The Chemawa American, January 28, 1925, Image 1

EB 4
1925
3
MAY
8
The Ch emawa American
Printed at Chemawa, Oregon, and Devoted to the Intereete ot Indian Education
Wednesday, January 28, 1925
Vol. XXVI
SPENDTHRIFTS
Thrift is a word we apply nearly altogether to money
matters, the wise use of money, prudent living. It
means the careful handling of one’s money; the wisest
possible expenditure of what isours.
Thrift is a friend of man; it is a civilizer; its practice
gives an upward tendency to the life of an individual.
It is not only one of the principal foundation stones of
a fortune, but also the foundation of much that is
excellent in character. It improves the quality of the
individual, and the exercise of thrift is a mighty
strong indication of superiority in many ways.
The habit of thrift shows self-control; it is proof that
a person is not a weakling, not a hopeless victim of his
appetite, his weaknesses, but that such a person is
master of him- or herself as well as of his money. We
well know that thrifty boys and girls will not be slov­
enly in habit or dress, but will have a certain amount
of system and order; that they will be energetic and in •
dustrious and that they are very likely to grow up to
be honest and efficient.
Every one of our boys and girls should cultivate the
habit of being thrifty. It will mean that you have
begun to be master of yourself, that you are commenc­
ing to develop those grand human qualities—self-reli­
ance, independence, prudence, foresight; that you are
developing your resourcefulness. In other words, it
indicates that you have a purpose in life and that you
are developing manly traits—womanly traits.
To be thrifty merely requires common sense and the
power to resist the lure of selfish enjoyments. It needs
no fervent resolution, but only a little backbone and
patient self-denial added to common “horse sense.”
The more this habit of thrift is practiced the easier it
becomes and the sooner you are compensated for the
little sacrifices you may make. Thousands of dollars
are each year absolutely thrown away by the boys and
girls of Chemawa—the trash that we see them carry to
their quarters proves it.
A year or so ago a visitor at the school stated that
the various educational opportunities offered to Indian
students here are remarkable in their high aims; that
he could not pay sufficient compliments to our great
school with its well-organized departments, but he
said he was compelled to criticize the propensities of
No. 15
our students to throw away so much money; that the
students were for the reason of that very prospensity
jeopardizing their future careers; that it was a habit
that would cripple and destroy any idea of saving.
To put it more plainly, the continuous seeking for an
opportunity, a chance, for recklessly spending every
cent one can lay hands on as he drifts along results
in a habit that will grow until the student has no
thought of the future and develops into a worthless
spendthrift. Besides, it is known that many of our
students write home for money, stating that they
needed it tor food and other necessities—money that
many of the parents could ill-afford to send but de­
prived themselves in order to provide money for their
children, and the children simply wasted the fruits of
their parents’ sacrifice in buying things that did them
harm instead of good.
We maintain that it is the sacred duty of men and
women to save a certain percentage of their earnings
for the protection of those depending upon them, as
well as for their own protection. Our poor houses are
full of spendthrifts.
Young people usually fail to give much thought one
way or the other in regard to the value of money.
Just here lies the great fault in nearly all of mankind.
The ability to accumulate money and property is
closely related to the way in which the first earnings
are treated. And this is true more in the spending
than in the earning. It is a fact that nine times out
of ten the man or woman who in earlier years of small
earnings and light responsibilities have not saved from
one-fourth to one-half of their wages, no matter how
small they may have been, will never in later years
save anything worth while, no matter how much
their incomes. They spend as they go.
So, students, this year see how fewofyou will waste
your money. Get the habit of being thrifty now,
right here at school, for unless you are able to deny
yourselves while you are young and learn to stifle im­
pulse, you will contract the habit of “spending as you
go.” With such a handicap you will be no match for
the thrifty person in business or other affairs em­
braced in life’s activities. You will always be hard-up
or broke and constantly borrowing from your friends,
and will finally be cast off as a failure and altogether
undesirable.
Every one of you here at Chemawa, large or small,
should have foresight and shrewdness enough to
protect your savings, and unless you do you will in
time be forced to admit that poverty hurts; and the
outcome is unhappiness, want and woe for the thrift­
less one and those dependent upon him.