Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1868-05-08

Whato can a Man Afford
BY HENRY WARD BEECHHR.


4 In a recent number (says the N. Y.
] Ledger we urged the duty Of buying
/ and reading books. We said that when
/ ever we should be elected Pope, we
/ sEould require every married yOuEisg
I man 20 set apart One-benth of his in
j come, for the purchase Of books. etc
/ This remaEk-of which the form was
/ half-iesting, but the substanCo' 'of which
Z was good earnest-has called forth sew
1 eraI episllez. That is a Eood sign
I When, as q boy, we went oi1G a muttfng,
I we always listened, after throwing q
club, to hear If the ghBsuutG ratified
1 An article on q practical subject, in the
/ peoples paper Is like a club thrown in
Co a tree. .Ff m
We insert 3 part Of a letter, promising
I we do not judge the case presented
therein. The man for an yht we kno ",
may be pursuing the WisesG course, but
10 may serve as a text for further re-
marks
Siam myself IN favor Of all You sav
In that article, IL a man can afford Ii;
indeed, have been after buying Che
new American Encyclopedias for at
least three or four W8ars. but have yat,t
bought Il up to she present tinreS had
the money several times, bat alWavs
needed It for something else. I have
some books nov, which L End great
delight in reading, and should add if
possiblei but I always reed the money
Tor something else, having q family Of
four children. However, do not want
you 70 tell me TO stay away from grOg-
shops and avoid tobacco, and invest
such money IN books. i have not spent
dollar ia q bar-roOm this year.
'tLa oeGclusion I VIII say, hope YOU
villa 6e able t0. read and understaud
those few lines, and give an answer
through the Ledger"
In bringing up a family, there are
thousands Of persons who are SO poor,
at least in the earlier part of their ca
reer, that with the utmostindustry and
frugahty, they can barely supply the
material wants of the household
Clothes, food and fuel, without these a
man dies. They are the primary
wants. Sometimes, from peculiar and
local reasons, men do not get beyond
this conflict for mere existence. But in
America, at least, with ordinary indus
try and frugaGty, accompanied with 1
the morals of temperance, this fight for /
subsistence lasts but a few years, at 4
most, and l9y perhaps the majority of 1
men is hardly entered upon.
The moment a man earns more than !
enough TO secure physical existence,
new questions arise. How much of /
earnings shall be saved for capital p /
Upon what principle shall that which /
is expended upon the family be dis /
trdbuted to various wants?
Shall clothes grow finer, and shall |
there be more Of them7 Snail our ta-
Die be little more generously sup
piled Shall coarser food give away l
10 more luxurious dIet2 Shall the i
linen table-clOth become finer the cut |
Irry and dishes grow more expensive /
Shall the beds and chairs and bureaus l
improve the carpets, the mirrors, the 1
curtains, and the whole wardrobe?
All these may be steps Of 'real pro- /
gress. But whether they are not, de- /
n n "A
this, so far, is only larger provision for I
physical wants. If social, intellectual,
and moral needs have been provided !
for with equal liberality, then the pro-
gress is real sound and salutary.
But What1f man cannot afford, in
addition to these things, to take good
neWapa pRrs-Cannot afford 10 buy
boOks--cHnnOt afford to put his chill
dren 70 thoroughly good schools, be-
cause bhe charges are too high Cam
not afford to go TO concerts, to lectures,
and Other means of Improvement
AA these InterrOERboris may be sum
ap in one question Can man afford
10 Pamper his body and starve his
mind
Every man:has four children in every
child-a physical child, a social child,
an intellectual child, aud moral child.
These four natures unite in forming
each Individual.
The education Of a child is to be car
I
man can afford to starve three parts OF
his child, for the sake of over-feeding
one part.
Here is the common mistake. Par
ents do well by their children's bodies,
but their intellectual, social and NOR
al natures are subject TO rigid economy.
Is it not sO2 Let the facts be hooked
at
When men begin to prosper, do they
spend in proportion half as much for
The inward manhood of their families
as for their outWardf Do they not pay
.avishly for q better house, better fur
1ishings, better food and clothes, but
stingtly for books, schools, newspap apers,
church privileges, and for refining and
numanizlng amusements2
The other fact: when times are hard
and men are embarrassed, and begin to
5urtail expenses, where does the knife
.aH hrst2 Children are Withdrawn
rom school The newspapers are Civ
IN up No new books this year
But appearances must be kept up, /
Ind so a new coat of paint on the house,
rood clothes, hats, b0nnets and boots,
proclaim that the physical must BE-
.ared for, whatever becomes Of the ]
moral and the intellectual elements OF
manhood.
OF course, every man must determine q
on himself the manner and relative s
of his income. But few G
hings may be set down for young men !
o ponder:
There are great many things that
young man cannot afford.
He cannot afford to be q good animal
md poor man ; to have strong bones
md a weak conscience; to feed his chill s
lren's mouths and starve their souls f; |
o grumble at school bills while settling
arge grOg bills to chew tobacco, bu, {
efUse a good newspaper; to put a 6us {
iat on a foolish head to hoard money, s
Jut lay up no ideas TO own a horse 2
hat knows more than its rider.
No man living can afford to be dissi-
)ated, or self-indulgent, or ignorant.-I /,
Nobody can afford to be a fool. It viii
lot pay.