Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-13
THE HABIT OF SAVING

Day OF rairE
Employed as 81 200 per annum stipen-
diary in opa of the departments of this
to"h Is young man who used to have a
good deal of inherited money. He is mar
fied TO young woman, who. too. was the
fossessor 10 her own right-whea she was
marr1ed-of a block of currency of no
H'easer Proportions.
But they spent it.
He spent his and she spent hers. and
tbey spent each others.
ne simple Tact that, together, they had
nao mighty enjoyable time Of Ii In she'd
oing themselves of their wealth was a
sniali-a very small-cOnsOlation TO the pair
OF them-and especially to him-when he
si,lOo job in ~one of the Washington de-
partments
Ihey happen to be pretty game young
PEBBLE ptas e.. however. and SO when the intake
was cut down to the 500 per month figure.
win seven hours of more or less distas:e
iui work thrown in for the man. they took
tne situation as they found it, and got as
much out Of the monthly hundred as they
coulo: That is to say they lived. There
wasn't anything worth mentioning left for
automobile riding when they got through
paying for the straight living, but, being
young and buoyant. they were fairly con-
tent AS matter of fact. there never was
red left after the bills were paid. But
the young man never asked his father who
iiVes In Washington and is pretty well-to-
40 10 make up any deficiencies or to help
10 lengthen out the f1at-hold funds. The
young man felt that, having spen. his
there wasn't anything else coming to him.
ana so he didn't ask for it.
His father is of a very saving turn of
MIND He belongs to a lot Of building and
loan and benevolent associations and
Things, and knows all about paid-up en-
dowment policies and such. When his son
and his sons wife. after their extrav-
W. hrny ~ H.
ola gentleman had his glorious chance to
edge in his Il told you So remarks He
TAXED of how he had got married on So a
week as the clerk of grocery store, and
how he had reared his family on that
yes, and saved money, by figs!
Well on last New Year day the old gen.
tleman visited his son and daughter-in-law
at their fiat He had prepared homily
upon saving. which he proceeded to unreel
Tor the benefit of his son and daughter-in-
law
SAID that every sensible man, no matter
how small his income, ought to save at
least some portion of it. His son would
ilVe to regret it if he didn't put away at
least a few dollars out Of his hundred ev-
cry month-not particularly for the mon
ey sake, but just to train himself, after
his years of wastefulness and extrava-
gance, into saving habts-as prepara-
ton, in fact, the old gentleman solemnly
h1nted, for the proper caretaking and safe
guarding of the money which he himself,
Dehlnd him when he passed into the great
beyond.
Then he produced small iron bank.
ABOUT a foot high by half foot wide
produced 1t from package which he had
been carrying under his arm during the de-
livery of the honlily.
Now, son." he said. II have brought you
a little repository for savings, of which l
have, and shall keep, the key You will OBJ
serve that the slit in the top is large
enough to receive any piece of silver or
paper currency now manufactured by the
government. l want you and Mildred'-his
sons wifes name-"to begin today to save
a little n1oneyAno matter how little, but
something. Make sacrifices. Give up lit
tie things that you think you need and
want, but really don't. And when you
make these sacrifices, just drop into this
bank the cost of the thing that you have
sacrificed You'll soon see-or. at least
you'll see at the end of the year when
l open this bank-what a great scheme this
is. Now, IN make you proposition SON
When l open this bank with this key on
December 81, of the year just beginning.
III give you. dollar for dollar. and cent for
cent, whatever amount you and Mildred
may have saved out of your income during
the year. I'll do this incentive to
you BOTH. How about the proposition"
His SON and sons wife said that the prop
ostion was all right. They took the bank
and put it on the mantelpiece, alongside
the clock.
From that day they did begin to save.
was about the one and only thing neither
of them had ever done before. They enjoy
ed seeing pieces of money slip into the slot,
and laughed over the idea of their saving
out of the hundred a month, and had a lot
of fun out of the thing They chucked pen
MES, and nlckeiS, and dimes, and quarters,
and halves, and one and tWo-dolar bills.
and not infrequently, as a sort of browning
Joke five dollar bills into the slot. They
had to make what the old gentleman had
called sacrifices in order to do this, but they
wanted to please the old gentleman, and
they promised themselves, anyhow, that at
the end of the year, when the bank was
opened and the old gentlemans duplication
of the amount it contained was added to It,
they would take the money and have a lit
tle run over to New York and have a sort
of imitation of one of the old good times OF
the early days of their marriage, when they
were moneyed, so to speak.
The dropping of spare money into the
la nix didn't involve any sort of little sum-
mer haunt or vacation, although the young
man had his months annual leave staring
him in the face. He couldn't exactly figure
out how there was going to be any fun In
taking his leave and hanging around his
fiat until the leave expired. But he Ger
tainly meant to take the leave.
on Saturday last the young man arrived
at the fat with a sort of puzzled express
sion on his brow .
driven me at the office to take two weeks of
nv leave this month, beginning next Mon
day so that | have got sixteen days OH,
heeinning from today, Saturday. The other
fellows in the office want to go later. and
so they prevailed upon me to take half of
nv leave now
t.Well?'' inquired his wife.
And both of them. involuntarily and tel
enathically, cast glanceS at the iron bank
on the mantelpiece alongside of the clock.
We'll, what's the use of hanging around
the fiat during the sixteen days?" he asked |
her. |
Whereupon they both glanced at the little |
iron safe again.
About two weeks at some quiet sea- |
shore place would be about the ticket, |
wouldn't it?' he said to her, after pause. |
1T would be lovely, if she replied, |
with finger at her lip.
..Wonder how much there is in the burned |
old thing, anyhow" said he, going over to |
the mantepiece and picking up the bank |
and shaking it. |
quite little, should imagine" she re- |
piled ref1ectively. |
They caught each others guilty gaze.
Just wait a bt-Ill be back presently"
he said. and he wrapped the iron bank up |
and went out.
He just reached the shop of the lock- !
smith on New York avenue in time The |
locksmith WAS making an early Saturday |
closing day of it, and was just pulling tine |
shop door to, when the young man with |
the safe arrived.
Dye think you've got a key to fit this |
thng?" the young man asked the lock-