Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1916-11-11
TALKS ON BANKING.
BRIDGES AND BANK sCCOl'STS,

You cannot cross a bridge mtl You
come to it, but you can't cross the
river without it. The great bridges
III. Han the Niagara river may be
of little use to the New Yorker. but
when he wants to so to Canada he
finds them a necessity.
Every successful life is built upon
the proposition Of preparedness, The
man who refuses to acknowledge the
fact that some day he Will be in need,
is going to find himself in serious
predicament when he least expects Il.
The great trouble with many men and
women is they live from day to day,
with no thought of tomorrow. To-day
earnings are spent as soon as earned
Or before Much of the worlds pow
erty is due to this andto-mouih
existence. We get into debt and new
err get out We get behind and never
catch up. We run bills until the
butcher and the grocer go broke try
ing to pay our way for us.
A certain father lost his SON uncX-
pectedly. He had no money saved up
He lived as he went. never expecting
such a happening. He appealed to
his bank to carry him over the time
OF need. and was granted 4 loan, more
out of pity than out Of respect for
his credit. But he should have built
the bridge for himself long before the
time of need came.
We rarely stop to appreciate how
helpful the baak is until we need as
sistance, nor grasp the fact that II
somebody had not been thrifty and
anticipated the time when financial
ridges would be needed and banked
their money, we would often be in a
sorry plight.
Banks are built on the savings Of
the thrifty. They lend TO the mer-
chant, manufacturer and individual,
both as a business proposition and as
a matter of courtesy in time OF need;
but it is a sad commentary on our
method of life, if when the time OF
need comes, we must literally beg
the banker, or a friend to tide us
over the time thrift would have an
ticipated and prepared us for.
Money is not the sum total of hui
man existence, but it goes long way
towards making life, no matter how
hard it may be in other respects,
pleasant. Every man knows that
health is q, delicate thing; that SICK
ness, accident or loss of employment
is liable to come at any time-and it
is sure to come to us all sooner OF
later-and no one but fool VIII de-
fv all the laws of nature. all the ad-
vice of men and experience OF the
past, and refuse to acknowledge the
necessity of preparedness.
Bridges were never meant for orna-
ments: they were meant for use.
They start somewhere and get some
where. They are meant to carry
leads. A bank account is a mighty
good bridge. 1t will tide you ever
many troublous stream, and see you
safely on the other side; but many
men must founder around in the cur
rents of adversely, tossed hither and
Won, before they will acknowledge the
truth and begin to get ready. Ii ev-
erybody did as some people do, spend
the dollar as fast as it is earnea. the
human race would fast go to destruc-
ton.
Every man who earns should save
Every woman, no matter how safe
may be her lot now, should look the
future in the face and see if she were
left alone could she manage single
handed to make the world give her
an existence.
You cannot cross the bridge until
you get there, that is certain; but
you can build the bridge that you
surely will need some day, and lucky
for Won if Won have the bridge and
can use it, and still more lucky if it
is there and you never need use it,
but you can be safe either way.