The Jeffersonian Democrat. [volume] (Chardon, Ohio) 1854-1865, 1861-02-15
a Gold Watch in a Rag Bag.
A TRUE STORY.

Fortunes do not always spring from
great investments Of ten.thousand- dollar
capitals. Small savings are oftentimes
the germs Of wealth and independence
cent upon cent, half-dime upon half-dime,
dollar upon dollar-these are the foupda-
tions that most frequently uphold golden
structures. Never suffer yourself TO say,
"It is only a cent or two-not worth the
saving !" Only a cent or two! Put it
back into your pocket-keep it there, and
II VIII be great deal easier for you to say
NO TO yourself, when the impulse comes
TO squander a dollar or two, or even q
hundred dollars or twol
Not even pin-not even stray piece
of twlne-not even a scrap OF white cloth.
is too worthless to save. You never will
grow rich by piling money together, as
long as you do not understand the practical
meaning of the good old proverb. Waste
not, want not"
Perhaps little anecdote--a simple re.
latlon OF facts that really happened-msy
serve to illustrate our subject, better than
aught else. ....
A lady in the vicinity of Bridgeport,
Conn, was in the habit of putting out
shirts to make, for large clothing estab-
lishment, 10 a number Of women in the
peighborhood. In the cutting of these,
there were great many little odds and
ends OF cloth left over-pieces too small
to be OF use, and the first thought was,
OF course. 10 loss them into the fire. "No,"
she reflected /; Il will save them as they
accumulate, and perhaps l may get
enough to exchange with the tin. man Tor
some kitchen article or other" So she
let them lie. house wife, like, and in few
weeks there was quite a pile.
One day a neighbor came in, and on
hearing the destination Of the scraps, ad-
vised that they should be sent to a paper
mill al some little distance. "They will
give you three or four cents pound fol
them" said he, "ard that is better th an
exchanging them for Tin"
She asked her husbands advice. To
him few rags more or less seemed a
trivial affair.
"Do as you like" said he, laughingiy,
"roU may have all the money you can
make out OF rags p
She took him at bis word, and in two
or three months some halfdozen barrels
of rags were sent BY some one who was
going in tie direction Of the paper. MILL
10 her surprise and pleasure. a new,
rustling FIVE. dollar bill came back.
Again the impulse TO spend it for some
little ornament was checked. "No," she
resolved, call my rag money shall go into
the Savings Bank"
And into the Savings Bank it went ac-
cordingly. Years rolled by-more rags
were saved and sold-interest and prin,
cipal accumulated. Atlength an unusual
opportunity presented itself for the pur-
chase OF beautiful gold watch. Forty
dollars was The price.
II will not ask my husband to Withdraw
any necessary funds from bis business, 1"
she thought, "but now is the time to make
my ragmoney useful ''
The gold watch was purchased
ally with rags. We will not pause 10
chronicle the envy and astonishment of
those ladies Of The vicinity 10 whom gold
watch was as unattainabe as the Kohl
moor diamond. yet who thought il was
not worth while to save the clippings from
their work-tables
Yet this was not the end Of II. The
bank fund, OF which the bundle Of rags
were the origin, now amounts to over
t,centyJf hundred dollars!
II do not know how IL has accumu.
lated" said the lady 70 us. "a few cut.
tings and scraps laid aside whenever
cut out shirts-a few dollars carried 10
the bank when went to the city-a little
interest added on from time 10 time-it
has grown up, almost without thought or
care on my part"
Reader is not this example worth
following 4? Our moral is simple one
save the trifes, il you would be rich
OrTEErMEs Il Is not until we no longer