Evening star., 1925-03-29

which stood tiny boy and girl who
were obviously having words" She
looked SO tearfulIy mad and he so
sullen, and both were so pathetically
shut OFF from other playing children
on the street, that the woman paused
at the outer chain bar TO ask If they
were lost. They were not, The tiny
girl gave first assurance
No, I'm not lost. I come to this
store to buy me a loaf of bread an
this man is chargin' me morn he
oughto. l wouldn' touch thing in
his whole shop. cep'n my husbn' an
children gotta eat
Frowning a disapproval that
matched her words, the customer
passed over handful of just -fiowered
yellow b!ooms-for which she should
nave been spanked, along with her
mother for not teaching her better
The small boy counted them over os-
tentatiously to see If the price was
right and gave her a big pebble in
return. And so truly is it that even
such a lightsome thing as babies at
play may remind one of something
immortal, the woman said to herself:
She asked for bread and he gave
her a stone"
And also. again. If a child's un-
charted imagination could be har-
messed and made to grow with the
rest of its body, wouldn't this be a
wonder world to live in? Not sooth-
ing, perhaps, but so breathlessIy ex-
citing that nobody would ever want
to die-which might be bad for us,
seeing that death seems necessary
for some inscrutable reason that we
have to die before we can find out
just what.
no you happen to be acquainted
- with the fact that il costs more
to be poor than it does to be rich
A grocer man said so, and you have
to admit that he ought TO be right
well qualified to tackle the PROPOSE
tion. Says he, in talking over ths
matter:
The poor customer is the grocer's
best paying customer because he buys
by ounces instead of pounds, and gets
no benefit of half cents. Once in
while a crusade is started for the
coming of half-cents, but it never
amounts to anything for the reason
that retail business won't stand for
it, and the lawmakers, knowing no
better, think 1t too trivial TO bother
about. Take the price of a bushel
of coal, say and sell it by the bucket,
and see what your net profit will be
by the bucket They buy all their
provisions on the same hand-to-mouth
scale. Rich people can take advantage
of bargain sales because they have
cellars and cold storage vaults for
keeping food and the like. But the
stony broke poor can only buy
pinches of this and that, according
to immediate need.
I'VE are reaping the same sort of
profit from occupants of apartments,
who are forced to buy in small guam
titles because of lack of room-they
are the ones to grapple with the half
cent revival They see the necessity
and have means and influence enough
to push a good thing along. Yes, any
merchant can tell you that it is
mighty expensive to be poor"
Likewise, do you know that prog
ress is bully that clubs many de-
serving poor people out of jobs:
This news comes from an antique
gentleman who lives now on the
sunny side of Easy street. but who
can never forget the way-b back days
when he had his fights with the wolf
He said to one listener, confidentially
that IL you have ever heard that old
codger growl, and almost felt the
| sharp white of his teeth, you can
| never. never forget him. If money
comes, we may pretend we never
| heard any wolf at the door. but 1t is
all bunk. And bunk doesn't count
When ] was a small chap and
| needed a meal / could always get {
| job holding a horse. There's no tell
| ing how many thousands have beer
saved from starvation by holding
horses, but now we have automo biles