Evening star., 1925-01-13
IN TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

Beginning next Saturday. there will be
| whole week devoted to a thrift
| drive" not confined to Washington, but
national in it's scope. We shall hear
| much which modernity will tell US is
| out of date. 1t is not recognized today
| that
Early to bed and early TO rise.
Makes a man healthy. wealthy and wise,
as Poor Richard used to say. Many of
| the automobile accidents are reported
as having occurred "early yesterday
! morning" but whether the victims had
risen early or stayed up until the wee
hours is not always explained. How
would Poor Richard prove the wisdom
of his adage today?
Men used TO go to bed with the
chickens-at dusk-and rise with the
lark, before sunrise. Were they as
healthy as we of today? StatisticiarA
tell us that longevity has increased Is
years within the last half century. How
much longer do we live today than did
the average man or woman in Frank
Inns time?
Wealthy And passing rich at 40
pounds a year." was said Of men in
those days. A years income would be
squa ndered in night before any mod
ern might pretend to be rich
Wiser" There is a recognized diff
ference between knowledge and wis
dom, but who that is wise" today has
failed to burn the midnight oil In
study, and who that has learning, as
taught by the progressive sciences, has
not taken the owl for his symbol-aye,
and the owls agenda?
HE that riseth late must trot all day,
and shall scarce overtake his business
at night. while laziness travels so slowly
that poverty soon overtakeS him. as we
read In Poor Richard.
What is the speed limit in such a
case? Shall men take to "trotting
while the traffic officer turns his sema-
phore and says, 60! Go" Who wants
to "trot'' when he can step on it,?
Poor Richard opposed fine clothes. but
today a man is judged by his dress, and
a woman by her best gown. The tailors
are beginning a campaign of education
upon the Importance of being well
clothed in business as well as in So
ciety. Poor Richard taught in slang
more modern than his teaching:
Fond pride of dress is, sure a very curse;
Ere fancy you consult, consult your purse.
Dick was certainly not advancing his
popularity with the tailors when he
slammed them with
What is a butterfly? At best
He's but caterpillar drest,
The gaudy fop's his picture just.
X \ y
Poor Richard added:
"Pride is as loud beggar as
Want, and a great deal more saucy.
When you have bought one fine
thing, you must buy ten more, that
your appearance may be all of one
piece" Poor Dick says, "'Tis easier
to suppress the first desire than to
satisfy all that follow it,"
In spite of the out-of- date phrase
7 ology of the late Mr.. Richard, after
all, who can improve upon his phi
| losophy? Times have changed, but
not eternal wisdom. Today wise
acres give a longer name to old
fashioned thrift. and call it "ef-
| fciency" Is it not the same thing
| the ability to plan ahead, to control
ones carelessness, to waste neither
time nor money, to make the most
| out of ones abilities and opportuni-
ties. Some of us moderns look down
upon dowdy Franklin Some sneer al
his own record and probity-though
| few can discount his ability.
| Franklin was not a church man
| John Adams wrote of him:
1.-THE Catholics thought him almost