs. he'd saw that
| wood in a jffy; but he couldn't stack it,
there was so much TO do. He'd make
| good price. too; which phrase economists
| have discovered does not mean precisely the
same thing to buyer and seller.
MOT to lengthcn the story, the winter
| ~ passed and then the spring, and the
expansive sawyer continued busy with his
| fivvCrs. Repeated postulationS brought
! frequent poStponcmcntS, until quite late in
| July, when it was proposed that the sawyer
| loan his ancient gasoline saw and the
| Gownsman do his own saving We expert.
mcnted as family with that saw and found
little more buzz in 1t than in humble
| bee BY dint of superhuman efforts. at
last we buzzed through nearly half of the
| uilc when the tlivvercr sent for his saw
| Then the Gownsman arose in his wrath
with the upshot that the sawyer returned
| to his trade for the nOnce and, bringing
| another man. sawed up about half of the
remainder. only, however, to break his saw
| at the unaccustomed task and leave two
cords literally still at length. The bii
| neatly itemized on garage paper. included
wages for two men. half a day (really less
| than three hours), hauling up and hauling
down, the loan. or rather the rental, of
| saw repairing of the same. gasoline and
oil. netting S23 for less than five cords
Water was not charged for: and the split
| ting and stacking was yet to come. The
| Gownsman has learned to do many a thing
to Il wood pile this summer. AS health
| full exercise, q wood pile is better than golf
and more violent than tennis. 1t can be
nlavcd in doubles or singles, and at any
daylight hour. At 50 a day, the humble
wage of the day laborer, the Gownsman
calculates that he has earned a great deal
of money out of that wood pile this sum
mcr; certainly more than could have come
to him from an equal attention to the typing
machine. Verify, the AK Is mightier than
the pen and the brain is not in it with
brawn. To statisticians and their ngcni
Gus like may be left the computation of
The cost of your own wood to you in New
| England, There are four items: money
naid out, unrcturnable; time spent in ncgo
tiation, exasperating; loss in stumpage due
TO supercnergy of the energetic man. un -
ascertainable; personal labor, incalculable
usual in an economic problem. But, get
ocGnainted with a wood pile. For muscles
Community. ingenuity, there Is nothing
.non;aoIy like IT,