The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1921-06-14
The Burdens We Bear.
From the Oglethorpe Echo.

Very much is being said these days about
the burden of taxation we are being made
to bear-truly an excessive burden, yet on
account of wars, the increased demands made
upon government and other things is to a
large extent to be said to be unavoidable and
necessary.
But we are bearing other burdens almost
as great, and for which there can be no reas-
enable excuse.
The demands of fashion, style and custom
these days lay burden upon the family pro-
wider that is something terrible when we
come to realize just what it is. In the average
family it puts burden of twice the weight
upon his shoulders as that of providing the
necessities or reasonable luXurleS OF the lam
lily. There are plenty of families who are llv-
ing quite skimp of luxuries and many OF the
necessities in order that they may keep up
with the styles and customs-and at that they
are working the family provider to death to
meet the requirements; to carry the burden.
But this burden, as inexcusabe as it is, is
not any more unreasonable than are some
others
The burdens we bear from amusements and
pleasure diversions is something terrible, not
so much in the amount of them in which we
indulge as the price we pay for them.
Moving pictures for instance. Possibly upon
an average our people are patronizing the
pictures to a greater extent than real pru-
dence would warrant, but the number of
the price we pay the actors to produce them.
Take the case of Charlie Chaplin for exam
pie. He is being paid something like mil
lion dollars a year to make four or hive per-
haps decidedly ridiculous comedies that
amuSe those who see them for only a few
minutes. There are hundreds and hundreds of
other screen actors and actresses who are
getting more per week for making pictures
than the average man who must furnish the
money to see them earn in year.
Then there is baseball One player, and he
is a Georgia boy too, is being paid fifty
thousand dollars for not an average of two
hours work day for about four months
year. There are numbers of other players who
are getting hardly less for the same work. and
he is an indeed mediocre player in professional
baseball who does not get salary amounting
to more than the average business man can
earn by the closest of attention to business
practically every working hour of the day
every working day of the year Few are the
newspaper editors working about fifteen hours
day ten days in the week who can show
earnings Of half as much as the average base
ball players are paid for their two or three
hours work a day for only one-third of the
year.
There are numbers of other instances that
might be cited that, when we come to con-
slider them sanely, lay as inexcuseabe and al
most as heavy burdens upon those who earn
by productiveneSs or by rendering really nee
esSary service to the public as those cited
How we can bear these burdens is the Won
der to us. None of us escape them. True you
may never go to a picture show or to pro-
fessional ball game, but somebody else who
produces something to sell you or does you
some service for which you must pay does see
the pictures and the games and they add to
the price of what you buy of them or for the
service they render sufficient amount to COW
er what they spend upon the pictures and
games.
We all bear our proportionate share of these
burdens just as much as we have to bear our
proportionate share of the burden of taxa
ton.