The Douglas independent. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 187?-1885, 1880-09-18
Laying BY for a Rainy Day.

One of the saddest sights is that of
man, who, after earning a good income
for many years, finds himself at last re-
duced to poverty and distress, if not to
actual dependence upon charity, simply
because he has saved nothing for q
rainy day" Such spectacle is not
uncommon in the great city of New
York, where the cost of living is so high,
and the temptations to spend money Law
ishly are 80 numerous and alluring
Multitudes Of men living on salaries or
days wages, and with families depend
ent upon them for present and future
support. are to-day spending every dol
lar they earn. Be the income large or
small, it goes as fast as it comes, and at
the end of the year, if it shows no deficit,
is equally devoid of "balance on
hand"
So reckless mode of living, we need
hardly say, is unworthy of q man OF
sense. One who has only his brain or
his manual dexterity to depend upon
for the support of himself and his fam
ily, is liable at any time to lose his
power to earn. If that time comes
early in life it is his misfortune, and
he is not to blame for it. But the man
who goes on for decade or score of
years, earning money and saving moth
ing, has no right to complain if at last
he suffers the due penalty of his fool
ish improvidence. It is, in word,
every mans duty not only to Tive
within his income to do otherwise is
simply knavery-but to lay by part of
his earnings as provision for the fu-
ture. No matter how small the in
come, something should be saved. "It
is disgrace" we once heard mer-
chant say to thriftless clerk, ''for
man 10 die without having enough to
pay his funeral expenses. 1t is a
greater disgrace for him to become, as
80 many do, burden upon private or
public charity, if by reasonable self
denial in prosperous days he can save
something to live upon when the abil-
ity to earn no longer exists.
1t IS not always an easy or pleasant
thing, we admit, to save money. Many
men say, II cannot save anything with
out depriving myself and my family Of
enjoyments which are essential to our
happiness. Yet it is worthy of note
that as the income increases the "enioy-
ments" increase with it, proving that
they are relative, not positive necessities,
and may be somewhat entailed without
depriving life of all its sweetness. The
question to be considered is, whether it
is not better to provide for the average
happiness and comfort of life by prudent
saving than to enjoy heedlessly the pass
ing moments, and trust to ''luck" for
weathering the distant 'rainy day No
sensible man. surely, can find any
difficulty in determining what the answer
should be.
Prudent regard for the future does not,
as some suppose, imply distrust of God 5
proyidential care. The admonltion to
''take no thought for the morrow" is to
be interpreted simply as warming
against the anxious, worrying. miserly
spirit which leads men to give their
whole thought for getting and saving
money, to the exclusion of all nobler oc-
cupations and generous impulses. The
same divine voice which uttered this ad-
monition also bids us take counsel of the
ant, which lays by her store for the fu-
ture need.
In fine while mean and sordid parsi-
mony is to be avoided, it is the su-
premest folly for man to go on year sf-
ter year spending all he earns, when any
day his power to earn may be taken from
him. ''Enjoyments" obtained at such a
cost are dearly bought, as many man
has learned by bitter experence.-N Z.
Examiner.