The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-12-31

the money under miscellaneous" was probabl spent unnecessarily. Then it should be borne i mind that good room and board be obtained even to-day, for less week than paid. Cor sidering the small salary was earning, I woul say "spent foolishly." Tn the light of suI sequent experience, see that I should have spent about half what I did on and board, so that the saving on that one item lover the period of twenty-seven years) r would have been about ten thousand dollars. l can realize that it was my duty to have economized on that item; and it is your duty, Mir. Small Salary Man, to profit by my experience and curta your own penditure.
 It is easy enough to write these things now. Years ago they never entered my mind but a change came me in that little room in Florida. I thought long and l thought hard, and from then on l saw things straight. knew where was headed for-old age; and I realized that mighty few years were mine in which to make prepara- tion for it. When I say preparation" mean with dollars and cents Philosophy and aesthetic culture can be absorbed by de- grees. They are nice to have But dollars and cents mean independence, and it became my immediate determination to acquire and
  incentive to others to acquire, the competence with which I had hitherto neglected to pro- vide myself.
 had agreed to remain with my employer B specified time, and l think four months service was still due him. To prove to my self that my hours of thought and self criticism were not wasted, and that was in earnest in my determination to commence saving of my next weeks wages laid aside s9. It a small sum, but it was b ginning. l remember buying a childs money bt and depositing the three bills therein, vowing the same time to perform the rite with week regularity. While there was-a a savings bank town, 1 felt ashamed at my age to take in su, pitiful offerings until they amounted to at lea $20. Had I commenced at twenty-we this sto would never have been written.
 n EFORE leaving Florida received from n acquaintance in Baltimore an offer to ent
 his employ at salary commencing at s week. My duties would not be onerous neith would they call for any particular capabilitie The position, however, would be considered a si ecure by man of middle age whose training h; not fitted him for of more importance. Tn position, needless to say, accepted gratefully al at the proper time, March 1, entered upon n duties. I had then capital of s25 I found comfortable boarding house in respectable neig borhood where my living would cost me but sS already had a fairly complete wardrobe, so that was not necessary to buy more clothes. \ laundry cost me s1 week. determined to lin 3mscellaneous' to $3 a week, which includ newspapers, tobacco, occasional movie and small church offering. It>was a Spartan regim but had at last awakened to the fact that mon foolishly spent makes nd provision for the futur that the future waits behind to-day, and that if made no use of the few golden years remaining me I would either become burden upon dista relatives and friends else inmate of stitution. On Sundays, and in my leisure hours, took long walks >or visited the museum and t library I also acquired the habit of studyii window displays and humanity; and often, as saw poor old fellow shambling along, shabbi dressed and furtive eyed, I said to myself: The goes an object lesson. Unless you you W be doing the same thing fifteen years from now.
 At the end of that first month, which to T Mas the beginning of the. new life, found h. saved little over $47. It could have been spent saxily. But with 1t in my possession felt like kapitalist. It was not 50 much the possession