The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-08-17

or every man VINO, since time began,
earned such an enormous sum, one
thing would be true OF all of them.
namely. that in not single case did
the man collect the full amount.
Jefferson did not collect ali he earn
ed; In fact, he began public life we'll
to-do for a man of that period, and
died poor--impoverished by visits of
those who called to tell him how
much they loved him and how much
they appreciated his work. Lincoln
did not collect the full amount: Meth
er Jefferson nor Lincoln would have
cared to collect five hundred million.
What would either one have done with
such sum? Or. what Is more inn
portant, what would five hundred mil
lions of dollars have done with JEFF
ferson or Lincoln?
And how much can one wisely
spend? Not as much as you might
think, and not nearly as much as
some have tried to spend. No matter
how honestly money may be acquired.
one IS not free to spend 1t at viii. We
are hedged about by certain restrtc-
tions that we can neither remove nor
ignore God has written certain laws
In our nature--laws that no legisla-
ture can repeaI--laws that no court
can declare unconstitutional. and these
laws limit us In our expenditures.
Let us consider some of the things
for which we can properly spend
money We need food~-~@e all need
food, and We need about the same
amount; not exactly. but the differ
ence In quantity is not great. The
range in expenditure is greater than
the range in quantity. for expenditure
covers kind and quality as wen as
quantity But there liz limit even
to expenditure. II man eats too
much he suffers for II. II he sqnan-
ders his money on high priced foods,
he wears hts stomach out. There is
an old saying which we have all heard,
that ."rhe poor man Is looking for
food for his stomach, while the rich
man Is going from one watering place
IN another looking for stomach for
his food" This Is only q witty way
OF expressing the sober truth. namely.
that ono Is limited in the amount OF
money he can wisely spend for food.
We need Glothing--we all need
clothing. and we need the ea'Fse
amount. The difference IN quantity
Ia not great The range in expendi-
ture for clothing is greater than the
range In quantity, because eXpendl-
tiire covers style and variety as Wen
as Quantity. bat there il q limit 10
the amount Of money one can wisely
svand for clothing. IF man has so
much clothing that 1t takes all OF his
time to change his clothes. he has
more than ne needs and more than
he can wisely spend money Tor.
we need homes---we all need shell
ter and we need about the same
amount. In fact. God was very demo
rraNc in the distribution of our needs,
for he SO created Us that cur needs
are about the same. Tho range OF
Yvnenafture for homes Is probably
wider than In the case Of either 1000
or clothing. ;.
II a man gets too big house IL
becomes n fnrden TO him. ana some
have had this experience. Not iHfre-
aaently n young cDupIts VIII start our
moor and struggle along IN ht3e
bouse. looking forward 10 che time
when they can build big he0Ses
larger. possibly. than they intended to
and II nearly always costs moro fhan
they thought It would. and then they
struggle along the rest Of their Ives
locking back - the time when they
lived in a little house,
We sneak of people heing indie
nendent1v rich. That Is mistake:
they are depandentIy rich. The richer
a man is the more dependent he is
the more peopte he depends upon TO
h.@p hin, collect his income. ana the
mare peopie he depends upon 10 help
him spend his Income
Rut man can give his money
away. Yes. and no one VINO ffas ever
tried II viii deny that more pleasure
f. "a he derived from the giving of
money TO a cause In which one heafl
&c interested than can be obtained
ero,n tho expenditure OF the same
amount In selfish Indulgence. But IL
one IN going tn give largely ne must
snend a great deal 81 time IN inyes-
tigattng and In comparing the merits
az the different enterprises, ana avn
narauaded that there Is a hettef ny
tt,an aha life led by those who spend
- -, All the time accommodating be-
.vona their needs and then efapf"E
:he last few days In giving IT Away
what the world needs Is not Few
mon Of great wealth. doing out fheif
money in anticipation OF easN~~~" iaat
tna weird needs Is thai these mea
should link, themselves in sympathetic
interest with struggling humanity aia
help 30 solve the prnblems OF tooast
instead of creating problems ZOE l''e
next generation to solve
But YOU gay. man can leave ms
money TO his children He can, II ne
aares. Bnt large fortune, IN antic.-
patton. has ruined more sons lhah u
Mas ever helped. II young man has
he knows he will never have TO WORK
the chances are that it will sap MS
energy. even II 1t does not undermine
his character, and leave him - curse
rather than a blessing to those VINO
brought him into the world. And II
~ scarcely safer to leave the money
To a daughter. For IL young wo-
man has a prospective inheritance SO
large that when a young man calls
anon her she cannot tell whether ne
,s calling upon her or her father, 1t
10 emba rrassing- especially SO II she
f,nds after marriage that he married
the wrong member of the FANNY.
And. / may add. that the daughters
~ the very rich are usually hedged
ahout by a social environment wnich
prevents their. making the aeqnaanl't--
ance of the best young men. ne
men who. twenty five. years from now,
will be the leaders in business, In
society. In government, and In the
chnrch. are not the pampcred sons of
the rich. but the young men who, with
good health and good habits, with
high ideals and strong ambition, are,
under the spur of necessity, laying
the foundation for future achieve
mants and these young men do not
have a chance to become acquainted
80 49, aapyhterS Of tha very rich.