Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1862-04-19
The Two Mechanics
IA Penny saved is Tropence Clear"

Franklin was one Of the wiscst of mod.
ern sages, and were his maXimS rigidly fol.
lowed, there would be little poverty and
less complaint Of Providence. Most peo.
pie, however, are unwilling 10 submit to
such regimen as be prcScribcs, or adopt
such q course as he points out TO secure u
comfortable livelihood. Every man must
live up to his means, or 60 beyond them.
He must live on credit, and what is worse,
he must spend his small change, and no
small amount of that, for little "luxures,"
for lager beer, for instance, or for cigars,
or for some game of amusement forgetting
that penny sared, as Franklin says, is too
pence clear. The poorer classes in the COM
muniIy are, moreover, the most apt TO for
get this maxim, and to dispose Of their
small change in this way. For what, in.
deed, say they, is half dime? Cannot
any man spend this and never feel it ? A
half dime day Why, it isn't worth
noticing, except by miSer." And yet,
according to Franklin'S pllosopy,it is dime
a day, and at the end Of the year 365 dimes,
and at the end of life fortune But must
a man be so provideDt as this What is life
good for, unless one can live while he live =?
can enjoy himself little now and then
can spend some of his money for little e1traS?
This was not Franklin's doctrine, however
"A doctrince, which if now obsolete, is the
only cue which, when tried, will stand the
test, and this will Men may murmur at
the llotments-that luck never favors them
that three cOrids are against them, as we
have heard man say-and that, do
what they will, they can't succeed-and
they may look with envy at their neighbors
and wonder why they can't do as well.
But let them save their half dimeS-let them
| forego their ertrQS-let them live within
their incomes, aud even more, save a part
OF that-and not try merely TO make the
two ends OF the year meet, as the saying is
and in the course of few years they will
cease TO complain of Providence and envy
their neighbors Indeed, they will become
grateful for the bounties of Heaven, and
look down upon those whom they had pre-,
yiously enVed. Nor is it necessary that q
man should receive large income to,be able
to lay up something. A distinguished d.
ID. informed us that he had had variety
of salaries since he had been in the minis
try, and that he saved more money when
he had three hundred dollars than be did
when he had fifteen hundred | Let every
man expend when he must-propery, anC
no more, and if he does not become rich OF
at least well off in the world, after a time
then Franklin'S maxim will fail, and if We
may make the remark, our own observation
too. But let us illustrate our point by an
example.
Edward Gordon and Harry Wilson were
both young mechanics. The former made
his two dollars per day, the latter only three
fourths Of that sum. Here was quite dis
parity in their wages. In the course of {
year the disparity in their incomes would
naturally be still greater Yet, at the enc
OF the week Harry was fiity cents ahead
oil Edward, aud so for every week.
VI course, at the end of the working sea
son the former was quite iu advance of th,
latter.
And how happens this said Edward