The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1889-04-11
THE REAL VALUE OF MONEY.

DID you ever consider this subject?
There is some philosophy in the hard
hearted answer which q Boston mill
ionaire is said to have made to a re-
quest from a lady of that city, who
had appealed to him in behalf of a
charity, Madam" said he, 81 would
be glad to help you, but am utterly
unable to do so at this moment
Why, madam, have to-day one mill
ion and a quarter Of money in the
banks, and, believe me, this amount
is not yielding me one cent of in
terest."
Money has both an intrinsic and an
earning value. If you have a dollar in
the morning, and at night find that it
has cost you just that dollar to get
through the day, you have only real
lied its intrinsic value; but suppose
that, by a judicious investment, you
find at night that you have been able
to pay your days expenses, and still
have a dollar left from that invest
ment, you realize something Of its
earning value. II that investment in
the morning yielded you not only the
dollar back, but seven cents in addi-
ton, and after paying the expenses of
the day you found that you had the
dollar left, the earning value of that
one dollar was just sev en- cents, no
more, no less. And SO in the trans
actions of the year, if an investment
be made at the beginning, and at the
close, after deducting every expense
of any kind or nature, including nat
ural alwear and tear, it be ascertained
that the origi nal amount is unim-
paired, the earning value of that
original investm ent may be summed
up in the amount used to pay the
above mentioned expenses. If a sur
plus remain, then the invest ment has
increased in valu e; if a deficit exist,
then the original investment is i'm
paired.
Taking these propositions as truths,
then, it may be assumed with safety,
that the first object of Importance, in
any trade or occupation, is to preserve
ones capital unimpaired. 1t is very
clear that, when ones capital is ex-
hausted, ones occupation is destroyed.
A second is to SO manage an invest
ment as to establish, if possible, a
surplus, as a rear guard, if you please,
to the original capital. The va lue of
this original capital will thus be in
creased, and if there be a demand for
it, it is then possible to spread out
ones business, being ever mindful
that whatever amount is set aside as
a working capital, the first object of
ssccess is in preserving it intact.
Bearing these things in mind, il
will not be difficult in any enterprise
to determine whether prosperity or
the reverse has attended ones ener-
gies. This principal holds true
throughout every sphere of life's
work. Take, for instance, any one of
the various trades. Consider the
time and money expended in learn
ing trade; then one is only realizing
the intrinsic value of money. But
suppose after years of constant prac-
tice and endeayor, the apprentice be-
comes a skilled artisan, and Just be-
fore he starts out in his life's work,
he takes account Of the money it has
cost him and of the time, reduced to
a money basis, he has spent in his
apprenticeship, and sets that down
as his capital, if he is then able to
make for himself a comfortable living,
and in time is able to lay mp for
future developm ent, he is reinforc-
ing very substantially the capital
which he invested in his early train
ing. He is realizing the earning
value of his money. Otherwise be
knows only of and has exhausted its
intrinsic value. The true value
of money, therefore, may be said to
be measured by the benefits which
may arise from a judicious invest
ment thereof for a stated time, and
without its impairment in any particu-
lar.
There is no getting out of it; you