Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 July 1919 — American Common Sense Will Recognize Soon the Value of Thrift Stamps [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

American Common Sense Will Recognize Soon the Value of Thrift Stamps

BY THB WIFE OF THB SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE

Lessons have crowded thick and fast on Americana in ths last five years. We have all learned some- | thing, some a great deal, others only a little, but the lessons which touched the highest and the lowest were the increased cost of commodities and the consequently diminished purchasing power of the dollar. In this fortunate land of ours we have thought | that food, like air, was a natural possession; we awake to find half the world starving and to realize the necessity of careful buying on our part for years to come. [ We have spent money more freely than any nation on

earth; we find now that a dollar is made up of a hundred cents, and that only by saving them can we save the dollar. To meet these conditions, to inoculate the habit of thrift necessary in the changing conditions of life, and to educate its citizens, the government has inaugurated the use of Thrift and War Savings stamps. They are a new thing in American life, but with our strong native common sense we shall sodn recognize their value. I find in my own case that the Thrift stamps are particularly useful for my children. Their pocket money is divided into three parts: one, a very small one, for immediate expenditure, one to go toward the Christmas present to their adopted French orphan sister, and one for inves ment in Thrift stamps. For the little children the joy of purchasing the stamp and fixing it in place on its card is sufficient inducement. The older ones must sometimes be persuaded to sacrifice an immediate pleasure for a future need, but the conversion into War Savings stamps and the promised increase finally satisfy them. « My little girl is saving toward a bicycle—not a high patriotic motive, but very appealing at seven. Indeed, War Savings stamps make excellent presents for very small children, to whom the stamp is quite as lovely as a gold piece, and will yield excellent returns when they are old enough to spend it. Of course War Savings stamps are a splendid investment for all people who can put aside only small sums. Their high rate of interest and ease of conversion make them a good investment. Everyone who buys a stamp becomes a shareholder in the government and is educated and interested to that degree. We should make a personal effort to see that buying is universal, if only for the reason that bolshevism cannot thrive among those who have a stake in the government. Let us show our appreciation of an opportunity for safe investment bringing good returns and aiding in the support of the government and the establishment of thrift.