The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-04-15
THE SAVING HABIT
Valuable Article From an Old satur-
day Evening Post.

work, whether as an apprentice In a
shop or as clerk In a store, pictures
himself as being In comfortable cir
cumstances at some future day, as the
result OF his own industry and skill.
In his brighter visions he may see
himself the owner Of the factory in
which he Is then working, for he has
read many books in which the heroes
began life under far less favorable
circumstances than he, and became
rich and influential manufacturers by
rapid steps. Or he sees himself at
the head of a business that Is both
large and profitable, gained by his
own ability and good fortune Ten or
twenty years do not seem like long
period when waiting for the prizes,
for life is before him, and, with the
buoyancy and hopefulness Of youth,
he dwells upon the possible results,
rather than upon the long and weary
steps that bring him to them.
Every young man has an indefinite
intention, in his plans OF life, of some
day commencing to save part OF his
wages or salary, under the belief that
it may be necessary to have a little
capital of his own, when the decisive
day shall come, which will open the
door to a higher position. But the
vast majority Of young men never
find the right moment in which to be-
gin. 80 they put off the duty of saw
ing, hoping that the golden day is at
hand when they shall be given an
interest in the business, and saving
on a small scale will not be neces-
sary.
BY most men the rosy dreams of
youth are never realized. The work
men must always far outnumber the
employers, more than one hundred to
one. The man who puts off the prac-
tice of economy, waiting for a time
when it will be easier for him to de.
priye himself Of certain pet Injuries.
learns when il is too late that ne has
passed the point where he can de-
mand OF the present that it shall help
provide for his future. Among all
the acquaintance / have had in the
past forty years, not one spendthrift
among them has retired from business
a successful man.
Possibly you may look upon that
word "spendthrift" as one that can
not be applied to you, You may think
it applies only to one who foolshly
throws away a fortune. If you will
turn to your dictionary you will read
that he is a spendthrift who is imprv7-
ident or wasteful The word applies
with equal froce to the man earning
ten dollars week and TO him who
has thousands.
There are no miracles in a business
career. The man who wins success
has toiled early and late with all his
powers of body and mind. He has
been subservient to his ambition He
has pushed aside, because it was the
first step toward success, every habit
and desire that stood between him
and his goal. No man was ever num-
bered among the successful ones I'M
less he was waiting and prepared for
Fortune when she knocked at his
door. She has never yet been known
to wait for any man or boy to prepare
himself for her company. ! know of
no one habit that so thoroughly
moulds the character of a young man
as the habit OF economy. 1t gives
him strength of will 1t teaches him
to look beyond an action to It's final
result. 1t continually reminds him
that the pure, sweet, innocent pleas
ures of life are almost to be had for
the asking, and that Satan is not only
cruel but an expensive taskmaster
The reference-books of Dun and
Bradstreet contain detailed reports Of
the character, capacity and capital of
every man doing business in the Unit
ed States. Statistics show that only
about five in every one hundred of
these retire from business successful.
These five will almost invariably be
found to have been men who learned
at the school of adversely in their
youth how to govern their wants and
themselves. The people of this coun-
try and generation, as a whole are
wofully improvident. The universal
desire is not only to live as well as
ones neighbor, but little better, and
to make fine appearance today
seems of vastly more Importance than
to lay up something for a cloudy to-
uOIIOM. Ills very bldll III AlA1 6AtaA
majority opens the door to the few
who are willing to drill themselves in
the school of common sense. The
young man who will set his stakes
early as to what he shall save out of
his wages, and who lives up to this
through all temptation, is opening the
gulf between him and his fellows. and
planning a race that will lead to sue
cess. AS the years pass us by with
their cruel obiect-lessons of improvI-
dence, one wonders more and more
that any man can gain his own con-
sent TO spend every dollar of his sal
airy and trust to luck when misfor-
tunes shall oyertake him. OF course
the saving clause in his mind is that
he is sure he is safe from the rule
that governs all other men, and there
is not only no need of his providing
for the future, but the day cannot be
far distant when something is going
to happen to I'll his pockets with gold
and keep them filled forever after.
If we look at the earnings realized
from safe investments today we see
that a man with a salary of $1,000 is
equal in earning capacity to him who
has $4,000 invested in four per cent
bonds. If the bond owner we're told
that interest would be paid him only
while he was in health, and that when