Milford chronicle., 1930-05-30
y 0 u
AND YOUR
MONEY
17l7I7i1l7ii ill7lll 1lIIIilIl1
MONEY WORKS-BUT NOT MAGIC
BY John p. Mullen

l1G JUlll ! MuliGu
With money you can do a great
number of seemingly fagical things
but money unaided has never work
ed magic.
Among inexperienced investors
there is a great deal Of confused
thinking about money. 1t is not
uncommon to find men and women
who believe their dollars to be en-
dowed with some special privilege
emitting them to receive returns of
10, 25, 80 or even 100 per cent. 1t
is the every day experience of bank
ers and investment dealers to meet
individuals who are ever on the
lookout for opportunities to trans
form their measer savings into
riches over night.
II is this erroneous notion about
money, the cOmmon impression that
money invested can and should COM
mand enormous returns, that leads
thousands of otherwise intelligent
people to be Influenced by the tempt
ing but fallacious arguments of get
rich-quick promoters.
Money is a tOol-a super-tOol, per-
haps. But like every other tool it
has very definite powers and limi-
tations. 1t can bring about, when
properly used, some very definite
and amazing results. 1t can bring
into being, in a sense, great rail
road. erect Il monumental building
and otherwise serve society eifec-
lively. Employed safely it can build
up a competence and even a for
tune. But money cannot surely make
a person rich over night. 1t cannot
get something for nothing. Only
rarely does it earn the enormous
profits that are the everlasting quest
of small investors.
Almost everyone can name an in
dividual who has turned several
hundreds of dollars or several thou
sans OF dollars into a fortune within
a short time. In our story of his
success we are very likely to attri-
butte magical powers to his dollars,
overlooking the very important
hours and days of planning, investi-
eating and constant vigilance that
made his dollars amazingly effec-
tive. Money, in itself, is Il very active
force. The mere possession Of 1t
gives an individual a very valuable
store of economic energy But mon
ey. unbacked by financial intelli-
gence, without tile guidance of care
full plan and thorough investigation
and the protection of unceasing Wig
lance, is a poor vehicle to a for
tune.
Not every dollar can drill an oil
well and show a profit. 1t takes Il
highly specialized dollar to show Il
profit in the oil fields, just as it re-
quires a highly-trained executive to
manage an oil company prOftably.
Not every dollar can lure two or
three more dollars out of the stock
market Speculation is an activity
that demands wiser dollars than us
ually line the average mans pocket.
The widows dollar. the school tea
cher's dollar and the business mans
dollar have their special abilities
and, when they step out of their
field, they are likely to come home
without a dividend, if they ever
come home at all
Before you put your money in an
investment or speculation find out
what it can and cannot do. If your
dollars are of the ordinary type they
will earn about or per cent with
safety. If you keep that earning
power in mind, you will not pass
them into the hands of get-rich-
quick schemers, expecting them by
some sort of magic to earn the fab
ulous returns those takers promise
so glibly.