The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-03-15

CLEMENTINA black
By
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the absolute essentials or healthy living
Io:aestain from buying new shoes in order
10 make provision for possible old age and
tnen 10 die or pneumonia induced by want
OF SOUND shoes Is but a doubtful form OF
tnriIt, both for oneself and ones nation.
Inc interests or the nation in particular
are certainly better served by the main
tenance among working-class families of
the highest attainable standard OF life than
ny the accumulation OF very small individ-
-ual provision for possible orphans or posi-
bic old age. Even two pounds week. alas,
VIII not suffice Except in remote country
districts-where no man earns SO much) to
provide superintendent housing, clothing
and food Tor four people; and the working
class family does not often consist of no
more than four The present cost of thrift
as thrift is generally understood-is too
heavy, and the future return too light; and
the wise man Is not he who saves his
money. but he who spends It TO the best ad-
vantage
! SPENDING A WORKMANS WAGES.
The practice of our Scotch exemplar
swers the question. He spent his income
primarily In keeping his whole family in
good physical condition, and in giving to
the younger members the best preparation
he could for the future. He further, per-
ceived that without the organized support
OF his fellow-workers he was powerlsss to
prevent his s2 week from being reduced
to something less. He, therefore. contrib
uted to HIS trade union both money and
time, and later IN Life, when. as its secre-
tary, he was no longer bound to such rigid
hours OF work, gave further time and
thought to the service of the great manu-
featuring town in which he dwelt. He
would, I feel sure. have pdaifitained that all
these exercises of public spirit Spfefe not
only a fulfllment Of personal duty, but
also a form OF enlightened thrift-a part OF
that system Of keeping up high standard
of living which he consistently practiced
and occasionally preached. The man who
so spends and so lives Is truly thrifty. and
his thrift does not merely advantage him
self at the cost Of his class and his coun-
try; on the contrary. every man so living
makes 1t easier for every other man to
come up to the same level. To help In pre-
venting-by trade combination-the lower
ing OF wages is truer form Of thrift than
to pay into savings bank. and wisely or
dered trade union Is the working mans
best insurance.
But. though to keep wages from falling
is always advantageous to the household
treasury. it by no means follows that every
apparent addition to wages really adds to
wealth. Many a wife and mother. by going
out to work or taking work at home with
the best possible motives and the utmost
self-devotion) is in fact injuring instead OF
promoting the prosperity Of her family and
her class. There are trades in which, the
mems wages being low, the women have
gone to work beside their husbands and the
children beside their parents, with the dis
astrous result that the family, instead of
the man, has become the Industrial unit.
and the work of all is given for little or no
larger remuneration than was formerly re-
ceived for the work Of the father alone.
SENDING CHILDREN TO WORK
A peculiarly baneful form of thrift,
largely practised by Industrious and care
full parents. well by those who are
neither Industrious nor careful, consists in
setting their children to work for wages
very early in life. While still at school
the boy or girl will be sent TO regular work
before after school hours-and some
| times both before and after The last year
| or two at school, SO valuable when the
| period Of schooling is short, are more or
| less wasted owing to the over-fatigued
| condition Of the child. Moreover, these are
| precisely the years Of early adolescence, in
which any sort Of strain is so especially
pernicious. A boy of from ten to thirteen
will earn at the outside half crown
| week-often not a shilling-at the cost of
| becoming less efficient worker to the ex-
| tent of five shillings week or more. his
| life long. Nowhere among our short
/ sighted human dealings can be found a
| more fragrant example Of that wastefulness
| which the French proverb stigmatizes as
| 'eating ones wheat grass" The really
| thrifty course In regard to children is, on
| the other hand. to keep them learning as
/ long as possible, and to let them begin
4 earning late. in order that they may earn
largely. Much of the misery existing in
Great Britain would be removed or allevi-
ated II all parents who can possibly afford
| to do so would keep their children at school
| until they were over fourteen, and take
| care that their schooling was followed by
one, two. or taree years of real trade train
| ing. This country is full of amateurs in
every department from the House of Com
| snons to the casual ward In the world of
| industrial competition amateur work means
for the Individual an insecure footing, and
| for the nation a loss Of prosperity. Eng
| lands real want of, foresight shows itself
| In the degree to which all of us, rich and
| poor, fail TO train ourselves and our chill
! dren for the business of life, and neglect
| that best conceivable Investment Of capital
which increases value The value of the
| workman lies in his health, his personal