The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-03-11

extravaganza last spring we took d
plunge into the inviting sea of specus
lation and went adift into stagnant
waters. We are going to get out aft
II while but it will require time to
recover. Whether we like it or not,
ne are going back to simpler and
more economic standards of living.
Those who fail to read the handwrit-
ing on the wall and persist in re-
naming in the whirlpool of extrava-
gances must inevitably suffer the
penalties of their own folly.
While the sudden panic has
brought financial disaster that has
caused losses aggregating billions OF
! dollars, we might as well look
through the cloud in search for silver
Innings. We could not have gone on
through the orgy of .extravagances
without bringing worse disaster to
the race. Heads of families who in
former years had known the full
meaning of the word "thrift," had
been down more or less into the
whirlpool of fast living, but it is the
generation now coming to maturity
that were being made prodigal weak
lings by the breakneck standards of
living. 1t is a we'll known fact that
comparatively few young men and
women regardless of big wages and
salaries were saving anything and
many of them were not only spend
ing their own incomes but in addi-
lion were making still further drafts
upon indulgent parents. In his speech
at Monroe some months ago Senator
Joe Brown made the remarkable
statement that it had been the OBJ
servation of himself and others that
the most of the crops were produced
last year by older men, women and
children and that the "young bucks
we're riding around in automobiles. !"
In this country young spendthrifts
"blew in" as much as SIS a month
in barber shop "extras" and wore
| SIS silk shirts, and there seemed to
be sentiment among them that un-
less young man spent his money
freely and foolishly he was condemn
ed as "chinchy" fellow. A genera
tion that had acquired that sort of
conception of things was no more
, capable of running a business sue
cessfully than a blind mule is capa-
BILE of understanding astronomy. The
continuation of a standard of that
sort of insane extravagances would
rot have produced enough men and
women of thrift to save our whole
business superstructure from COL
lapse.
We are going to recover from this
panic by the sober sensible efforts OF
thrifty and practical men and in the
construction we will develop
enough real men and women to save
he country. Under hard and difficult
conditions stronger race of men
and women is always produced. Un-
der extremely "easy" conditions we
usually acquire a topheavy over
production of prodigal spendthrifts.
After all it is better to produce a
strong race of people than it is to
live under an orgy of reckless ex-
travagances.
What we need now in every town
and throughout the country is big
crop of 'chinchy" boys and girls
if the adoption of plain and simple
standards of living and economy IS
the element that makes a fellow
that are going to pull us through ahis
panic, if we get through.
Twenty-Five years ago several
young men were working in stores
at Marshville at salaries ranging
from $40 to $40 per month. Out of
these salaries they paid board and
finally saved up enough money to
start in business. One young lady
worked under one of these small
salaries and saved enough money to
pay off the Indebtedness on her faith
er's farm. Six of these young men
are principal owners of firms of
highest commercial ratings in Mash
vile. These were hard conditions but