called the conveniences; and yet, only because they look pretty, how many want to have them! By these and other extravagances, the greatest are reduced to poverty and forced to borrow of those whom they formerly despised, but who, through industry and frugality, have maintained their standing. In this case it appears plainly that 'a plowman on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees,' as Poor Richard says. 'If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some; for he that goes a-borrowing goes a-sorrowing'; and, indeed, so does he that lends to such people, when he goes to get it again. "It is as truly folly for the poor to imitate the rich as for the frog to swell in order to equal the ox. After all, this pride of appearance can not promote health, nor ease pain; it does not increase the merit of a person; it creates envy; it hastens misfortunes. "And what madness it must be to run in debt for unnecessary things. We are offered by the terms of this sale six months' credit; and that perhaps has induced some of us to attend it, because we can not spare the ready money, and hope to be finely dressed without it. But ah, think what you do when you run in debt; you give to another man power over your liberty. If you cannot pay at the time, you will be ashamed to see your creditor; you will be in fear when you speak to him; you will make poor, pitiful, sneaking excuses, and by degrees come to lose your truthfulness, and sink into base, downright lying; for 'the second vice is lying, the first is running in debt,' as Poor Richard says; and again, 'Lying rides upon debt's back,' whereas a freeborn Englishman ought not to be ashamed nor afraid to see or speak to any man living. But poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue. 'It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.' 66 "What would you think of that government which should forbid you to dress like a gentleman or a gentlewoman, on pain of imprisonment? Would you not say that you were free, have a right to dress as you please; and that such an edict would be a breach of your privileges, and such a government tyrannical? And yet you are about to put yourself under such a tyranny, when you run into debt for such a dress. Your creditor has authority to impose upon your liberty until you shall be able to pay him. When you have made your bargain, you may perhaps think little of payment. But, as Poor Richard says, 'Creditors have better memories than debtors.' The day of payment comes round before you are aware; or, if you bear your debt in mind, the term which at first seemed so long, will, as it lessens, seem extremely short. Time will seem to have added wings to his heels as well as to his shoulders. "Those have a short Lent who owe money to be paid at Easter.' At present, perhaps, you may think yourselves in thriving circumstances, and that you can bear a little extravagance without injury, but 'For age and want save while you may No morning sun lasts a whole day.' Gain may be temporary and uncertain, but ever while you live, expense is constant and certain; and 'it is easier to build two chimneys than to keep one in fuel,' as Poor Richard says; so, 'rather go to bed supperless than to rise in debt.' 'Get what you can, and what you get, hold; 'Tis the stone that will turn all your lead into gold.' "This advice, my friends, is reason and wisdom; but industry and frugality and prudence may all be blasted without the blessing of Heaven. Therefore ask that blessing humbly, and be not uncharitable to those that at present seem to want it, but comfort and help them. "And now, to conclude, 'Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other,' as Poor Richard says. However, remember this: "They that will not be counseled, cannot be helped'; and further, 'If you will not hear reason, she will surely rap your knuckles,' as Poor Richard says." The old gentleman ended his harangue. The people heard it, and approved the doctrine, and immediately practiced the opposite; for the auction opened, and they began to buy extravagantly. I found the good man had thoroughly studied my almanac and mastered all I had said on these topics during the course of twenty-five years. The frequent mention he made of me must have tired anyone else; but my vanity was wonderfully delighted with it, though I was conscious that not a tenth part of the wisdom which he ascribed to me was my own, but rather the gleanings that I had made of the sense of all ages and nations. However, I resolved to be the better for the echo of it; and, although I had at first determined to buy the stuff for a new coat, I went away resolved to wear my old one a little longer. Reader, if thou wilt do the same, thy profit will be as great as mine. CLASS ACTIVITIES 1. By what did Father Abraham say people are taxed? Does he think it is worse to cheat an employer than it is to cheat one's self? What does Father Abraham say about fine clothes? Why did Franklin himself make no purchases? What is the difference between a luxury and a necessity? When is it thrifty to buy rather than to refrain from buying? 2. Which of the two meanings of thrift has Franklin in mind? See "Thrift," p. 492. Support your answer with quotations from "The Way to Wealth." 3. Read aloud the sayings of Poor Richard found in this selection which apply to your life in school? Read those which seem most important for young people to remember; those which are most important for our life at home? 4. Read again the principles of reading for study, p. 339. Which of these are most appropriate in reading "The Way to Wealth"? 5. Copy ten words from "The Way to Wealth” upon the meaning of which you might question one of your classmates. Put in your list only words which you are certain you know. With these, make up and play in class the game "What does this word mean?" 6. What does the Boy Scout organization teach about thrift? What does the Girl Reserves, the Campfire Girls, or any other children's organization teach about thrift? 7. Make a motto which might be put over a school savings-bank. 8. Volunteer work: a. Bring to class advertisements which encourage people to spend beyond their means. b. Read other parts of Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac. Make a list of ten wise sayings of the old man; copy them on the blackboard and explain any of them about which the class asks questions. 2. THE HABIT OF THRIFT MYRON T. HERRICK Myron T. Herrick, former governor of Ohio and ambassador to France, has been president of the Society for Savings in the city of Cleveland. His article which follows is a plain explanation of an important habit in the lives of successful men and women. Run your eye rapidly over the following pages to locate a sentence which Herrick quotes from Benjamin Franklin. This rapid skimming is not reading; it is a way of searching to find one small part. Skimming is usually a bad practice. The only exceptions to careful reading are two: (a) skim rapidly when you are looking for some special point, and (b) skim when you want to get a bird's-eye view of the whole, planning to go back and read all carefully after you have a general idea of what the selection is about. Read the selection a second time, slowly; stop at each of the questions printed in italics and answer it. A great writer once said that "a nation never reaches its highest development where the banana grows." A hard climate and the struggle for a living in a new land were important elements in the making of our nation. They gave our race the endurance and courage on which character depends. In the last fifty years wealth has so vastly increased in this country that we have drifted far from the thrifty habits of our pioneer fathers. We have been the most extravagant people in the world. Some one says that wastefulness is not virtue, stinginess is not virtue! Then where is virtue to be found? Somewhere between, is the golden mean; but in the last fifty years we Americans have been nearer to wastefulness than to stinginess. How different would be the old age of a man or of a nation, if thrift were as natural and as easy to practice as unthrift, if virtue were as easy as vice! To save hard-earned money, to forego immediate pleasures, in order to provide comforts for the rainy day, is a hard but necessary discipline for youth to undergo. 1. Why is it so much harder to be thrifty than to be unthrifty? Yet we know that among Americans systematic saving is the exception rather than the rule. By far the greater num ber of wage-earners spend the whole of their earnings, and in prosperous times their earnings are greater and their savings smaller than in less favorable years. Such waste creates the necessity for public and private charity; it opens a field for the pawnshop and the loan "shark"; it makes anxiety and distress, crime and punishment. 2. What important reason has Herrick given for thrift? The habit of thrift is not born in us. A dog will bury a bone for to-morrow, and a squirrel will store food for the winter, but a child has to be taught to put something by for the time of need. It is easier to live and spend in the present than to save for the future. Yet in the long run the great majority of us will learn that a happy life and an old age free from anxiety depend on economy and saving during the earning years, which pass all too quickly. The two commonest enemies of thrift are careless personal expenditures and waste in the household. One third of our food is wasted. There are few American households in which true economy would not save money and effort without in the least hurting the table. A family cannot increase an income half as easily as they can make it go farther. Especially here in America, where we have not only spent Nature's gifts with lavish hands but have also wasted the riches that belong to future generations, we, with our new vision, will find satisfaction in self-denial in order to give food to starving millions in other countries. 3. What are the two greatest Keep an accurate record of expenses; the account book is the foe of extravagance. Put your money into a bank; it will last longer there and go farther than it will when you keep it in your pocket. Get into the habit of putting away a part of your earnings, and make up your mind to live on the remainder. Help yourself by the practice of thrift and you help your country. 4. How are the boys and girls I know trying to save? A savings bank serves more than its depositors; it serves the community and the country. Scattered dollars can accom |