Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1921-05-26

| POUNDS Oh potatoes cost MIN tlrty
cents, and our price last winter was
sixteen cents for the same; flour
cost given in his letter was fifty
cents for five pounds, while we paid
thirty cents for the same amount;
bread was then quoted at thirty
cents for two loaves, while that
amount cost us twenty-six cents;
coffee was priced at forty-eight
cents, yet we bought Al coffee at
thirty-five cents. ! mention these
prices in particular, for they are the
ones Mr.. Hansen quoted in his last
summers letter. and can't possibly
understand why he was held up for
these staple articles, some of which
l--potatoes, for instance--cost us
less than onethird of what he paid.
This cannot be answered by saying
that articles were cheaper last win
ter than they were last summer, for
there was no material change in the
store prices in general. One great
reason why living is so cheap in that
southwestern country is because
vegetables and fruit are on the mar
ket the year around. In Long Beach
you can go to the markets. which are
located all over town, or you can go
down to the park on market days,
and it is surprising how cheap you
can buy fruit, vegetables, and vari-
GUS other products, which aided very
materially in keeping the cost of liv-
ing down to the minimum. Fresh
fish were on hand in abundance at
seventeen and half cents pound,
and where on earth can you beat that
for meat? And so might fill a
whole sheet quoting prices on the
necessities of life, and nearly every
quotation would be proof of the very
thing / am contending for: That liv-
ing is cheaper along nearly every
line out here, than elsewhere. Mr..
Hansen's main argument against the
country seems to be that he regards
it as an expensive place to live
However, in Mr.. Bailey-s last letter,
he hits the nail square on the head
when he says in substance that you
can live on most any price you see
fit to. 1t is not so much the high
cost Of living, as the cost of high
| living. The family that is content
with an average home and good, sub
stantial living can get through for
less in California. especially in the
southwestern part, believe, than
anywhere else | might mention.
When in Audubon a few weeks ago,
Jake Ruhs asked me how much Mr.
Bailey and myself were getting for
boosting California, and who paid
the bill. Well, that's good point,
and I would say it all goes gratis,
and in a small measure I am trying
to give California her just dues for
the excellent treatment I received
while there last winter as tourist.
In over three months time spent out
there, never an unkind word or an
act of injustice from anyone. Kind
treatment has always been my lot.
and put high value on loyalty and
friendship whether it be in my home
county or in far-off California.
Again, Mr.. Hansen says that did
not mention the 7O-mile-an-hour gale
that Long Beach experienced shortly
after we left for home How could
I? When was writing letters back
from the west, I was not writing of
the future, but of what was actually
taking place from. day to day in the
country / visited. In fact, knew
nothing of the gale until had read
his letter. In one of my last letters
TO the Audubon county papers, I
stated that during our entire stay at
Long Beach there was not a day
when the wind was strong enough to
make II unpleasant, and / now reit-
crate that statement, without any
qualification whatever. On our ar
rival at Long eBach last fall sub
scribed for the Long Beach Press,
and took 1t up to the day of our de-
parture for home this spring. The
same was delivered by carrier on his
bicycle, and he simply threw the
paper out in our front yard. Please
notice, that during all that time, not
once was our paper blown away.
That fact alone would indicate the
absence of heavy wind beyond any
doubt, during the time Of which l
write. One day of which remem-
Der in particular the Long Beach
papers told of storm which the city
had experienced that day. / was
much interested and anxious to find
the exact location, so that might
visit the storm-swept district and
see the havoc that was wrought. On
investigation, however, / learned
that the so-ealled storm was credit
ed to our part of town as well as the
rest, and there was not enough to it
to even be noticeable to anyone from
the Northern states In fact, the peo-
pie there are used to such perfect
weather that If anything a little out
of the ordinary occurs, it is a
storm" l now have on my desk a
weather report issued by the U. S.
Department of Agriculture. and
will CLEAN "a few facts from it con-
corning Los Angeles. This report