Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1921-02-17
TELLS CHILDREN
TO SAVE MONEY
Wonderful Speech Delivered to
Thrift Delegates by Will
liam Mather Lewis.

Columbus, y. -(SpeclaI.)- 1ne
speech of William Mather Lewis, di-
rector of the Savings Division of the
United States treasury department,
to the school children who attended
the first Thrift Congress to be held
by the school children in the United
States, was considered so good by
the Ohio War Savings Committee
that it asks every school child il the
state to read it. The speech follows:
"Only a little while ago. there went
out from Ohio and the other states
in our country and from the nations
of Europe millions of boys to wage
for you and me the war for freedom.
Through their efforts we are allowed
to enjoy a peace and Independence
Many of those boys did not return
from the war Nine million graves
dot the fields of Flanders and of
France. The American school boy
and girl of today has the responsible
ity not only of making good on his
or her own account but of taking the
place in industry and commerce of
those boys who left the factories and
shops and farms. Upon you rests the
double responsibility of making good.
You are not only to make good for
yourselves but you are to take up the
burden of those who died for you,
Millions of dollars were shot away
in the war, thus leaving shortage
of capital Capital is only another
term for money at work. The world
is faced by huge debt today. 1t is
faced by a shortage of transportation
facilities and of buildings. The money
to supply these needs must come from
the small savings of all the people.
In your work in selling War Savings
Stamps you are doing more than
helping your government and putting
those who buy the stamps on the
capital that will benefit your own
country and the world. The capital
created by investment in government
; securities and the payment of taxes
means just as much to the welfare of
our people as does capital put into
private investment. Our government
stocks the rivers with fish; it devel-
ops barren land; it cuts great water
ways such as the Panama canal it
stamps out disease in cattle; it
teaches intensive agriculture. and in
a thousand other ways makes our
land yield more than it otherwise
could.
"As members of this Thrift Con-
gress, you are leaders in the crusade
/ to turn America from nation of fool
| ish spenders to a nation of wise
| savers.
IF you cultivate habits of saving
rather than of wastefulness, you can
secure a college education or start
/ in business or any one of the other
things you are looking forward to
You should not delay in laying out
| for yourselves financial program. sc
/ that from every dollar you earn ol
are given you may secure the larges
benefit.
This is your task as thrift repre-
sentatives of the great state Of Ohio
First, to so live and work that thu
boys who died for you shall not have
died in vain; second, to aid your gov
ernment and to practice every da!
| patriotism by the promotion Of gov
ernment securities; third, through tn,
savings encouraged by the purchas
of government securities to create tn
needed capital to wipe away the bun
den of war and put the world one
more back on a normal footing; and
finally, to change the habits of Amer
ican youth from foolish spending t
wise conservation which will insur
comfort to themselves and to comm
generations.
"The privilege and responsibilit
which are before you are create
than those which any other genera
j.. tion Of young Americans has faced.
The Tribune UOnc intn mora hOnne