Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1918-01-06
SAYS HYS1FRICAl
 ECONOMY REAL MENACE ID NATION
Thrift Head Warns Public Against Wrong Kind of
 War Saving.

New York, Jan. j--rhlt more har;il t-dn good will result from the gone f4! I!ectlles of "hyste1.t'l economy" is tAc otinion of $. w. s;tfaus. prcsi- cent Gf tAe American Society lD.' h''' ''', Who voiced tiiss W,,}n | 5 in q statement made public here. !l Q 1ehd, hey on the pat Df many of cur citizons Mi. SirauS sail, ito practi"e Ind stilninate economy at this ti.ue IS legiettable because e. the Hanger tt i'j.isti"es to l9@itinlate bu sine s enterprises, without any benefit tlerefrom to our government jn wir,- ming the war. Further nn"e, 1t i., Ie- gretlable because Of ,he possibility c1 fostering popular misllluerstand- ing of the true meaning of thrift.
 This condition, if It were to con tlnue, would tend 'o discount tn" valuable lessons in tn sensible pl:lc- tlces of thrift which we a, individuals and as nation must laarn from the war.
 We must bear in miru fiat money is just as essential in v'innir. lc War as food, ammuniion 1nd guns. Any condition, therefore, whirn tends to halt business, transacGcl along con servative lines, and sto) tha flow of money through the customary chan nels, saps our financial power.
 -'tMoney, lying dormanr, s cold met al-nothing more. Mon.y is merely symbol of wealth. t l;;>; no value whatever excepting wlrn in circula- tion or when used as the basis d1 credit. Real wealth is only that which money can buy.
 "Wc must differtntiat9 between tl,e elimination of waste snd the w!'h- holding of money from legitimate business. We must remember that what is one mans luxury is anothe' mans necessity. jointly creating q transaction cn which business and employment demand. This statement does not, of course imply encourage ment of eXtravagence. Tn the prac- tice of true thrift now or at any time, there is no waste. Especially now we must abstain from using for in dividual needs any essential neces- sary to the government for the sue cessWul prosecution of the war. We must subscribe literally and to our greatest ability to the Liberty loans and war charities, Eut we must re member also that we will gain noth- ing $ a nation in the encouragement of false economy, hoarding and sel- fisnness. American business consti- tutes one of the strongest assets of the allied cause. Anything like. a financial panic in America now would be a realg aaiisasseTsbecause the government would be placed at tre' mendous disadvantage in securing money with which to finance itself and our allies.
 All our people are united on tn point that war requirements come ahead of private considerations, but We need not feel that it is our patri- otic duty to create of receiverships and cripple and the business of manu- lecturers, theatres. artists, musicians, dress makers, tailors, jewellers, small shop-keepers and the millions of our citizens whose livelihood is direct ly or indirectly dependant on su- called non-essentials. If an era of receiverhrips is precipitated through the dissemination of doctrines of de- structive economy. a popular mis- conception Of thrift will be created and the thrift movement in this coun- try will be retarded for many years to come.
 "We have made great strides ia the correct understanding Of true thrift. We have come to a full reali- zation of the fact that no nation of people can go along year after year blindly wasting their resources and not come. sooner or later, to a recK- oning. We are preparing to teach thrift in our schools so that future generations may know the value of this virtue, but the practice of in discriminate economy now may jeo- pardize the success of this movement.
 'In times of war or peace, it is