Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1870-07-22
The Secret of Thrift.

The first and main step towards oh.
tanning a competency Of ten, twenty or
thirty thousand dollars. is The securing Of
the thousand; the chief difficulty in
getting the one thousand is in obtaining
The first hundred, and keeping it. Hack
ncyed rs they may appear, it is fact that
is ever new and one that ever needs TO be
drummcd into the ears OF tue struggling
who work hard anil look with straining
vision, but in vain for the coming of plenti-
ful days. And especially does this home
ly philosophy of wealth need TO be EN-
phasizcd ut the present time, and im-
pressed upon the young men of this gen
Grafton, since the prevalent tendency,
now more than ever before, S for begin.
ncrs in married or business life TO adopt
such 4 scale of personal and family ex-
penditurc rs must render gain or thrift
impossible. The youth of our time seem
likely to forget that easy circumstances
in middle or mature age are ~ Il rule
only to he purchased at the cost of rigid
self. denial in earlier years. The son and
daughter are ambitious 10 begin life
where their parents leave oh-in other
words they wish to reap where they have
not sown, and the result is, lives ol make
shift, anxiety and failure. Most of those
who are really industrious, and yet find
themselves al the noon of lie with only
their daily efforts between their families
and want. could have been in more COM
Portable circumstances, had they early
learned the lesson that the key 10 compe-
tency lies in the practice of rigid econo-
my at the onset in life. He who does not
begin 10 save when he commences life for
himself will rarely begin ut all, for where
not even the nucleus oil Il modest fortune
has been acquired. family expenses will,
after time, grow rs fast as the income,
and the two keep abreast ever Gfterward.
Some Of the ways in which even II very
small sum, actually saved an1 put aside
in early life. serve rs stepping stone to
future competence are these:
The saving gives the young man the
reputation among his neighbors and bust.
nes; associates of being careful, frugal
and prosperous. 1t gives him what is
called a good business credit, it is accept
cd as an index of his business character,
and instead of his being forced to seek
employment, opportunities seek him. Be-
sides, his little ready capital enables him
to take advantage Of business openings
which, if wholly empty-handed, he could
not aspire to. 1t enables him soon to be-
come his own omp!oyer-a most impor'
tant consideration. Money begets money.
Capital has u natural tendency TO increase
ITSELF and very little capital in the
hands of Il judicious person, and combin
ed with the labor of strong and skillfu
hands, is vast help. The day laborer o,
the mechanic who has lew hundred dol
lars in bank, or invested in good inter
est-bearing security, is Il capitalist a
well as working man, and is prepare'
to reap the advantages of lis double
capacity.
But, mainly. the saving and keeping o.
the first hundred or the first thousanc
dollars is the key to future success. IRON
the fact that it builds up business characT
ter; it compels the formation of habits o.
economy, and fixes them for life; it put