The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1872-10-16
Habits Of Thrift.
ErOn tho pAlladslphIa Ledcerl

nevolent people turn. their attention 10
those who, by misfortune, or through the
lack o. habits OF industry and thrift, are
not able 70 tide themselves over the in.
clement season Of the year. In all
proper cases aid is generally extended;
but how often 1t Is found that those who
receive aid have had better opportunities
TO be ahead OF their necessities than
those who resolutely save small portions
Of their small earnings, so as 10 be in a
condition 10 help themselves.
The advantage Of stately reserVing and
depositing any sum, however small, from
the daily earnings, Is obvious enough In
theory, but has not so many practical IL
lustrationS as might be desired. MANY
persons, when advised 10 follow this prli.
dent course, answer that their income Ia
too small, or their expenses are too great,
or the sum they could put by Is too til
II the living expenses exceed the In.
come, debt 9nd poverty are sure TO come
10 the end. The first step to avert this Is
to reduce expenses, at any sacrifice of
pride, or any exercise Of sell.denial. The
bare necessaries Of life can be had OF less
cost than Is generally supposed. Extreme
cases OF poverty are, however, exception.
al IN this country among the temperate
and industrious. At the commencement
OF lie most persons receive more money
than their fair necessities require; or Il
they do not, it is because they waste their
time. Now, any young person who makes
1t q point OF conscience to lay something
aside, will soon find "trihes" increasing 10
q pretty large sum total. II wages are
small the interest on deposits or invest.
ments help this difficulty. And as to ex.
penses, they are to q great degree regu.
lated by fancy or inclination.
Within the knowledge OF the writer OF
this article, lad in a country town,
whose parents were poor and industrious,
accumulated honestly, before the age oi
fifteen, one hundred dollars. This money
was the savings Of the "boy's wages" in
whatever he could find to do, and the lad
managed also to relieve his parents OF
the principal part of the expense of cloth.
ing him. At fifteen years Of age he went
TO trade, his hundred dollars being ut
work for him accumulating interest; and
by task work and over hours, he Is adding
constantly to the principal. At one and
twenty he will either be ready To 90 into
business. or he will add much more liber.
ally to his investments from tourney.
mans wages"
No doubt many Of the readers Of the
Ledger can recall similar instances of thrift
among the young within their observa.
tion. The case mentioned above IS one
In which the lad had small opportunities.
Other young people, in positions where
they command much more money, may
smile at the country boys poor one hun.
dred dollars. But they have no right to
laugh at him, unless with their better ap-
pointments they can show ten times as
much. "Meanness" and "avarice" are far
from commendable; but there may be q
course of prudeness and economy which
is anything but "mean." Certainly he is
much the more "small" who wiltuily con-
tracts debts which he cannot pay, or
wastes the money OF other people.
"Where there is a will, there is a way"
II is not tunreasonably supposed that the
English agricultural laborer has about the
smallest chance to save money OF any Ia
bOrer in the world. Yet case is recent.
ly reported Of laborer who married at
about 81, and died at 90 years of age,
leaving considerable deposit in savings
bank. His wages had ranged from two
dollars to three and half dollars a week;
and with this income he reared a family
oil children, they, of course, assisting. The
widow being asked how she could &C.
count for this amount of money, answer
ed, "Well, sir, l don't know how it was,
except that my children were always
steady, and my husband always sober"
That was reason enough, as she looked at
it, though no such thing could have hap
pened without her aid. Sobriety and In
dustry prevent many diseases. II this la
borer's family, however, had been visited
with sickness, their condition would have
been relatively better than that OF other
families in the same case.
No doubt the simple annals Of the
poor" in England would furnish many
more such cases. The superior condition
Of "bread.winners" in this country, of all
grades Of wages and incomes, afford
abundant opportunity for the saving Of a
competence against old age. If the ad-
vice Of the women were iollowed-for
they are naturally economists-not only
would less poverty evist, but many fam.
lilies, who are above poverty, but not
above being sometimes "pinched," would
know less Of that dissgreeable sensation,
And debt, that foe Of domestic peace,
would be far less common than at present.