Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1918-02-01
FRIDAY, FEB. 1, 1918.
THE CAMPAIGN FOR THRIFT.

(By COURTLAND SMITH, President of the Amer
lean Press Association)
r N times of peace, Finance" is rather a myster-
ious word that, vsuazed, means prosper
ous-looking man sitting back in a leather chair,
calmly refusing your request for loan, or harshly
wringing the last penny from you.
In times of war this camouflage drops away,
and we understand the word in its true signi-
ficance. We understand that finance is the bread
and butter of all business, and particularly the
business of war; And instead of the rather suen
but sometimes awe-inspiring banker we picture
the bright and courageous and determined face of
Uncle Sam.
In times of peace there are at the most six
hundred thousand investors in the United States.
In times of war that army is increased by every
man. woman and child in the country-over one
hundred million. Reach those people with mes
sage that their government needs the money, and
you will touch financial springs that will never
run dry.
When one talks about reaching the people of
the country it does not take long to discover that
there is just way Of doing so, and that is thru
the country newspapers. 1t is for that reason that
Franl0A. Vanderlip, chairman of the National War
Savings Committee is making particular point to
lay the problems of his committee before the coun-
try publishers of the United States.
This is the problem of the War Savings Com
mittee: To sell in 1918 at least $2,000,00000 900
the minds of the people that thrift and economy
alone will enable us to bear whatever financial
burden the continuance of this war will impose
upon us
In themselves the war savings stamps are not
only revenue producers for the government, but
they than any other single factor will devel-
OPP the investment habit among the people of the
country They are bought for as low as % cents,
for as much as S4.25. They are therefore within
the reach of literally every man, woman and child
in this country. Furthermore, they on sale at
all post offices, and at many stores, banks and 9TH
er convenient places. AS is true of all government
securities of whatever form, no one makes cent
by selling them The government and the pur-
chaser alone profit by the transaction.
Two billion dollars is a lot of money to raise
from twenty-fve-cent pieces and one-dollar bills.
But twenty times two billion dollars can be raised
in this manner-literaly enough TO pay the run
ming of the war, and after the war is over to pay
off the debts-if the people can be quickly brought
to realize the necessity and profit in saving and in
vesting in this kind of government security.
Saving means not only laying aside surplus
money but in denying oneself many of the things
that are pleasant but that we now realize are at
least temporarily unnecessary. Such saving not
only accumulates cash for the individual but in
turn releases labor shops and material that are
now useessly employed, and permit those COM
modities to be concentrated on products that are
necessary to win the war.
And finally this campaign for thrift and saw
ings has one great virtue: its beneficial effects
will continue long after the war 1t will make each
man and each family more prosperous and more
ready and willing and able to cooperate with the
government with the state, the county or the
town, or with legitimate business, in developing
and promoting all improvements 1t will make
of us, as the French people made of themselves a
nation Of wise spenders and careful investors.
All this, twenty-ive-cent thrift stamps and
four-dollar war savings stamps can and will ac-
complish when each man, woman and child has
the facts presented to them repeatedly by their
home paper.
For the National War Savings Committee.