The spectator., 1918-08-20
Many of So-CaIIed Necessities Should Also Be Used Spar
 ingly as Possible.
WOULD EFFECT BIG SAVING
Money Could Be Turned Into Liberty Bonds and Thrift Stamps, and Labor Into Essential
 Industries.
By MORTIMER L. SCHlFF.

So much has been said and written In recent months on the subject of thrift, that 1t must by this time be the self-evident fact that unless the strictest economy Is practiced by the people of this country, the enormous sums and the mass of goods which the war requires cannot be forthcoming. The most important contribution which the civilian population can make to- wards the winning of the war Is to so order its daily life as to prevent waste and thus make available for military purposes the goods and labor which would otherwise be dissipated in pro- duction for unnecessary purposes. Not only must the spending of money for luxuries be discouraged, but even so- called necessities must be used as sparingly as possible. It is only in that way that the growing need of our army and navy can be met.
 The amount which the individual can thus contribute may seem small, but if all pursue such course con- scientiOusly, the resultant saving Is enormous. Surely it is due to our brave boys at the front that our mili tary operations be not hampered by n lack of supplies due to production at home being diverted into non-eSSen- tial channels. IL must always be borne in mind and cannot be stated too often, that doing without something results in double advantage to the govern ts.t do available for the purchase of Liberty bonds and War Savings stamps and in addition corresponding amount of labor and goods is released for war purposes.
 To illustrate by a concrete exam pie. if man does not buy new over coat. but makes his old one do for an other season. he not only can place at the disposal of the government the money which he would have used for that purpose, but the manufacturer can use that cloth and the labor for making the overcoat In manufacturing q military or naval overcoat for one of our soldiers or sailors.
 Thrift Will Help Win War.
 Fuel and food conservation work in a similar way and everything which we as individuals do without means just so much more for our allies or for ourselves for war purposes. The gos- pei of thrift cannot be preached too often or too strongly. not only for its direct bearing on the war, but also for NtgA ,l,. Nf ,1 try We have been so blessed with natural resources and facilities for production, that We have been an ex- travagant people, and it Is certain to be of incalculable advantage if we learn the value of saving. We have been eXtravagant not only fin the ex- penditure of money, but also in what is even more important, in the use of our raw material and of our land. h. tensive farming and full use of buy ing products are examples of this kind of thrift, which If intelligently prac- ticed will tremendously increase our production.
 Saving to be effective must be sys- tematic and not haphazard in charac ter. The greatest advantage of War Savings associations or the purchase of Liberty bonds on the installment plan Is that they require the setting aside of definite sum each week or each month and the making of the do- nestle budget accordingly. And the remainder of the money thus set aside is saved and invested in the premier security of the world, in the obliga- ton of the United States of America.
 FrugaIity Great Asset
 The problems of peace are going to be no less Gerlous than those of war, but we face them with confidence. If, as a result of the habits we have ac- qulred during war time, we shall have become thrifty and economical peo- pie and a nation of savers. Waste not. want not" Is true old saving. but Its application was never more i'm portant than now. Frances greatest asset has been the thrift and frugality of her people and we can do no better than to emulate her in this. as in so many other things. To do so each must do his or her share and by so do- ing divert production from non-essen- tials into essentials and make avail able the labor and goods needed for military purposes. In the same way, 1t is only by thrift and economy that we can speed up our production and make participation in the war more and more effective.