The Washington herald., 1912-11-26
BY FRANCES sHAFFER.

The Society for the Prevention Of Use
less Giving
That is the name of a novel organiza-
ton just formed in New York by Mrs.
August Belmont, Miss Anne Morgan
and other weII-known women, together
with hundreds of their working-girl
friends. Its purpose is the suppression
of the foolish custom of extravagant
present giving at the Christmas season,
a custom which has lost its original
spirit of love and degenerated into a
practice which. at its worst. involves
much Of hardship.
The suggestion was made by Mrs. Bel
mont before q lot Of girls and young
women members OF a society known as
the Vacation Savings Fund AS its name
implies, this organization-and a right
useful one it is-was formed for the pur-
pose Of encouraging and helping work
ing-girIs to save a little fund for rest
period in the summertime. And at the
first hint of a concerted movement to
put more of common sense and less OF
the spirit of compulsiOn into the gift
making season the hundreds Of girls
present unanimously and outspokenly
favored starting the new society.
Mrs Belmont and Miss Morgan were
the first to join, and at its first meeting
the Society for lie Prevention Of Use
less Giving started of with a goodly
membership.
Courage to Say mo"
In her address Mrs. Belmont said there
was no desire to stop any generous i'm
pulse on its way to give pleasure and
no intent to rob the season of the
spirit that made it worth while, but that
% Nhn inn
Savings Fund was to encourage the
growth of independence. And she added
that true independence always meant the
courage to say no at the right time
1t did not so much matter whether
it meant the refusal to join in collective
giving, the making of a big present
where there was some sort of a "re-
turn involved, or in the individual pres
ents scattered more or less indiscrim-
inately in Difference to the universal
custom-it was independent and true to
say mo- when that was the impulse
of the heart and the prompting of the
mind.
And the new Society for the Preven-
tion of Useless Giving-"Spug" they
called it, for brevity-was ready TO lend
its aid.
Christmas shopping Has Begun.
Already we have begun to hear muir
murs OF the familiar call for early shop
ping" and the shops will soon take on
their holiday air.
Do you know that there are hundreds
and hundreds of folk in the city who
would look forward to the wonderful
Christmas season with real rejoicing If
they were just independent enough to
eliminate the spiritless, meaningless ele-
ment in their gift making? And one be-
lieves that the sentiment back of this
new society would find ready response
in many. many quarters.
Some folk may say, ''Ah, but the pity
of taking every bit OF the life out of a
celebration that had so beautiful be-
ginning And there's just the point.
The life, the real ife, was taken out of
it when it first reached the stage of be-
ing a sort of barter. For the ugly fact
is right here: The great bulk Of the
giving is not TO bring a glint of cheer
and a throb Of happiness in directions
where cheer and happiness otherwise
would be unknown. 1t is rather the very
personal process of give and take, and
Of give and take in pretty nearly equal
measure.
Disclaim it as We may, regret it as
We must, most of US know when We look