Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-03-18
ECONOMY.
Some Stories That Show What a De-
lusIve Thing it 1s-ExtravagRDce
EXtOlled

y
saws writer in The San Francisco
Chronicle, but it's like adynamo-it's
a dangerous thing to fool with. A
great many people have been abso-
lultely ruined by economy. Modern
economy may be described as the art
of buying a thing you don't want
cheap IN preference to paying decent
price for the thing you do want. Real
economy is getting the thing most you
need for the least money. Economy
is the better part of extravaganza. /
think extravaganza ought to be en-
couraged. | believe it can be with
safety, because there are so few who
have money or credit enough to be
extravaganza. The chances are that
when a fellows rich enough to be
extraYagant he does not need to be
economical. Economy is, like virtue,
it's own reward, for I never heard of
anybody who got anything but per-
haps little credit for being econom-
ical out of economy. There no fun
in it. There's a depressing sense OF
suffering in economy which lasts ali
through, but extravaganza has a
splendid time, lots of fun, and when
you are ''bust up" again, recollection
and anticipation are both lively and
enjoyable. When you lave been
economical for year and stinted
yourself with great self-denial, it
doesn't add any comfort to your re-
Elections when you reach hard-up
stage.
"You wager your solemn existance,"
said fellow, I'm going to have as
much fun as l can out Of this 81, 600 !"
Now don't be feot" said his friend.
Invest it, live easy, and you may
fnd that the beginning OF fortune. J"
my dear boy, you listen to me. l
was a hard working man once, max
ing a good income. I stinted myself.
lived quietly, and saved every cent I
could, I wanted to be St millionaire.
Every dollar I made I put into spec
ulation, and [ carried stocks for
months. I made $4,000. I did not
touch it. went On saving and saw
ing and doubling things up. Ny
broker was a bowling swell, He had
teams and swell rooms, and gave
champagne lunches and elaborate
dinners and were magnificent clothes.
I said to myself. What darn fool
that fellow is. He's spending all his
money, and some day he'll need IT. ,
I went on plodding and bIodding. I
was worth 100000.
''Well, see, that's just what say.
Then the broker went up and my
money with him. I said 10 myself:
You made q mistake in the fool,
young man. The broker was the wise
man. Now I'm going to have the
champagne breakfasts and let the
broker starve.'
Women were made with the extrav-
agant side out. l believe women real
ly despise being called economical.
They are, all the same. Men DO not
know what economy means. They
think to 60 without something you
can buy if you have the money is to
be economical. A mans economy
consists in saying about something
he has 40 earthly use for, 81 can't
afford it." When fellow spends SIS
in drinks at night he walks home and
considers himself quite enough a sac
rifice to economy because he has the
courage to refuse to take hack. A
loses $50 at poker and nobly puts off
his proposed purchase of a new pair
of boots which he considers a set-of.
The greatest phllanthropists will fee
the waiter at the restaurant with
dollar and wait ten minutes while a
bootblack goes to get his dime turned
to nicKels to give him change for a
shine. A women will always give
more for a thing that she does not
want than for the thing she does.
The necessity Of getting it is enough
of a tax, and she will beat a store
keeper down to nothing just to pro-
test against that necessity. When she
goes to buy something she does not
need she always feels that the store
clerk knows she doesn't need it, and
she is willing to pay extra for the fun
of having it. A woman will buy an
article she knows she has no use for,
and when she's got it she'll find some
use for it. A man will buy something
he thinks he needs and find out after
ward that he doesn't know what to do
with it.
A great many people marry on that
principle. In Scotland people marry
for economy. They call it ecannymy.
That's why there are so few divorces
in Scotland. In England they marry
for money. In France they marry
for cooUe71ance. In Germany they
marry for practical usefulness. In
Italy they marry for poetry. In Rus
STA they marry for aggrandizement.
In Holland they marry for lsziness.
In Spain they marry for love-making.
In Turkey they marry for occupation.
In China they marry for tradation.
In Japan they marry for virtue. In
New York they marry for style. Ia
Boston they marry for exclusiveness.
In Chicago they marry for commun-
ity of goods. In San Francisco they
marry for pure fun. In San Jose they
marry for a change.
However, to turn to economy.
There is young housewife in San
Francisco who is just now an enthus-
iastic economist. She is not politi-
cal economist; she may be better
described as a pie-litical economist.
She doesn't go much, However, on
her own experience. She has hus-
how'd ond che com otipoos oorLc for