The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-12-29
Fair
Enough
by WFsTBRooK PEGLER-

that very few people in this world
understand the real meaning of
money, I Will say that this is one
Of my own little faults. but that it
never has interfered with my en-
joyment Of such money as I have
been able to acquire. find my
primitive understanding Of MONEY
satisfactory up to this time, but a
real scientific appreciation might
dispel very pretty illusion and
ruin my enjoyment of one of the
few genuine pleasures in life.
Up to now. a ten-dollar bill has
very definite and pleasant mean
ing to me. which might be changed
to something rather depressing If
I were taught to look upon the ten
dollar bill as a mere token. I think
I have been reminded from time to
time in nv efforts to read various
explanations in a nutshell of the
subject of imitation and credit that
the ten-dollar bill, of itself, Is 10
more than a scrap Of paper which
would be worthless. but for GER
tain factors behind it, such as
credit and -loadings and the I'M
filed tonnage of the United States
Steel Corporation. But the ten
dollar bill, of itself. is so pretty that
am not impressed permanently by
these nutshell explanations and I
go on liking it for itself alone.
Economists probably do not ct
much fun out Of money. They
would seem to be rather like GER
tain doctors who. on taking a high
ball, instinctiyely remind them
selves that alcohol exerts certain
harmful effects on the human in
terror and that the sensation OF
life and pleasure which comes after
the second or third one merely
signifies that something very scien-
tific is taking place in the brain.
I have had this explained in a
nutshell. too but fortunately as in
the case of the ten-dollar bill, the
explanation does not obtrude itself
and my enjoyment is never clouded
by the thought that my singing OF
Sweet Adeline represents a slight,
passing mental disorder.
A T that. I believe my sand-lot
"A conception of the meaning of
money has been better than that of
many f1nanciers who prospered dur
ing the boom. One sunny morning
in Miami Beach I was on my way
to the ocean with a self-made man
who was gambling steadily in the
market and stopped for a moment
at his suggestion in brokers' office
where he was known.
The Illuminated tape was running
across the board and clients in
bathing suits sat in big chairs
chatting particles of sand of theirI
hairy legs with big, knobby toes.
My friend gave some sort Of order
and we resumed our walk, returning
about two hours later, at which time
he gave another order. AS we left
the brokerage this time he said he
had picked up thousand dollars as
easily as that.
met and listened to many fnan-
ciers in those days. some Of whom
rode in yachts and flying pullmans
Of their own, who were operating
in millions. All of them have gone
broke since, confirming a suspicion
which 1 had all the time that for
every dollar that is won in any
gambling game somewhere a dollar
must be lost But my suspicion
weakened for a while when it looked
as though some one had made up a
new rule whereby everybody could
go on winning always. It always
had worked out in my early school
ing in gambling games that
couldn't win a marble unless some
body lost one.
1T is interesting to find on Profess
4 sor Fishers list of eighteen men
who understand the real meaning
of money the names of nine pro-
fessors, members of a class which
has always been pictured as poor.
But then some Of the greatest bar
tenders are total abstainers, and
suppose man needn't love money
to learn all there is to know about
it. Possibly the professors just study
from samples out of some museum.
l received one very helpful
thought on the subject Of money
from the late E. Phocian Howard,
a gambler who used to say when
ever he lost an important bet that
it was only money, anyway, and
added, your life don't go with it.
Mr.. Howard believed that money
was made for spending purposes
only and often scolded the notion,
so popular during the Coolidge adj
ministrationo, that thrift was some
thing of a virtue.
He predicted great economic
disaster, not because the gamblers
were gambling, but because the peo-
pie were saving. for it was his claim
that money needs circulation and
fresh air and will rot like apples
in barrel if kept inactive too long.
Mr.. Howard hoped his money and
his life would come out just even,
and they almost cid, but he lived
long enough to console and assist
numerous acquaintance who had
tried saving theirs, and then, after
the crash, discovered that their
money had spoiled on them.
Professor Fisher forgot to add one
important thing when he said that
the people as a mass don't know
what money really means. He might
have said also that quite few citi-
zens don't even remember what it
looks like.
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