The Independent. (Cashion, Okla.), Vol. 6, No. 22, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 2, 1913 Page: 1 of 10
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Oklahoma Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Gateway to Oklahoma History by the Oklahoma Historical Society.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
I >
r
I will be in Cashion Monday Afternoon and Tuesday Morning, October 13th and 14th, to
make your Photos. First door south of Dr. Pollock's office. J. J. RICE, The Photographer.
THe Independent.
VOL. VI.
"KEEPING EVERLASTINGLY AT IT IS BOUND TO BRING SUCCESS.
CASHION, KINGFISHER COUNTY, OKLAHOMA, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2. 79i3.
NO. 22
18 the Cost of
Living Iligli
(Continued from last issue.)
than wealthy people did a gener-
ation ago. Thousands of- famil-
ies of laborers would scorn to buy
any of the cheaper cuts of meat,
and a soup bone would be far be
neath their ideas of what is good
and cheap in foods. Mostly, they
want the best cuts at whatever
price, and one family known to
the writer, who are so poor as to
sometimes be compelled to move
because rent is due, tnink they
must have good high priced cuts
of meat three times a day. So
there are two sides to the ques
tion, and in many cases it would
be more proper 10 tell of the high
cost of living. Some families
who work for wages and pay
house rent, pay out enough every
month for more pleasant but in
no way necessary things, to make
a payment on a home, which
would include rent and interest.
In all such cases there is no ex
cuse for being always "hard up"
or for continually borrowing of
m >ney sharks at exorbitant rates
of interest. The writer has al
ways been a working man, who
has been in touch with the labor
question forty-five years, and can
say tauthfully that he cannot re-
member a time when a working
man could make a good living
with as little expenditure of en
ergy and as f^w hours' work as
now. Back, say in the seventies,
caapenter.yreceived about $2 to
$2 50 per day of ten hours, say
LAUNDRY
Agent for
GUTHRIE STEAM
LAUNDRY
They will do your
plain work at a low
price.
Gent's and Ladies'
Suits Cleaned and
Pressed.
Call at Marriott's Con-
fectionery and get a
Price Sheet.
Laundry called for
and delivered.
A. W. Marriotl
Phone 34. Agent
25c an hour, Now carpenters re-
ceive 65c an hour and work eight
hours, that is $6 50 for ten hours
work. A few of the necessities
cost more now than then, but
very few have doubled in cost.
Potatoes, corn, beans, wheat, in
fact most of the real necessities
are not much higher, while cali-
coes, sheetings, shoes and cloth-
ing generally, are not much high
er for the same grades as former-
ly. But even allowing that ev-
erything a man must buy costs
twice as much as formerly, he is
still as well off, for he receives
twice, and in some cases more
than twice.as much for his work.
But few if any necessities have
doubled in cost, fewer have
trebled.
But in in spite of these truths,
we see whole families working
now, where formerly only the
father, and, perhaps, well grown
boys worked, all receiving larger
proportionate pay than the one or
two workers received formerly,
yet com plaining that the cost of
living is so high they can scarce-
ly Keep even. Where is the dif-
ficulty? Here are a few points.
With more than one family known
to the writer, ice cream and other
j dainties, theatres, Sunday out
itigs, etc , pleasant but not at all
necessary, cost more than all the
other living expenses, including
rent or interest. Some wonting
girls who receive six to eight dol-
lars a week, often pay from five
to ten dollars for a hat, as high
as twenty-five dollars for a dress,
and after wearing it a few times,
' put it on and wear it to work,
j only to buy another for best. One
working girl we know, declared
that she would never think of
wearing hose that cost less than
fifty cents per pair. Face- pow-
der, cold creams and fancy per-
fumes make up a bill of expense
to many worKing girls today, in
excess of what girls received alto-
gether forty years ago. What s
true of girls is also true in prin
ciple with all the members of the
family in some cases. Add to
this a more expensive bill of fare
than many rich people ever in-
dulged formerly, and there is lit
tie need to ask why some people
are always hard up for cash.
Many young men who receive
as high as twenty dollars weekly,
and young women who receive
ten dollars weekly, spend every
cent upon themselves or in plea-
sure seeking. We knew one
young woman who received ten
dollars weekly, boarded with her
father's family and paid no board,
The First National BanK
of Cashion, Oklahoma.
IS
A Farmers' Institution:
JBA.N1K
With This Strong Bank You
4*ain ^lany Advantage*
You enlarge your acquaintance by coming in con- \\
tact with people who are successfully developing the j;
interests of this vicinity.
You have at your disposal the facilities of this j:
I bank and its influence behind you, and your
DEPOSITS ARE GUARANTEED
| The Farmers' State BanK Ij
yet who could not keep up the
supply of clothing for herself
alone, and was helped by the fa-
ther. What Kind of a wife would
that woman make for a laboring
man? We do not forget that
there is another .side, one whose
general conditions are enough to
cause one to shudder and whose
details are sicKening, but it is
widely separated from the one we
have noted, while the very people
we have described, whose every
move is an extravagant one, are
usually the ones who howl loud-
est about the high cost of living.
We do not forget for a moment
the toiling, suffering thousands
of that other class who live and
work always in the swirl of the
undercurrent. One woman inves-
(continued on page 3)
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Barnard, W. F. The Independent. (Cashion, Okla.), Vol. 6, No. 22, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 2, 1913, newspaper, October 2, 1913; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc107156/m1/1/: accessed April 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.