New Britain herald., 1920-01-17
MONEY AND THE MAN.

A man is made by The thing he touches and uses. All the while a man may be engaged in some process. making some object. doing some "ofk.-he himself is being made bN H. This Is one of the most common. most interesting. and most solemn facts of life. While the skilled ma chlnlst is fashlonine q delicate piece of mecha nism. that mechanism is all the time making a man-making the machinist more skillful. more patient. more careful. more faithful. Now this law applies also. and in a Very striking way. to the getting and using 0f money. Often have you heard it said: How strange it ia that money seems to affect some people It changes them completely, makes them nard or snObbish or autoCratic But others il doesn't seem in any way to anect. Now that is not strange at all. It is perfectly natural thing The trouble with the statement is that 1t is only partly true. The fact ls that money changes everyone who gets il and uses it. some for worse others for better For money very really makes men. And this is pc cuilarly true beca use money. by rea- son of it's nature and power. is some '''i' 'ilcl N1OSt pcTSOIS ueSlfP- Ana because of this nature and power of money IT has the greater effect on men. it's reaction, is stronger and : deeper Arcordingly men are mark "d by the money they get for it can very plainly bc seen how the pursuit Of mono! affects the man. We sec il ! every day. It makes some Grasping ana m"rclleSS: others sly and un- ScfupHlous: others narrow, and short sighted and small: while others STOW unsclfish. and considcrate. and big. -"Eut not only in the getting of money but in the using of it-spend- ing or giving it--is mans char;Gte CT shown. A wise man once said. hat a young man earns in the day goes into his pocket; but what he spends in the evening goes into his chara cter' i It is common remark of the street that money talks" les money does | talk. and it would tell us a deal more ! than it does if we would only let it. And one of the things it would tell us !! is that the money man gets is part of himself. represents so much of his muscle. or brain. or nerve force. or Senius-that is. of course if he baS worked for il. and no man in the ccneral run of life has any moral rig h [ to money that he ha. not really worked for. If. then. the money a man receives is part of himself he ought surely to be wise in it's use. And it is for this reason that people con- monl! think one fool who spends his money in useless and i'm less ways. for such expenditures only re- veal a light and empty nature. It is for this reason in pa Tt that gambling is so reprchcnsible and immoral be- cause it is playing with human val ues and reveals a weak and reckless moral sense. And likewise. for this reason the cautious and thoughtful and considerate spending of money tells of q fine. or strong. or wcll-bal- anced nature. You see. a mans aims and tastes and motives and affections are all shown in the use he thus makes Of his money.
 And even more strikinGly is this to be observed in the giving of money. especially when it IS given freely and not from any sort Of compulSion. Dur ing The war there were q lot of peO- pie who didn't know themselves, for under the general and contaS Sious inn pulse of the time they gave money for noble purposes. something they had never done before and proba Dly not often will do again. Not this sort. Dut the giving of money to worthy and useful ends out of free and willing spirit is what counts. On the her hand there were not a few who. dur ing the war. first learned the real joy of giving. Caught in the current of un- selfish and generous sacrifice they had their natures opened and gained new viewpoint in the matter of money. Here is 9 great test of char act"r. For by all means he is the