The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1908-06-06
a LITTLE SERMON ON SAVING.

Most young men are ambitious
enough and sensible enough to want
to have some money laid by for emer-
gencies, but great many of them
find the saving of small sums so tedi-
dious and discouraging that they eth
er never begin to save, or having be-
gun, do not keep it up for any length
of time. They would like to be rich,
but they want to get rich quick.
Nobody wants to transform our young
men into money grubbing misers
whose thoughts never rise above scrap
ing and saving. The miser is about the
unloveliest specimen of human kind
it IS possible to imagine. But there
isa golden mean between the miser
and the spend-thrift, and young peo-
pie should try to attain it. Here is
some excellent advice in this connec-
ton, from the Savings Journal,
mo matter how little it may be,
makea start to save. Begin to live
on less than you make; begin to put
by the capital which will one day
mean freedom and opportunity.
eve do not advise the saving of
money merely for the selfish gratifi-
cation of spending it. That would
not be worth while. We urge you
to save now that you may be spared
the humiliation of slavish dependence
later on. We advise you to save,
above all, that you may be able to
seize an opportunity should one pre-
sent itself.
"Many of the worlds brightest
men are wasted because they lack the
little ready money that would let
them carry out their ideas.
"Great inventions have been lost
to the world for lack of very little
money. Some of the worlds great
est spirits have lived miserably and
died in despair because they could
never learn to keep the money that
came to them.
"When you do get little money
together, put it in the bank. Don't
buy anybody's watered stock. Let
no trust mining scheme or other large
hearted swindle lure you. If those
things ever pay, they shake out the
little men first
"Get enough money to free you
from worry, and don't let anybody
get it away from you. Don't put it
into any scheme. Let it simply en-
able you to change your employment,
if you see a better chance. Let it
make you secure against poverty in
old age.
"Don't give up your little certain
ty. 1t comes very slowly; let it go
out even more slowly. Begin now to
save. Be one of those that are free,
that have something.
"You will never know what real in
dependence is until you are independ
ent of any mans pocket book save
your own"
We are exhorted by Christ TO lay
faii Is ds zfirxs, tne l11oss mn rf5Cff1rst
duty Of all-all our saving, all our
scheming and planning, all our pos
sessions of earthly riches, are of no
avail. But our nature is twofold.
Our life on earth has two sides and
the laying up of treasures in heaven
does not preclude the wise forethought
and thrift which bids us lay up some
of this worlds treasure for rainy
day. To be occupied altogether with
worldly interests and affairs, to- have
ones thoughts continually on the
dollar or the dime or the nickel-all
this is disastrous to our higher nature
and our eternal welfare.
But we owe duty to ourselves and
our neighbors in the matter of saving
our money. 1t should be the desire
of each and every one of US to be so
situated that we may not, when mis-
fortune comes, be burden on any
one. And the only way for the most
of us to accomplish this is to get
into the habit of saving little
when we are young. This means
self-denial, of course. 1t means the
loss of reputation for being a good
fellow. But it means help toward
the building up of a reliable character.
1t means being in a position, later on
in life, to help others.
The spendthritt is no good to him
self or any one else when the hour OF
trouble comes. He can neither help
himself out of hard place, nor have
the satisfaction of helping another
who may happen to be in straitened
circumstances. He must look help
lessly on when some one whom he
loves very much, perhaps, is in sore
need of assistance. He is compelled
to see his children take inferior posi-
tons in the world because he has never
had the ambition or the strength of
character to save his money for their
sakes.
All this is very hard and humilia-
ting toa man of generous impulses,
and all this waits in the future for al
|lmost every spendthrift, and can be
avoided hy the young people oftoday
only by acquiring the habit of saving
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