The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1897-12-25
American WaStefuIneSS.

The Rev. John Watson Ian Mac
laren) comes from land of thrift. The
Scotch, by the very necessity of their
situation and surroundings, are obliged
to be frugal, with results that are APP
parent to all who are familiar with
Scotch character. The prodigality and
waste illness of Americans seems to
of them:
IF one were placed in witness box
he might be Obliged to declare that they
were distinctly thriftless. An Ameri
geous prodigality. Times there are
when a hard bitten, poverty-stricken
Scot cherishes bitter grudge against
his more friendly cousin. 1t is when
he follows hin into a continental hotel
and finds the lackevs desuise his poor
vail ter the royal largesse thew have
just received. We can only stand aside
and wonder at our kinsman who gets
his money So easily, who holds it so
I5htly, who spends it SO lavishlv-a
man surely CT very princely habit and
far removed above thought OF saving.
And yet it may be allowed us 20 shake
our heads and have some misgiyings as
to whether this prodigality IS for the
good of individual character and the
firm upbuilding of a people. Is the
ostentatioU5 waste of food in hotels
hfI fol =
menu is Dewi;derlng in variety and the
portions supplied bevond all necessity,
and more is taken away than is used?
Does 1t cOnduce to stability and self
restraint to be quite Indifferent about
tomorrow and to reserve nothing of to-
days earnings? Have not the farmers
traded recklessly on the virgin re-
sources of the land? Have not the for
ests been improvidently cut down? Is
there not everywhere a certain want of
prudence and management which can
not in the long run minister to moral
strength or even to material wealth. If
1t be true, rs Is contcnded, that every
great empire has been built up on
thrift, this means that the homliest o
virtues does not end in the accumula-
ton of money, but results Ill the crea-
ton OF manhood. And the best friends
of America, therefore, desire that amid
all her prosperity she shall not fall
away into improvidence and luxury,
but ever retain and cultivate that habit
of staple and severe living which was
shown by her puritan fathers"
This reference to the puritan fathers
suggests to the mind the difference be-
tween the American o! the present and
of former generations. For Americans
were not always waste!ul The founda-
tons of the republic were laid by men
who were known for their frugalitv and
small economies. 1t is only since the
civil war that this tendency to conspic-
uous extravaganza and wastefulness
which Mr.. Watson notes has appeared
as a distinctive trait of American char
acter. Habits of wastefulness are not
conducive to the best development of
people. Thrift and frugally are quail
tiles essential to the highest citizenship,
and the nation that does not develop
them is untrue to itself. The extrava-
sance which Mr.. Watson notes is not
confined to the rich, but is prevalent
among those who might be glad to save
If assured of safe repositories for their
small sums. No nation on earth would
benefit so much by the establishment OF
postal savings banks as the United
States. In no country are these insti-
tutions so badly needed for their inhu-
ence in intoxicating in the people the
habits of thrift and frugalty that char
acterizad the typical American of pre-
cedin- generations Chicago Record.