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About Eugene register-guard. (Eugene, Or.) 1930-1983 | View Entire Issue (July 4, 1937)
0)1 vJ. : HUH;- mA-y U'Ji; ISJitJ Lrik frST "7" 4' ,:PeopleHide Valuablesjust 7s mlL's J $ ''mjWhfere Thieves And t.j W 7 ' 4 Pickpockets Know A ( y 7' js y J JvTo Look First! II 0-- 0 f 140&'J i gi S Putting Monc-y in Hatbands Is Just A W' IjjfJ JfJS '! Like Placing ihe Door Key Undw y. x X II L S' y , ... jsr w ..v- i n 'a. ? s I The Traditional V 1 l I si Places for a Worn- X , U f 1 an to Hide Money V V X. X Stockings an5 in 1 V V W - PEOPLE are always losing money! The fact i puzzles psychologists and banks, and is omething of a mystery to those who suffer rom continual small losses. The one thing for ihich so many men and women work and I'hich they value above other possessions be ause it means economic security, sometimes 'disappears" under circumstances that cannot )e traced. Every coin, from a dime to greenbacks of arse denomination, according to recent rec irds may vanish from an apparently secure allet or pocket or dainty feminine purse. No me place to carry money seems to offer a safe refuge for hard-earned silver coins or paper nils. A century or more ago men seldom ven ;ured forth without a small leather "moncy tog," which was easily fastened to their belts. More recently, seekers of gold throughout the West wore money belts in which were deposited told coins, sometimes gold dust and jewels ai these they protected with their lives. The lt. with its several pockets designed to carry ealth, was worn next to the skin. A business raan or adventurer might conceal his entire firtune upon his person and be comparatively sate from loss so long a Ma secret was guarded. Today the money belt ms fallen into disuse ex cept in a few tropical coun tries anil wild, unexplored territories. New "deposi. tones" have replaced it. Men fold paper money into tat bands, stuff it into leather wallets, or into a small trouser watch pocket. Women, following a time tonored custom, continue lo "deposit greenbacks in sappers, tups of stockings, raall bags and purses, and "en wrap coins in hand kerchiefs! Yet no such pre lautions appear to avail; wall sums continue to dis appear during shopping Iwrs. in restaurants, in the Eovies. on street cars !'erj in the home. And men !" not much better off. "5l!ar bills slip from hat lands, clothes go to the tinners containing an taazing amount of small ihanee. and paper money frr.ehow finds it way out -' wallets. "The reason that makes 17,51 People guard money carefully," says one pay ''"logist. "is simply the 6-o!d demand for' secu- .Money means com rt. and in many cases "e barf' necessities of existence. It is not so -uch th. loss of small change which people -f.d. as it is an instinctive fear of greater loss. ffiifr is an extreme case, of course, but we 11 misers to some extent. Possessions rt,C'allv the possession of money are the , TnfT- between a moderately safe life and i ?rty. or so most people feel when they csir r.tlTtg ,,Vpn a Rmau part 0 thcir jn. ,, ;ri curious fact about this fear of loss, so '. nr'!inan'' Vfry wealthy people place v in nnanc'al security than do people " mM";ly endowed with this world's goods -vj" !h y take better care of their money, '-an ,Pxr',n'lltllr!' may be great, but their "r,, a" c,lt t0 a mlnin""". because as -j-J . ih"y rrcard dollars as an important ''f- thnr lives. E'ich'v" attltudc', toward small losses is the same, and varies only in degree which depends on their general outlook upon personal economic security. Happy-go-lucky people may not mind losing a few coins, but most of us never cul tivate the habit. We fall easily into any num ber of other habits, but the custom of invol untarily parting with cash is an affliction with which few people are bothered." "Almost any other habit may master the vic tim to an amazing extent," says David Sea bury in "Unmasking Our Minds," "and ivarious bad habits may spring from the acquisition of excellent habits learned in early childhood." "From one point of view," says David Sea bury, "habits might be painted as mighty Genii who hold the poor victim in their grasp. Some arc good powers who protect their slaves and guide them into useful ways; others are evil villains, who drive their cver.sinking creatures like hunted animals. In neither case is the in dividual free. The effect somewhat resembles the control of Svcngali over Trilby. It may lead to beautiful singing or any sort of dom ination, but it Is an obsession of the present in telligence by the past experience, and evidences of forces in human nature. Even the finest habits in the world are of this enslaving char acter, and if instilled by others may destroy the individual. ..." This psychologist believes that an otherwise brilliant mind can sometimes be equally im prisoned by what are known as "good habits" one of which may be an over-emphasis on savin; money. Efficient parents may so thor oughly instruct their children In industry, punc tuality, neatness, politeness, proper posture, and the value of money, that the young people's lives become a routine of duties rather than a free expression of their natural tendencies. "It is frequently better to be a little extrava gant about money," say several famous psy chiatrists, "than to dwell too long over its loss. A few dollars more or less over a period of time can make but little real difference to the individual but brooding upon loss has a deli, nitely negative influence upon mental health." In ancient times money was far more difficult to carry about than it is today, and' therefore less was lost. The Spartans for a short period used only iron coins, which resembled large metal doughnuts trundled around In rude carts and almost impossible to steal or lose. In most countries to day gold and silver are In common use, with nickel and copper in minor roles. Yet in times past. tin. lead, iron, and platinum were used as a me dium of exchange, while among primitive peoples, furs, leather, skins, sheep, cattle, wampum, cowries, grains, olive oil, tobacco and salt were used as money. The story of money in Amer ica is crowded with unusual incidents. At two periods since the nation begnn to coin money, there has been a strin gency of small coins, which has made it necessary for bus iness houses to supply their wants by an Issue of copper tokens redeemable in legal money by the companies which Issued them. This first hap pened In 18.17, when such to kens appeared, about the size of an enlarged copper cent piece. One set of these carried political slogans expressing the opinion of the merchants Small Watch Pockets and Vest Pockets Arc About as Safe as Money Belts, When Confront ed by Robbers! The Majority of Men Still Carry Wallets, Which Arc F.asy Prey for Pickpockets. Handkerchiefs As Though Sneak Thieves Didn't Know About It! who issued them. Another was an obvious advertisement for the issuing house. Paper money itself was first adopted as a matter of necessity, rather than choice, by order of Massachusetts Bay Colony in 16(10. Soon after, similnr money was produced by other colonies and has been In use since the early days of colonization. Probably the first use of paper money wns by Chinese merchants, and a report of this "strange practice" was made by Marco Polo when ho re turned from his famous travels through the Orient. And before paper money, the Chinese are believed to have used smnll pieces of skin of the doer, about a square foot in size, called "Phi-pi," with an estimated value of $5 each. Coins of ancient Babylon were both silver and gold. And in early Rome small silver and brass "sestertius" were used for smnll change, nnd In Greece, Alexander the Great took pride In mint ing coins of silver and gold. At one time It was not extremely tliflicult to produce a reasonably good issue of paper money whlcb often fooled even the experts, but today the average person can detect such Imitations with a little examination. The modern Issue of currency carries special libers which are dis trllvjlcd near the ends of the note, and this is believed to be one of the most certain tests of a real piece of paper money. These are so ar ranged that no counterfciler is nble to place thread to accurately imitate the original bill Counterfeit paper money is Invariably of dis tinctly Inferior quality, since the Federal gov ernment has achieved the finest system of man ufacturing the best grade of paper to be used in hills Each ruling, circular ornament, and medallion on a true bill is perfectly produced from orig inal designs, and Is turned out by a remarkable machine which itself cost over $100,000. Occa sionally engravings arc made to Imitate the original, but the portraits are never equal to those on the government money. The best thing to do If n bill is suspected ofheing counterfeit, Is to feel the paper. This should have a strong texture, and the seal on the hill must he bright and clear. A curious one-cent piece wns coined in 1 not) which carried the initials of V. D. H. the In itials of the designer, Victor D. Brenner, but this Inscription was thought to be too conspicu ous so the succeeding Issue of the same coin appeared without them -and these coins nre to. day of some value to collectors. Several years ago it was estimated that about 41 percent of the Individual wealth of the United States was owned or controlled by women; and that out of B5 billion dollars of life Insurance policies, about 60 percent of the bene ficiaries were women. Perhaps one of the oldest stories ever told on the loss of wealth was related by the famous historian, Gregory of Tours, a superstitious scholar who evidently believed in the legendary "fairy money" of his time. "A youth," he wrote, "received a piece of folded paper from a stranger, who told him that ho could got from H much money u ta wished, so long as he did not unfold it. The youth drew many gold pieces from the paper, but at length curiosity overcame him; he un folded it anil discovered within the claws of n cat nnd a bear, the feet of a frog and his wealth disappeared." And in the popular super stition of primitive Europe it wns supposed that if a person heard a hoot owl, with money In his pocket, he would have some throughout that year, and if he greeted the new moon in the same fortunate condition, he would not lack money for many weeks. Modern attitudes toward money are more concerned with precautions agaiiiHt loss, how ever, than with '.cgends about Its occult pow ers of becoming invisible And the average per son heartily dislikes the possibility of losing any amount of money, no matter bow small. Men und women both, therefore, carry coins and greenbacks where they believe no one will think of looking! The habit of placing money In stockings and hat bands, say psychologists, Is very much like the old-fashioned habit of hilling the front door key under the mat. Eight out of ten people are said to slip the key under the same mat, never suspecting that the custom is widely known - anil an Invitation to house breakers. The same rule applies to money stuffed into men's watch pockets, wallets, and in wo men's slippers for these nre the places first searched by thieves and pickpockets! And peo ple who carry money in any of these generally accepted places, while thinking themselves cau tious and clever, arc really showing a lack of originality. For men. perhaps the best place for money la in a trouser wat'-h pocket: and for women, in an ordinary handling equipped with a goorl clasp. So long ns people carry money In the accus tomed places, small sums will continually be lost -through carelessness or pelly thievery. A fertile Imagination, say bankers. Is required both to make and keep money, and new "depos itories" must he found if I lie stream of lost coins and paper bills Is to be stopped. Todny this loss runs Into many thousands of dollars, but no accurate estimate of the total is" possible because much of the vanishing flood Is found by other people nnd usually small losses are not reported. No one can say exactly what the annual sum amounts to. hut a nimhic-minded statistician has figured that such lost small coins and hills Joined together would span the continent! Psychologists say that while the possession of money is necessary not only to a man's physical comfort but also gives him a sense of security yet the worries and mental "upsets" caused by its loss arc the basis of many nervous break downs and more serious disturbances. "Money," they declare, "Its loss and possession, is not only the root of much evil, but accounts for the dif ficulties of a large number of our patients. In many instances there are, of course, contrib uting factors, hut a person's Rttltivlc toward his far Bor) wurKr w irtxesdously Inftu wmat fry Vu AtU -' ' " PAGE FIVE
