The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-04-07
Defining Thrift.

The Young Mems Christian asso-
cations definition Of thrift follows:
The thrift habit teaches a man to
earn largely, that he may save wise
ly, so as to be able to spend ad-
yantageously in the time of need or
opportunity, when the need Will be
greater or the opportunity better
than hat of the present"
1t is not selfishness that prompts
the prudent man to avoid reckless
spending OF money which might bet
ter be saved for some good purpose.
Genuine thrift is free from all sus-
| picion OF or narnvminded-
ness. 1t Is an entirely praiseworthy
thing. Nobody need De ashamed to
practice il. In fact. you are more
open to just criticism III you 10 not
follow some regular plan OF saving
Lord Rosebery, the famous British
statesman, said: Whatever thrift
is. it is not aya-ice- Avarics il not
| generous: and after all il Is the
thrifty people who are generous. All
true generosity can proceed only
from thrift. because It Is no gener-
osity to give money which does rot
belong 10 you, as Is the cSss nth the
! unthrfty- And / venture to say
that. of ali the great pnfIanthropists-
all the great financial b~s1stactocs Of
their species OF whom we have any
reoord-fhe most generous OF all must
| have been thrifty men
A Pennsylvania school girl Won the
1913 prize offered by the American
I Society for Thrift for this best dsfin-
ition Of thrift: Thrift is manage
ment Of your affairs in such g man
mel, that the value Of your posses
| sions is constantly being increased"
Thrift means more than the ave
age person thinks It does. In the
first place II Toes not mean miser-
illness - gubbtng, cheese-Qaring.
squeezing, and saving eTery possible
cent, at the expense Of ~self-respect,
comfort, and health.
AT times, spending instead of saw
ing. nay be the wisest. Thrift al
once earns and saves, with a view to
wholesome and profitable expendi-
ture at a fitting time.
But the actual accumulation OF
! money Is the outward and visible
sign that a man is really thrifty, and.
although thrift means more than just
saving, to a large extent saving Is
the measure OF a mans. progress
Money isn't everything. 1t can't
always buy health and happiness, but
If by IL present thrift you r able
to get into comfortable circum-
stances and Danish the worry OF debt,
| will you not be doing something thar
will surely make for health and hap
ptness?
While saving alone Is not thrift, 1T
j is an Indispensable part Of it How
| ever, no one should be encouraged to
be stingy. Between saving money
sensibly and being a genuine tight
wad" there is a vast difference.
The Price Of Independence.
It is not the easiest thing in the
world to save money. To become in
| To save money there are two things
which are very important-having a
definite object in view and being
systematic. These two things go
hand in hand.
Having an object will help you TO
concentrate your efforts and bend
all your energies in the desired direc-
ton. Concentration is the secret OF
strength" said Emerson. A man Of
only average ability, with c~oncentra-
ton, can accomplish than a
man of unusual talents without it.
Moreover, system and an objective
will give you enthusiasm, and that Is
the power which drives our mental
machinery.
As one of the best Ways to get out
and keep our Of a nut is to have
fixed object 20 work for. save money
with some definite, worthy purpose
and you will find II Is comparatively
easy, while without such an aim 1T Ii
hard. Perhaps there are a few who
are able to save money for the pure
pleasure of saving 1t, but the average