Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1916-12-13
Talks on Thrift

In the daily papers comes the story
Of the downfall of the widow of a
prominent Wall Street man, who
twice has been presented to British
Royalty, lived on Fifth Avenue, was
social leader and q woman of the
four hundred. In the brief six years
Of her widowhood she has wasted a
fortune Of over one hundred thousand
dollars and now faces the charge of
passing a worthless check. She says
she has made "sad mistake" but did
the "best she knew how" with her
money-put it in ill-advised business
ventures, invested in doubtful secur-
tiles and spent the rest in social as
pirations.
OF lesser magnitude, but no less
tragic, is the recent case of Ger
man woman with three children, who
in the short space of ten weeks has
spent (not "invested'O the fourteen
hundred dollars received from her
husbands death in an accident. Dur
ing that time she has visited the saw
ings bank on a average of every 9TH
err day, drawing from twenty-five to
fifty dollars each time.
Another woman who received life
insurance payment of two thousand
dollars wasted her Inheritance in two
weeks at the races. Another who re-
ceived thousand dollars bedecked
herself with jewelry and had to go to
the factory in three months. A GER
tain youth received two thousand dol
lars as his share of his uncle's estate,
quit work and lived the high life for
short time, and then went broke, as
they all do.
The only redeeming feature of
these processes is the fact that the
waste of money cures itself, for soon
there is no more to waste. The
aforementioned individuals have
found it out. 1t matters not wheth-
err the sum be large or small, it seems
an endless amount, but little extra
vagance every day soon brings the
fund to state of exhaustion.
Life insurance companies have
found upon investigation that
large proportion of their policy set
Elements are frittered away in the
work and the sacrifices of the bread
winner, in which the beneficiary US
ually has shared seem to count for
naught when the settlement comes,
and passes considerable sum into ir-
responsible hands.
This is no< indictment against
womanhood, but as a sex they seem
to have the knack of spending easy
money fast. While a thrifty woman
is the Lords choisest creation, the
thriftless one is His greatest bane.
Bank men of experience will corobor-
ate the conclusion that it is unwise to
leave money to the wife is such way
as to tempt her to be improvident
with it. The fortune first mentioned
would have given the wife an income,
of at least five thousand a year for
life, if properly invested, and the
smaller amounts would have helped
the beneficaries over many rainy
day. The caution to the men in such
matters is to so arrange affairs that
the income and not the principle may
be used.
The best legacy you can leave your
wife is a well-invested estate. If
you love her you can prove it best
by not giving her absolute control of
her legacy, but by saving her from
all the pitfalls that are open to the
unsophistticated and the unwary.
Save her from herself, her friends
and the slick promoter who dazzles
her with alluring tales of large re-
turns from her investments.
Many a man has spent life time
providing for those he must leave be-
hind, and in his provision caused
their own downfall. 1t is no reflection
upon the woman to make these state
ments, but they are cruel truths
borne out by everyday experience.
You do well to consider what might
happen to those who survive you if
they fall prey to the temptations that
beset those mentioned above. The
best estate you can leave is the GER
tainity that the future will not find
those you love in want through their
own folly, made possible by your own
shortsightedness Thrift not only
prepares for the future but safe
guards the future, and easy money
needs such protection.