Pueblo chieftain., 1921-04-05
BY FREDERIC j. HAsKIN

I
United States is one OF tho most
thriftlcss nations on Garth. and that
the average American Is incompetcns
and reckless in the spending of his
cash. arc two disaSrccable facts
recently emphasized by New York
banking concerns after an extensive
study of thrift as 1t does not appear
in this country.
II. as the bankers point out. thrift
does not consist OF boarding re-
sources. but in their wise use. these
facts really reflect upon our native
intelligence Instead ofSbcinE the
most saEacious people in tho world.
as VIC hayo thought. II seems that
almost any little European nation.
like Belgium or Switzerland. can
give US cards and spades in matters
OF ecor omy.
without a budget system. our Gov
ernment squanders money wherever
and whenever the whims Of Congress
direct II. without even botherinR al
ways to keep strictly itemized ac-
counts, and we. tho taxpayers. good
naturally foot the bills. II finances
tho building OF remote bridges and
village post offices with amazing
prodiEa1ity. and scrimps on appro-
priations for education and public
health. 1t pays out immense sums In
war pensions. but makes no provision
for Its supcrannuaicVi' civil employees
According to the bankers. no Euro
pean nation would support such a
slipshod financial system,
And our national waste is faith
fully initiated by the individual.
have no budget systems Household
expenses are regulated by tho whims
OF tho family. ard the bills are con-
sdercd Internationally, long
aftcrward. Very little preparation is
madc for the hazards OF the future.
spI tfny ,ft~Ta IN yah n
dwclls 10 numcrously in our midst
generally exhihifs murh greater skill
n. spending and saving his earnings
| than does the American born citizen.
Thousands O, the former class return
10 Europe every year. with small for
tunes to case their declining years.
whilc thousands OF tho latter enter
homes for the INDECENT
Tho following statistics, quoted
from publication of tho American
Bankers Association. show how pitt
! fully few Americans ever achieve a
cll-providcd for old age:
Ycsr ChAare OF Success
AT tho age of 25 we find in this
country 100 men are all strong and
vigorous They have started life
physically fit and on plane or
equality.
Ten years later. 10 arc wealthy,
10 arc in fair circumstances. 20 have
moderate means. while 30 have saved
nothing.
"At tho ago of As. tho number Of
wealthy persons has fallen to :. S.
are merely supporting themselves,
whilo 16 have passed into the dis
card. They arc no longer sclf-sup-
porting.
AT tho age of 55. 20 men havc
died. only one is very wealthy only
6 arc sclf-supporting, while 81 nrc
dependent upon their children, upon
relatives. or upon charity for sup
port.
AT tho ago OF 75. note what has
happcncd: 81 arc dead: OF these SO
left no property at all; arc weil-to-
do: % are dependent upon their re-
lativcs. children. or charity for sup
port: a5 per cent OF these will not
have sufficient means to pay their
| funeral bills"
One OF tho reasons why Americans
are less thrifty than Europeans is
| that they have been nourishcd ON an
old-fashionod and no longer practical
| theory-thc theory that this country
possesses boundlcss resources. that
there is plenty for everybody. that TO
everyone comes tho opportunity to be
wealthy. This may have been true
| in the old days when the population
was thinly scattered over only "A small
portion OF the land. and a virgin
wilderness remained for those who
| would claim 1t. Then. perhaps. II
| was only natural that tho term THRIFT
| should be tIcominiously associated
with parsimony, stingincss and miscr-
lines.
But today conditions arc obviously
| different Wo have tremendous
population in proportion TO which
| our resources do not seem so infinite
| ly houndlcss Furthermore, these re-
| sources, as tho bankers have shown.
arc now controlled by a fcw-tho j
| per cent who arc well TO do-srd OPP
portunitics for tho rest have become
limited Thrift may now be said Y,
/ be an unrccognized necessity.
The bankers however. arc now doing
| what they can to sec that 1t is rccog-
, nizcd. They are cndcavoring TO have
| thrift courses introduced into the
public schools. rhey arc attempting by
| circulars and by personal advice to in
| roduco thc budget system into the
| american home. and they are putting
| mt somc WORTHY propngnnIa conccrn-