The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-12-23
PRUDENCE AND LIeERALITY.

1t fsa very good time of the year tor
a man 10 overhaul himself and his man.
nor Of life. No matter how talented.
how popular and how religious ole may
h.. if he lacks the prudence and saGaclfy
r. live within his income he Is not "a
happy man. Quite otherwise. II he
fails TO make both ends meet he Is sub
jected To- the most constant and trying
auoyanccs which must disturb his COM
placcncy. however Indifferent he Is to
such things.
There are men 10 whom i comes quiz
natural always to keep their exposes
within their income. but there j. a uuWer-
Gus class Of the best intcntioued men
who fail to DO so. and to those to whom
this is not & difficult thing it seems most
strange that any other man will permit
himself to 90 over his income in his ex-
rerscs. To the class Of men who nave
the best intentions in this respect it is
the most difficult thing 10 accomplish.
They are generally generous men who
hate above all things to say no TO
these who are 50 dear 10 them as melu-
bers Of their own family. and they Dearly
always yield to the applications OF their
own family. believing at the time that
they will ec1uomize in some other line
Of expenditure over which they may have
uninterrupted control; but when it comes
to doing it they find that economy in that
line also touches the comforts or enjoy
ments of their families. and they again
yield. until, at the end Of the year. they
find a heavy balance Of debt against
them.
No honorable man can be happy when
in debt, that is. say, for the usual cx-
penses Of himself and his family. Debt
may be carried quite easily by an active
business man. and while it does not
amount to the great troubles Of life, il
is a source that tries his temper 10 tie
utmost and embitters so many hours
that otherwise he would pass so pleas
antly in social intercourse. There is only
one remedy for it. and that is for every
man with responsibilities TO know how
and when to say no" 1t is the most
profitable lesson be can learn, and will
eventually yield more permanent
source Of happiness to those to whom he
is compelled by prudence often to say it.
While it is a bad thing for any one
t. live beyond his expenses it is equally
a. bad a thing for one to live penuriors
life when he can afford to live more lib
orally and be more generous to himself
and family. 1t may be the duty Of many
men TO restrict themselves for example,
to one or two suits Of clothing per an
mum, while it would be the duty of others
who could afford it to buy four or FIVE
suits year. Not alone for the same
purpose that Laertes advised his son to
BE- as costly appareled as his purse would
buy in order to produce a good impress
sion on his associates. but FOR the purpose
al! the occupations should a mans ap-
parcl be as costly as his purse will buy.
In other words while it is a duty every
man owes himself to live within his
means. it is equally duty of those who
can afford it to live most literally and
as extensively as they can afford.
No man is to blame for using economy
to lay up money to support his family
or himself in old age, but the liberality
of his family expenditures otherwise
should always be in accordance with his
means. Nor is any man to be blamed for
any accumulation of property he may
make when he has displayed in his OK
penses the liberality of a public spirited
and generous man, but every man who is
blessed with the peculiar ability to make
money lays upon himself the RESPONSE
Lility of circulating it freely among his
fellows. His patronage of every indus
try that is necessarily useful to himself
and family should be distinguished by
literal dealing Avarice is the meanest
of all vices. Avarice is infamous and
dcgrades the higher nature of man,
while prodigality is often the result of IL
generous nature. Both. however. should
be- avoided. and while it is the duty of n
wealthy man to allow liberal share of
that wealth to flow through all the chan
reS Of trade. it is equally incumbent on
a man of limited means to keep his cx-
penses within his income.