ODD PAPERS

Southland Times, Issue 20225, 9 July 1927, Page 13 (Supplement)

ODD PAPERS

ON SAVING (By “Velio”) There are no doubt many paradoxes in this queer world of ours, but one that has always struck me is this: Everyone will agree that a man ought to save money. Nearly everyone despises the young man who takes this elementary safeguard. Yet why on earth this should be so I cannot, possibly conceive. How can a young man ever hope to get married and support a wife decently if he does not save? What is he going to do in the case of an illness or dismissal from his position if he has not saved? When he suddenly finds himself desirous of marrying the girl of his choice, he will begin furiously to save. Not having ac-* quired the habit, it will be a difficult business; and he will have to be satisfied with a long engagement unless he decides to take advantage of that dangerously inviting hire-purchase system. Most probably he takes the latter course, and then his troubles begin. I shall leave him to his troubles, and pass to the improvident man who is faced with an illness, a trade depression or a dismissal. A firm cannot generally afford to retain the services of a man afflicted with a long illness. They may pay him for a period of his absence, but in most cases he will have to be replaced. When a trade depression occurs—and they frequently do—many men find their services dispensed with. If they have saved nothing, they either starve or are kept by their more fortunate fellows. I cannot blame these men for falling ill or suffering because of trade depressions; but I do blame them for not having saved a penny. It is utter nonsense to say they could not possibly save. Unless a man is asking for trouble he ought to save, be it only a tiny fraction of his earnings. He may have to do without two pipes of tobacco a week, or two glasses of beer, or a visit to the theatre. But he ought to save. I have no doubt there are genuine cases of hardship among the unemployed at present and it is right that they should be prevented from suffering by those in more fortunate circumstances. But besides these and others who never will work the ranks of the unemployed contain many who have never conscientiously tried to save a penny. Their incomes may have been small, but if a theatre or a race meeting came along they could not forego themselves the pleasure of being present. To me the root of the trouble lies with the attitude of the public to the young man who saves. He is committing an unpardonable sin. It is not done. His brother will play poker with men who are much richer than he is, and having lost more than he can afford he will gamble to try to get square, hoping by a coup to get everything back. Probably he will get further into the mire; but that doesn’t matter. He is generous, he is popular, he is a sport, he is everything that his saving brother isn’t. It is no wonder that few of the young men—and young women, for that matter—of to-day dream of cultivating the habit of saving. They think of the prodigal son and how he was welcomed home by his father, and proceed to spend all they get. I have heard clergymen preach eloquently on the story of the prodigal son and have heard their explanations of how excellent a moral it had. But I must confess that I have always regarded this as one of the parts of the Bible which the Rev. John Chisholm would permit me to class W’ith the story of Jonah or that of the bears and the children. It may have been sweet and charitable of the father to be so forgiving; but it was setting a terribly dangerous precedent. While I firmly agree with Arnold Bennett (a bit of a change from the Bible, isn’t he?) that the man who does not save is a careless fool, “guilty of the lunacy of the man who smokes a cigarette in a petrol store,” I wish to make it clear that not for a moment do I advocate parsimony. Meanness is greatly to be abhorred. It is one of the worst of all vices; and I do not blame people for despising a really mean man.

But just as it is hard to differentiate between necessities and luxuries so it seems hard for the public to differentiate between the young man who wisely saves and the young man who miserly saves. In most cases both come in for the same opprobrium, while the much more dishonest specimen who is in debt and has caused other people to work for him while he has done nothing for them in return is admired and sought after. When our Lord uttered those wellknown words “Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth, where the rust and moth doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal,” he was no doubt giving sound spiritual advice. But I notice that all the churches realise that in this material world it is necessary to lay up a certain amount of treasure.

They have to. If the plate were not passed round each Sunday I don’t think the various ecclesiastical systems would last long. We cannot get away from the material side of existence, and if we do not want to court disaster we should put a little by for the rainy day.

How is it to be done? Well, saving is really nothing more or less than a habit, and as such must be cultivated. If a man earning £6 a week saves even 5/- of it he is laying the foundation of a habit that ■will steer him clear of many pitfalls. Some find it hard to save because they fail to distinguish between luxuries and necessities. These terms are of course relative. What is a luxury for one man may not be so to a richer one. I remember a fairy tale wherein a nobleman succeeded to an impoverished estate but inherited two gifts which had been bequeathed to him by a fairy godmother. These were a purse that was always full when the purchase made from it was necessary; and a sword which brought victory when the cause was just. When the young nobleman wanted money to repair his dilapidated castle and buy clothes it was forthcoming, but he found the purse empty when he wanted to indulge in carousals. Not many of us are as fortunate as he, but we shall find saving easier if we learn to draw the line at what is necessary and what is extravagant.

One last word and I am done. -• Shakespeare said nothing truer than “Neither a borrower nor a lender be; for loan oft loses both itself and friend.” If you do lend money, be prepared to regard it as a gift; but lending at all times is dangerous, for you often lose your friend. Either you press him for repayment and offend him, or he avoids you because he owes you money.