El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-03-14

spair that the man killed himself rath-
er othan endure 1t.
suicide a'WarnIng.
7 wonder how many hundreds OF
thousands OF people who read the
newspaper account Of this suicide saw
in it the handwriting on the wall for
themselves, and who viii be warned
by it2 How many other married couples
are spending every cent they make,
and who would be left in a similar
plight as this man and his vile We're, II
some Saturday night the husband
should get the blue envelope that told
him that his services were no longer
needed
It is appalling to think Of the num-
Der Of people who sport with such DIS
aster for the sake Of gratifying their
vanity. or their love Of pleasure The
woman likes clothes and the man loves
drink; they both love the theater, and
they want TO 90 with people who are
better off than they are, and so they
live up to the last cent Of their in
come and generally little beyond II
fhey shut their eyes TO the future They
refuse 10 consider the hazards of bust
ness. They ignore the certainty Of
age and sickness.
Crash sure 20 Come.
But the catastrOphies OF life come to
them. as they come to others, and be-
cause they have not had the prudence
and the foresight to prepare for them,
they are annihilated- The improyidenr
always flatter themselves that they
are the darling Of the gods, and that
some miracle will be worked by which
they viii be preserved from misfortune,
out 1t never happens They reap as
they SOW, and they go down into the
deepest slough Of poverty and depend
ence.
I confess that have seant sympathy
for the MASTERS and the spenders who
come to want through their own eX-
travagance. 1t seems to me nothing
short Of dishonesty for people not 10
provide for their old age, or for sick
ness, OF for lack of employment since
If they are not able to supply their own
needs, somebody else has TO do 1t for
them.
Old age is not an accident that may
or may not befau one It is a Ger
tainty- Illness is not a chance. It is
also a sure thing. No man is so stupid
as not TO know that in this day OF
strenuous competition every year puts
an added handicap upon him and in
creases his chances Of losing his job.
Also he knows that employers, justly
or unjustly, have fixed a definite age
limit for employees and that after a
man has crossed that fatal boundary
the days Of fat salaries are over for
him, and he is lucky if he is not turned
out like an old work horse to starve.
Old age, sickness, the uncertainty of
being able to get new situation should
he lose the old one after he is So or
So these are the facts that confront
every man who works on q salary. One
would think that they were grim
enough to make the most brainless idiot
on earth stop and ask himself what is
TO become Of him If he does not Law
up something in the summer time Of
his life for that winter that is bound
TO come 10 him, as 1t does to every
other human being.
But there are multitudes of men
that 80 blithely along, spending every
cent that they make, and then when !
disaster overtakes them somebody else |
=
are forever being called upon TO chip
in and bury some good fellow who |
should have a stack Of government I
bonds, but who has died without a /
penny TO his name, or to contribute to /
the support Of his widow who has been I
accustomed to spend $4,000 a year and 7
IL left without 10 cents; or to paw for /
the hospital expenses Of some man ]
whose cigars have cost half as much as 1
our living, or to take care Of a bunch /
Of poor relatives who have lived I'D to 1
a fortune.
These people. who could have pro- /
vided for themselves If they hadn't 1
been too self-indulgent TO do so are
Just as much robbers as II they nut !
their hands In our pockets and stole /
Dur purses. They have no right to our Il
hard earned money. the fruit Of orr
labor and self denial, and instead Of re-
be held up as subjects Of scOrn and /
contempt
Depends on Savings.
The man and woman who are living
up TO every cent of their income. do
well TO consider this case Of the man
who committed suicide because he 4
had spent everything he made as he
went along and had nothing with which
to face the rainy day. Their hour of
viii also come, and then
their tate viii depend on whether they
have some money in the bank or not
The difference between happy, in T
dependent old age, or one of miserable 4
sycophantic hanging on to others asa I
an acceptance OF grudgingly given 4
aims, depends on how much you have l
saved out of your income