CLOSING YEARS 311amounted to approximately $100 a month. Six men's vests, or eight
boys' vests, could be completed in one day by the two women,
working together, but unfortunately, orders came in quite spo
radically. Weitling generally made the buttonholes himself. At
the time, the Weitlings were paying twenty-five dollars a month
rent for two rooms, three "chambers," and two attic rooms. They
sublet their attic for $10.50 a month. Whenever there was a serv
ant girl in the house (and such an arrangement must be regarded
as a necessity rather than a luxury because of the occupation of the
women with their sewing), her wages were $5.00 a month. The
family paid $1.87 for "school money" and $2.20 for laundry.
It requires little calculation to demonstrate that a family with
such a limited budget was bound to run frequently into serious
difficulties. As a matter of fact, Weitling actually was bankrupt
during the last years of his life. His debts in 1866 amounted to
nearly $3,400, including a debt of $200 to patent attorneys in
Washington, and $2,000 borrowed from Tag for the completion
of certain inventions. A loan of $100, owed to Joseph Fickler, a
fellow refugee who had died in the meantime, was marked "paid."
Though the ledger showed payments of $419 on old debts, it also
revealed new borrowings in 1867 and later in amounts ranging
from $20 to $100. Appeals for additional financial help proved un
successful. It may be concluded from these figures that Weitling
spent considerable sums for purposes other than family expenses.
Late in 1868, he wrote that his situation was becoming steadily
worse. His rent had been increased to $28, earnings had fallen to
$21 a week, and the business of making vests had entered upon a
period of sharp decline. He predicted a deficit of at least $20 a
month because of rising costs and declining earnings and frankly
admitted that the only hope for improvement in his financial situa
tion depended on forcing a cash settlement from the sewing-
machine companies or finding a partner who would produce and
market his inventions.
Two years before his death, Weitling himself used the ugly
word "bankrupt" to describe his condition. He had been forced to