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 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 
 THE USE O 
 
 HOW TO SAVE ANT 
 
 EDWIN A. 
 
 KUKD>- M-i/ LS OF CH' 
 INI 'VIDI' 
 
 GELES
 
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 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 HOW TO SAVE AND HOW TO SPEND 
 
 By 
 EDWIN A. KIRKPATRICK 
 
 Author of 
 
 flwdamemtals op child study. tfenetic psychology 
 Thk Individual in thk Making, Etc. 
 
 2 7 3^^ 
 
 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH SERIES 
 
 Edited by M. V. O'SHEA 
 
 PRnrsssoR of Education, Univbksitt op Wisconsin 
 
 INDIANAPOLIS 
 
 THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS
 
 Copyright 1915 
 The Bobbs-Merrill Company 
 
 PBESa OF 
 
 BRAUNWORTH k CO. 
 
 BOOKBINDERS AND PRINTtRa 
 
 BROOKLYN, N. Y.
 
 HGr 
 KCp3 
 
 EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 
 
 Parents have always had more or less trouble in 
 the financial training of their children; and there has 
 probably been no aspect of family life which has 
 been the cause of greater strain and stress than the 
 problem of the child and his money. The problem 
 has grown more acute in our country with the de- 
 velopment of urban life, until to-day it has become 
 imperative for the welfare, alike of the family and 
 of the community, that there should be some in- 
 telligent plan systematically followed in dealing 
 with the child and the youth in relation to the earn- 
 ing and spending of money. 
 
 Present-day family life in the city is not well 
 adapted to give children a right understanding of 
 financial operations small or large. Probably the 
 great majority of city children do not in the ordi- 
 nary course of events have experiences which im- 
 press on them the value of money and the need of 
 restraint, or at least of reasonable economy, in ex- 
 pending it. In many homes, and the number seems 
 to be increasing constantly, the children easily gain 
 the notion that anything they want or that is re- 
 quired for the maintenance of the household can
 
 editor's introduction 
 
 be secured by telephoning for it. Those who spend 
 the funds of the household ordinarily do not pro- 
 duce them. In the city children usually do not come 
 into contact with the workers of the household when 
 the latter are exerting themselves to earn the money 
 with which to pay the bills. When the father is at 
 home the children tend to regard him simply as one 
 member of the household, and he makes little or no 
 impression on them as a producer. When their 
 requests for money are not readily granted they 
 tend to look on the one who controls the resources 
 as "mean" or "stingy." When one has not put 
 forth effort one's self as a producer one can not 
 easily take the point of view of the one who has 
 earned by the sweat of his brow, and who is dis- 
 posed to expend the results of his effort only for 
 necessary purposes. Further, when children are in 
 no way responsible for meeting the obligations 
 created by the household, they can not realize the 
 necessity of being cautious about incurring obliga- 
 tions. It was different in an earlier day, however, 
 when the children lived close to the parent who was 
 working to secure money, and when they heard 
 every one around them talking about not contract- 
 ing a debt until one had the money to pay for it. 
 Then they gained experience which enabled them to
 
 EDITORS INTRODUCTION 
 
 interpret a dollar in terms of actual work; that is, 
 they learned to appreciate the value of money. 
 
 The writer has had the confidence of some parents 
 regarding financial experiences with their children. 
 Here is a more or less typical case. A man now 
 forty-five years of age has acquired a reasonable 
 competence by hard work and thrifty habits. He 
 has a family of four children, the oldest nineteen, 
 the youngest eight. In order to make his wife and 
 children happy and to save them from hard work of 
 every kind he has provided them with an attractive 
 home and has willingly paid their bills up to the 
 limit of his capacity. But with growing years the 
 demands of his children have constantly increased, 
 until now he can not meet them. Until recently he 
 has never discussed any business matter in his house- 
 hold. It has been the custom for his wife and 
 children to telephone for practically anything 
 they wished and order the bill to be sent "to the 
 office." As a consequence they have come to feel 
 that the chief trouble involved in securing what 
 they wish is in telephoning for it, or in waiting to 
 have it made or delivered. That some one has had 
 to earn what they have expended has not been 
 deeply impressed on them. The father has found it 
 necessary of late, however, to talk to his children
 
 EDITOR S INTRODUCTION 
 
 about their expenses, but he does not appear to be 
 able to induce them to take his point of view. He 
 is beginning now to feel that they are quite unrea- 
 sonable in their demands and that they show no 
 gratitude for what they receive ; and he is coming to 
 see that they are very poorly equipped to do any- 
 thing for themselves or to keep their expenditures 
 within proper bounds. It is inevitable that hence- 
 forth in this household there should be a good deal 
 of disturbance over the question of adjusting ex- 
 penses to resources. 
 
 There are other types of homes, especially in 
 rural sections, in which children are from the very 
 beginning so oppressed with the difficulty of getting 
 money that they never feel any freedom in expend- 
 ing what funds may come into their possession. 
 Not infrequently one finds a home in which the am- 
 bition of all its members seems to be concerned 
 mainly with saving. Again, there are households in 
 which the one who earns feels so keenly the trials of 
 his work, while at the same time those who consume 
 what he produces appear to him not to be sharing 
 his burden at all or to be appreciative of his labors, 
 that he can not discuss any other subject in their 
 presence.
 
 editor's introduction 
 
 There is still another type of home in which the 
 young are made aware of what it requires to secure 
 money and are given some training in its proper use. 
 In such a home the children get experience more or 
 less beneficial by employing money to secure things 
 of real worth. They are made to realize that excess 
 or wastefulness can not be tolerated; but at the same 
 time they are not made so inhibited in regard to the 
 use of money that their energies are largely spent in 
 mere saving and in trying to eliminate trivial ex- 
 penses. 
 
 There are many questions which both the parent 
 and the teacher must consider in training the young 
 so that they can earn and use money in an intelligent 
 and efficient manner as, for illustration : How early 
 should children be given the money with which to 
 buy the things they desire, and should they be re- 
 quired to make the actual purchases? Should there 
 be much discussion in a household of the sources 
 and amount of the income, or should "business" 
 be kept out of the home? How can the wage-earner 
 in a family best lead the consumers to understand 
 what he has to do in order to secure the family 
 funds? Should children be made aware of the 
 character and amount of the expenses of the house- 
 hold day by day, and should they compare outgo
 
 EDITOR S INTRODUCTION 
 
 with income? Should they actually see the bills as 
 they are presented? If they are paid by check, 
 should the children write the checks? Should a 
 child be given a certain amount which he may ex- 
 pend according to his desires, and should he be 
 limited in his expenditures exactly to this allow- 
 ance? If children are given a definite sum each 
 week or month, will they come to expect this as a 
 right, and will this lead them to think that the funds 
 are supplied from heaven, and no one has to earn 
 them? Does it preserve more intimate and natural 
 relations between child and parents for the former 
 to go each time to the latter for money to secure 
 what he desires? Is it possible to overemphasize 
 with children the necessity of saving? Should they 
 be impressed with the desirability of developing 
 productive power, rather than of taking too much 
 thought about saving in details ? How early should 
 children be required to earn money, and in what 
 ways? How can the work of the school extend 
 and reinforce the training of the home in giving 
 children a knowledge of the value and proper use of 
 money? Should children in the manual-training or 
 domestic-science departments of high schools re- 
 ceive pay for their work if they can sell their prod- 
 ucts? Will the keeping of regular accounts of
 
 editor's introduction 
 
 receipts and expenditures help to make a child con- 
 scious of the relation of income to outgo, and the 
 need of always preserving a proper balance between 
 them? 
 
 It is the purpose of The Use of Money to dis- 
 cuss in a concrete practical way the above questions 
 and many others of similar character and equal im- 
 portance. Professor Kirkpatrick has long been a 
 careful student of the financial training of the 
 young and he has made special investigations for the 
 present volume. A large number of adults have 
 answered his questionnaires relating to their experi- 
 ences with money when they were young, and the 
 results of different methods of instruction and train- 
 ing. Any parent or teacher who has not himself 
 made a special study of the problems considered in 
 this book could hardly fail to receive pleasure and 
 profit from reading it. If the practical principles 
 presented herein could be generally observed in the 
 home and in the school the oncoming generation 
 would have a better comprehension of what money 
 means and better habits in regard to its expenditure 
 than have the majority of the young people we see 
 about us who have received only incidental training 
 in regard to these matters. 
 
 Madison. Wisconsin. ^- ^- O'^"^^'
 
 PREFACE 
 
 This work is the outcome of experience, observa- 
 tion and investigation as a parent, citizen and an 
 educator, and is intended to be useful to these vari- 
 ous classes of persons. A few years ago the writer 
 was asked to prepare a paper for study classes and 
 chose for his topic The Financial Training of Chil- 
 dren. The interest shown in the subject-matter of 
 that paper led to a request that he prepare a small 
 volume on the subject. The author has taken pleas- 
 ure in so doing, Part I being intended especially for 
 parents and Part II for teachers. It is hoped that 
 more attention will be given to the question, now 
 rapidly growing in importance, of proper financial 
 training of children in the home and in the com- 
 munity. No attempt has been made to formulate 
 fixed rules to be followed in all cases, but instead the 
 principles involved are set forth so that plans may 
 be intelligently made in dealing with individuals 
 under varying conditions. That this work may be 
 of some assistance to those who are helping to fit 
 the younger generation for the life of to-day is the 
 wish of the author. 
 
 E. A. K.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 Part I— Home Training 
 
 I Importance of Financial Training ... 1 
 Need of studying the problem — Growing 
 importance of money in present-day life — 
 Use of money less evident to children — The 
 real place of money in life — The broader sig- 
 nificance of earning and spending — The prob- 
 lem of giving financial training. 
 
 II Dex-elopment of Ideas of Money ... 9 
 
 Early ideas of monej' — Concrete rather 
 than general value appreciated — Idea of cost 
 of money often lacking. 
 
 III The Usual Financial Training of Children 18 
 
 Much of the training incidental — Moral 
 training often given by parents — Knowledge 
 of family affairs as a means of training — 
 Ownership as a means of training — No defi- 
 nite training in money affairs — Various inci- 
 dental and intentional financial lessons. 
 
 IV Financial Joys and Sorrows .... 32 
 
 The child's wishes sliould be respected — 
 Examples of pleasing and painful money ex- 
 periences. 
 
 V Spending Money 36 
 
 Knowledge of spending precedes that of 
 earning — Freedom in spending — Methods of 
 spending — Amount of money should be lim- 
 ited — Immediate and delayed spending — 
 Usual ways of spending — Spending and will 
 training. 
 
 VI Getting Money by Irregular Gifts ... 46 
 Most children receive money as a gift ir- 
 regularly — Tips not suited to American chil- 
 dren — Gifts versus definite payments.
 
 CONTENTS— Con/t«ufd 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 VII Regular Allowances 52 
 
 Fixed allowances not given children in 
 most homes — Amount and purpose of allow- 
 ance important — Adolescent sensitiveness — • 
 Regular payment and debt — An allowance 
 should not be a wage — Typical allowances. 
 
 yill Earning Money 60 
 
 Children like to earn money — A fair price 
 should be paid children — Children not to be 
 paid for everything — Freedom in working — 
 Salary or piece work — Supervision of work 
 — Adolescence and earning — Pay for eco- 
 nomic service only — Work outside of home. 
 
 IX Business Dealings of Children .... 72 
 Street trades — Farming — Various means 
 — Parents should know of child's business 
 dealings — Children not responsible for a live- 
 lihood — Advantages and disadvantages of 
 early business experience — Typical examples 
 of earning money. 
 
 X Saving Money 78 
 
 Most parents encourage saving — Intelli- 
 gent saving slowly learned — Modes of saving 
 — Typical examples. 
 
 XI Financial Responsibilities of Children . . 86 
 What this means — Ownership and respon- 
 sibility — Punishment and paying — Justice — 
 Assuming responsibilities — Typical examples 
 — A broader view of punishment. 
 
 XII Buying Clothes 99 
 
 Paying for necessities — Not a good plan 
 for young children— Preliminary training in 
 buying — Helping after the plan is started — 
 Examples — Children's budgets — Clothing — 
 Other necessities and incidentals — Luxuries 
 — Suggestions.
 
 CO'^TENTS— Continued 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XIII Keeping Accounts 108 
 
 Why keep them? — The essentials — An ex- 
 ample of accounting — When and how to be- 
 gin personal accounts — Other accounts — 
 Typical experiences. 
 
 XIV Financial Communism in the Home . . 116 
 
 Practicability dependent on the spirit of 
 the home — Dangers — Partial communism 
 better — Advantages of common money inter- 
 ests — Money affairs related to other affairs. 
 
 Part II — Training Outside the Home 
 
 XV Institutions for Children's Savings , . 125 
 
 Means of saving provided by various so- 
 cieties — Work of schools in promoting sav- 
 ing — The two methods most used — How it 
 works in one place — Cautions to be observed 
 — What is gained by the promotion of saving. 
 
 XVI School Arithmetic and Financial Training 133 
 Aims and deficiencies in arithmetical 
 training — Academic idea prominent — The 
 business attitude — Knowledge of business 
 facts lacking — Attempts at improvement — 
 Interest in solutions needed — Typical errors 
 in applications — Practise in formulating 
 problems needed — Suggestions. 
 
 XVII Arithmetic with a Motive 149 
 
 Practical and vital arithmetic — Planning 
 garden plots — Garden accounts — Practical 
 judgment needed — l"-xact figuring for prac- 
 tise only not desirable — Rcsponsil)ility for a 
 luncheon — Responsibility for school repairs 
 and supplies — lixpert training in all lines not 
 needed — Make-believe and real business — 
 School problems — Pupils trained to do busi- 
 ness — Kstimating the cost of work being done 
 ^Community accounting in school — Sugges- 
 tions.
 
 CONTENTS— Co«/tHMrrf 
 
 CHAPTER PACK 
 
 XVIII Incidental and Intentional Financial Train- 
 ing IN School Affairs 171 
 
 Free supplies may encourage waste — Each 
 school might be responsible for its supplies — 
 Illustrations of financial training in school 
 affairs — Opportunities for financial training 
 becoming greater — Financiering in institu- 
 tions — Accounts of school organizations — 
 Suggestions. 
 
 XIX Home and Community Life in Financial 
 
 Training 183 
 
 Personal experience not enough — Instruc- 
 tion by precepts and stories — Apply business 
 methods to the child's affairs — Family budg- 
 ets may be studied — Investments should also 
 be considered — The study of the business of 
 the community — Samples of problems from 
 the Indianapolis course of study. 
 
 XX How Uncle Sam Is Giving His Boys and 
 
 Girls Financial Training 191 
 
 Corn clubs give a good kind of financial 
 training — Relation of financial and social 
 progress — How boys' clubs help boys mor- 
 ally — Extract from letter written by state 
 agent of Tennessee — Extract from letter 
 written by state agent of Alabama — Extract 
 from letter written by state agent of Missis- 
 sippi — Extract from letter written by state 
 agent of Texas — Extract from letter written 
 by state agent of West Virginia — Why the 
 clubs succeeded — Profits gained — Sample re- 
 ports of boys' corn clubs — Management as 
 well as theory of corn clubs is good — Mar- 
 keting — Cooperative club work — Achieve- 
 ment clubs. 
 
 Appendix 203 
 
 Bibliography 217 
 
 Index 223
 
 THE USE OF MONEY 

 
 PART I 
 
 HOME TRAINING
 
 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF FilMANClAL TRAINING 
 
 2 7 3 cA 5^ 
 
 Need of Studying the Problem. — Most people 
 if suddenly asked, "What financial training did you 
 have as a child?" would probably say, "None." If 
 asked, "What financial training are you giving your 
 own children?" many parents would give the same 
 answer. All parents, however, do incidentally give 
 lessons in finance and a few give definite instruction 
 with regard to money. 
 
 The teacher, if thus questioned, would usually say 
 something about arithmetic or perhaps refer to 
 some system of money-saving that is being oper- 
 ated by the school. Much has really been done that 
 educates children financially, but probably not one 
 person in ten has ever seriously studied the prob- 
 lem of the need of financial training of children 
 and of how that need at each age may best be met. 
 
 A moment's reflection tells one that many adults 
 
 1
 
 2 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 do not know how to spend their money wisely and 
 that still fewer know how to keep it safely or in- 
 vest it successfully. Every day we see people spend- 
 ing money in ways that bring little satisfaction. 
 Others are tortured by the fear of losing what they 
 have, while still others are investing in schemes that 
 promise much and yield little or nothing. 
 
 Charity workers are especially impressed with 
 the inability of poor people to spend wisely the little 
 money they get. One woman whose family was in 
 a starving condition spent all of the dollar that was 
 given her for canned lobster, and another in a sim- 
 ilar situation had a picture taken. 
 
 Rich sons and daughters often spend the money 
 accumulated by their fathers in even more foolish 
 ways. In general it is only the common people who 
 have had much experience in saving and spending 
 money, who spend it wisely and many of these have 
 paid a high price for their knowledge. If carefully 
 planned financial training were given, the number 
 spending wisely would doubtless be greatly in- 
 creased. 
 
 Growing Importance of Money in Present- 
 Day Life. — The need for financial training is in- 
 creasing. Money has a steadily growing impor- 
 tance in life as civilization progresses. Money may 
 quickly procure the necessities — food, fuel and 
 clothing. It may give us any kind of scenery or
 
 IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING 3 
 
 climate we prefer. It can surround us with works 
 of art and literature and give us leisure to enjoy 
 them. It can procure for us any sort of amusement 
 we may desire, and, above all, it can to a consid- 
 erable extent determine our companions. 
 
 Looked at from the earning side, all of the in- 
 dustries are to the workers merely means of getting 
 money. In more primitive conditions each man 
 worked directly for what he wanted; he searched 
 for his food, built his shelter, traveled where he 
 wished and lived among people whom he could per- 
 sonally please or influence. 
 
 Now his efforts are directed toward getting 
 money and with it he procures the satisfactions that 
 he most desires. In many places only money can 
 procure fresh air, sunlight, warmth, amusement, 
 knowledge, power. It is true that the best things 
 in life — love, friendship and honor — can not be 
 purchased with money, yet without money it may 
 be nearly or quite impossible to associate with the 
 kind of persons we wish for friends and lovers. So 
 even this is in part conditional upon the possession 
 of money. 
 
 Looking at the matter from the social point of 
 view, we find that every kind of institution — po- 
 litical, religious, social, cultural, recreational and 
 educational — must be supported by money. All the 
 conveniences of life — roads, lights, water, mails,
 
 4 THE USE OF MONEY. 
 
 etc. — can be obtained only by the expenditure of 
 money, which must be gathered by taxation or by 
 gift from those who have it. Every citizen is a 
 partner in the business of providing pubhc protec- 
 tion and pubHc conveniences, and only those who 
 know something of financial affairs can vote intel- 
 ligently. Great care is needed lest taxes be collected 
 unfairly and the money expended unwisely, perhaps 
 in ways that help the rich and harm the poor. 
 
 Since our work, our amusement, our culture and 
 our opportunities for social life are at the present 
 time largely dependent on our financial status, it 
 would seem that no one can consider himself pre- 
 pared for life who has not had some training in 
 solving financial problems. Is it not worth while 
 to consider where and how such training may be 
 given, before the child enters upon the serious work 
 \ of life, where he can learn only by costly experi- 
 ence? 
 
 Use of Money Less Evident to Children. — In 
 the cities and to some extent in rural districts chil- 
 dren, especially of the well-to-do and wealthy 
 classes, see much less money used than formerly. 
 In many homes groceries and most of the other 
 necessities and luxuries are ordered by telephone 
 and paid for by check. Children have no opportu- 
 nity to observe the prices paid and often scarcely 
 know that sugar, light, etc., cost money. Car fares,
 
 IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING 5 
 
 moving pictures and sweets are about all the things 
 for which many children actually see money used. 
 
 If they know anything about where money comes 
 from the knowledge often goes little further than 
 that it is obtained at the bank. They do not realize 
 that it is earned by some sort of labor. Neither do 
 they realize that the amount is usually limited and 
 that if certain things are purchased with it others 
 can not be. Some parents say little about money 
 and the children are in almost complete ignorance 
 as to the part it plays in their lives. 
 
 By talking about it a great deal other persons 
 give children the idea that it is the chief object of 
 desire; but children can get a true idea of the part 
 it plays in life only through observation and ex- 
 perience of its cost and use. The problem of finan- 
 cial training is largely one of giving the opportuni- 
 ties for such observation and experience at the right 
 time and in the right way. 
 
 The Real Place of Money in Life. — It is per- 
 haps not necessary to point out further the value 
 of money to Americans, who are said to be wor- 
 shipers of the "Almighty Dollar." However, we 
 may remind them that it has no value in itself but 
 only in what it will buy. It is only a convenient 
 means of exchanging effort for some sort of satis- 
 faction of desire. This, however, is why tbe ques- 
 tion of financial training is so important. It is not
 
 6 THE USE OF MONEY, 
 
 merely a matter of computing the value of things 
 in terms of a unit of value. 
 
 Financial problems are deeper and more funda- 
 mental than rules of arithmetic. They involve 
 choice as to what our life shall be, determine what 
 effort we shall put forth and what desire we shall 
 satisfy. If we put forth little effort we can get 
 enough to satisfy only a few desires. If wc put 
 forth too much effort we may have little time or 
 energy for gratification. If we spend our money 
 as fast as we get it satisfactions are quickly ob- 
 tained but are often transient. If we hoard our 
 money there is some pleasure in the thought of its 
 possession and perhaps a good deal of worry lest it 
 be lost, yet most of it may be spent by others. If 
 we save with a view to gratifying a special wish 
 as soon as we have enough we enjoy the pleasure 
 of anticipation and also that of realization. The 
 kinds of satisfactions, however, that we anticipate 
 and realize differ as widely as our desires and ideals. 
 That for which you save and spend tells what you 
 are and what you wish to be. 
 
 The Broader Significance of Earning and 
 Spending. — The moral significance of money can 
 not be ignored. Owners of property are generally 
 more responsible and appreciative of property rights 
 than those who own no property. It is a familiar 
 truth to social workers that, among the very poor,
 
 IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING 7 
 
 increased eflfort to earn money and the purchase of 
 useful things are among the best indications of 
 moral improvement. In the case of the rich, care- 
 lessness as to how money is gained and spent is al- 
 most equally clear evidence of moral decline. Most 
 crimes are attempts to get money without giving 
 an equivalent for it. 
 
 The problem, then, of the financial training of chil- 
 dren, as they begin to make use of this medium for 
 transforming effort into some kind of satisfaction, 
 is not merely one of financial training in the narrow 
 meaning of the word, but of practical, social, phil- 
 osophical and moral training as well. In earning 
 and spending money the child comes face to face 
 with the most important of life's problems. His 
 future success and his usefulness to society are 
 greatly increased by proper training in directing ef- 
 fort and in the choice of ways in which he gets and 
 spends money. 
 
 The Problem of Giving Financial Training. — 
 When we thus emphasize the importance of chil- 
 dren's receiving financial training it is not to be in- 
 ferred that formal lessons on the subject must be 
 given them in home or school. On the contrary, 
 it is probal)ly better that little or no formal teach- 
 ing regarding money shall be given. Experience 
 in actually earning and spending money is the basis 
 of all real financial training. Talking to the child
 
 8 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 about money will educate him only as far as it helps 
 him to understand his actual experiences and those 
 that he can picture clearly in imagination. The 
 problem of financial training is largely one of giv- 
 ing opportunities for educative experiences with 
 money.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS OF MONEY 
 
 Early Ideas of Money. — When a child of two 
 sees some one receiving money the imitative tend- 
 ency and curiosity impel him to stretch out his 
 hands and ask for some. If he be given a coin he 
 often plays with it for some time, especially when 
 it is bright. One child of about two for several 
 months called vigorously and persistently for money 
 whenever he saw any one take out a pocketbook. 
 At this stage of development there is no apprecia- 
 tion of the value of money. It is merely something 
 in which other people are interested and also an ob- 
 ject that gives opportunity for sensory motor play. 
 
 At four or five years of age, or sometimes earlier, 
 the idea of money as being useful for other than 
 play purposes is likely to be developed by what the 
 child sees, experiences and is told. He sees money 
 given for various things. Perhaps he is given a 
 penny and told to buy some candy. Such an ex- 
 perience may be almost an epoch-making one in his 
 life. He no longer regards a piece of money as a 
 plaything. It is an object that has the magic power 
 
 9
 
 10 JHE USE OF MONEY 
 
 of being transformable into almost anything else 
 and this opens the way to all kinds of play of the 
 imagination. 
 
 At first there is no clear idea of the amount of 
 different articles that a penny will buy or of the 
 comparative value of the different coins. Presently, 
 however, he notices that a nickel or dime buys more 
 candy or other things than a penny. From this he 
 develops, as he learns to count and sees money 
 changed, exact ideas as to the comparative value of 
 pennies and nickels, nickels and dimes, etc. He also 
 often finds that he has not enough money to pur- 
 chase certain things and gradually learns that every- 
 thing has a definite price. But for a long time the 
 idea is very indefinite of what a large piece of 
 money, such as a dollar, will buy. The child may 
 expect to buy a horse or an automobile, some candy 
 and "a lot of other things" for a dollar. 
 
 Long before a child can count a hundred he may 
 know that a hundred is more than ten. That may 
 for a while be to him the largest number, but later 
 a thousand, then a million, is his big number. He 
 may use numbers and perhaps money also as a 
 measure of the amount or value of immaterial 
 things. "I love you a hundred" or "a hundred dol- 
 lars." With some children the unit of measure 
 most used may be "bushels" instead of "dollars." 
 While these indefinite comparative ideas of large
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS 11 
 
 numbers and values are developing, the child often 
 acquires very specific ideas of what may be obtained 
 for a penny. 
 
 The following are fairly typical illustrations of 
 children's early ideas of money: 
 
 "My first recollection of money or the use of 
 money is running to my mother and asking for a 
 penny with which to buy candy. Money was to me 
 just a little coin which by some unknown method 
 came to people and which was to be used for candy, 
 dolls and other things that were equally nice or 
 interesting." 
 
 "When I was very young I never thought much 
 about money. When I went any place with older 
 people, they usually bought me something so that, 
 as time went on, I began to think money was for 
 grown-up people and that some day I would spend 
 money as they did." 
 
 "My earliest idea of money was that it was some- 
 thing with which to buy things and that one could 
 get it anywhere by asking for it." 
 
 "I remember that when I was very small, about 
 four years old, I would much rather have a five- 
 cent piece than a dime because it was the larger, 
 therefore I thought it had greater value. I would 
 rather have five pennies than a five-cent piece be- 
 cause I thought I could get more with the pennies 
 than with the nickel."
 
 12 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 In the two instances following the adults men- 
 tioned appear to have never thought of the mental 
 condition of small children regarding numbers and 
 values : 
 
 "It was on my fourth birthday that my father 
 proudly gave me fifty cents to spend just as I 
 wanted to. I was almost beside myself with joy 
 and ran gleefully to my brother to show him my 
 treasure. He at once put his hand in his pocket and 
 took out five shining pennies which he offered me. 
 I quickly jumped at this bargain and gave him 
 my old dull-looking coin for his bright ones. I 
 went to my father and showed him the money but 
 was greatly disappointed to find that I had lost by 
 my exchange. This was the last time that I ever 
 exchanged dull-looking coins for bright ones." 
 
 "It was my third birthday and my grandmother 
 had given me a five-dollar gold piece as a present. 
 It had been placed in my bank on the shelf, and 
 when my mother's back was turned I climbed upon 
 a chair, thus reaching the bank and extracting the 
 'penny,' as I called it. I then ran out of the door 
 and down the street before my mother had turned 
 around. Just as I reached the door of a near-by 
 grocery store I saw my mother come tearing after 
 me, and as she reached me she commanded me to 
 show her what I had. I immediately replied it was 
 only a penny with which I was going to buy a stick
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS 13 
 
 of candy. It is needless to say it was taken away 
 from me, but I got my candy just the same." 
 
 In contrast with this want of insight into the 
 mental states of children and of appreciation of 
 what early experiences with money mean to them, 
 read the quotation from Ewald in the Appendix, 
 showing how he sympathetically shared in the early 
 financial operations of his little boy and arranged 
 that he should learn by experience some of the 
 larger lessons of life. 
 
 Concrete Rather Than General Value Appre- 
 ciated. — The completely generalized idea of 
 money as a means of satisfying future as well as 
 present desires is sometimes surprisingly slow in de- 
 veloping. One boy did not care particularly for 
 money unless there was something that he wanted 
 immediately. When four years old he did not care 
 to secure a dime, because the object he wanted 
 would cost only a nickel and he did not wish two 
 of them. Even after he understood intellectually 
 that he was likely to want something in the future 
 that he did not want just then, it had little weight 
 with him. lie would make no effort to get money 
 for a possible future use, although he would some- 
 times save for a distant but specific object. After 
 it was brought home to him by experience that he 
 did often come to want things that he had previ- 
 ously not thought of, he was still much less inclined
 
 14 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 to make an effort to get money for an indefinite 
 future need than for one that he felt at the time. 
 
 This tendency, natural in children, to attach com- 
 paratively little importance to possible and even 
 probable future needs, often persists all through 
 life in some individuals. Such persons are, of 
 course, likely to use money chiefly for present pur- 
 poses and to put forth little effort to earn more 
 than enough for immediate wants. They are also 
 little inclined to inhibit present desires in order that 
 they may have something saved for an emergency. 
 
 With other persons the idea of future needs 
 looms large. They are always denying themselves 
 that they may be prepared for a "rainy day" or 
 striving to accumulate that with which they expect 
 some time to enjoy themselves. 
 
 Experience has something to do with determin- 
 ing whether present desires or future needs shall 
 have the greater influence, but there are doubtless 
 native differences in this respect, just as there are 
 in the strength of the gambling instinct or the tend- 
 ency to take chances, as compared with figuring on 
 certainties. 
 
 Sometimes the idea of the value of money is fully 
 developed in a narrow way, so that the adult comes 
 to think of it as being valuable in itself and not 
 simply as a means of gratifying desire. All thought 
 and effort are directed toward getting and saving
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS 15 
 
 as much of it as possible, without planning what 
 shall be purchased with it. Such persons strive and 
 scrimp for this great satisfier of desires, and yet 
 deny themselves the satisfaction of desire which it 
 can bring. The acts and words of adults often im- 
 press children with this idea of money as valuable 
 in itself to such an extent that even small children 
 save all they get. 
 
 Idea of Cost of Money Often Lacking. — The 
 child's idea of the use of money is likely to develop 
 to a considerable extent before there is any idea of 
 its cost. At about four years of age many children 
 are inquiring where things "come from." The an- 
 swers to this question regarding money give only 
 a slight idea of how money is ordinarily obtained. 
 More definite ideas are gained from seeing money 
 paid for work, or hearing of money being received 
 by members of the family. As long as the child is 
 given money for his own use he can not really ap- 
 preciate its cost. Only by experience in actually 
 earning money can he realize the effort that must be 
 expended. 
 
 Money is often defined as "a measure of value." 
 This definition can not be understood until the ideas 
 of use and cost have 1)ccn pretty well developed. 
 In fact adults of fair intelligence fail to realize that 
 money is not value itself but a measure of value 
 which facilitates the exchange of values. Money 
 
 /
 
 16 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 represents so much labor performed and so much 
 possible satisfaction of desires. This idea is so dif- 
 ficult to form and maintain that many believe that 
 in making money a government is making values, 
 and a large proportion of people are trying to de- 
 vise means by which money may be obtained with- 
 out creating the value for which it stands. In other 
 words, they are trying to get something for noth- 
 ing. A lurking belief that this is possible makes 
 it easy for expert adventurers actually to get a large 
 amount of money without giving its value, from 
 their too easy dupes. 
 
 For these reasons it is important that the finan- 
 cial training of children should begin early and 
 should be conducted so as firmly and clearly to estab- 
 lish this idea of money as a product of effort and as 
 a means of satisfaction. 
 
 In Sioux City, Iowa, two thousand seven hundred 
 and six pupils from the third to the eighth grades 
 were asked, "What is money?" About ninety-six 
 per cent, gave intelligible answers. Over half of 
 those in the third grade described chiefly its mate- 
 rial and appearance, as gold, paper, etc., while in 
 the eighth grade nearly three-fourths of the chil- 
 dren described, more or less clearly, its use as a 
 medium of exchange or measure of value. A few 
 vague answers such as, "Useful," "Round," "The 
 root of all evil" were given.
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS 17 
 
 That many of them had no very definite idea of 
 the 7'aluc of money is indicated by the fact that such 
 statements as the following were given as to what 
 would be done with five dollars. "Buy a cow," 
 "Buy my cousin, mother, father and brother a pres- 
 ent and me some shoes, stockings, necktie, collar, 
 cuffs and a nice silk flag for the school," "Buy two 
 sheep, a hog and an Indian pony." 
 
 According to their statements fifteen per cent, of 
 the Sioux City children knew enough about money 
 to want it before they were three years old, half 
 of them before they were five, and nine-tenths be- 
 fore they w^ere ten. 
 
 /
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE USUAL FINANCIAL TRAINING OF CHILDREN 
 
 Much of the Training Incidental. — Answers 
 given by normal-school and university students to 
 inquiries regarding their own training in financial 
 affairs indicate the fact that a large proportion of 
 parents have given only incidental thought to the 
 effects on children of financial transactions. Only 
 a few have systematically followed broadly con- 
 ceived plans in dealing with their children, with the 
 purpose of giving them the kind of training they 
 needed. The whole matter is not infrequently left 
 to chance or impulse, with no thought of the edu- 
 cational effects produced by the way in which chil- 
 dren get and spend money. Many, however, do 
 something to encourage saving by children and a 
 large number will not permit children to spend 
 money foolishly. , 
 
 A young man says, "As a child I had no regular 
 allowance. I earned very little and spent very little. 
 Everything was furnished me, but in my family it 
 was not thought necessary for us to have money of 
 
 18
 
 FINANCIAL TRAINING 19 
 
 our own. I was fifteen years old before I earned 
 any money." 
 
 A young lady w'rites, "I never had a regular al- 
 lowance. During the years from six to twelve I 
 had very little occasion to spend money, as I never 
 went to any place of amusement without my mother 
 or some older person, and about my only demand 
 was for a penny now and then for candy. 
 
 "Then during the years from twelve to eighteen 
 my father gave me money every few days, for car 
 fare, ice-cream, picture shows and such expenses. 
 The necessary expenses were always paid by either 
 father or mother. I always accounted for most of 
 my spending money, especially for school entertain- 
 ments, ball games and such things, as my parents 
 never liked me to spend more money foolishly than 
 was necessary in order to have a good time, when 
 going with a bunch of ten girls in a large town." 
 
 The following is rather characteristic of the prac- 
 tise of parents: 
 
 "As a child I did not have a regular allowance. 
 Occasionally I was given an opportunity for earn- 
 ing money. Sometimes money was given me. I 
 was not allowed to spend my money foolishly, that 
 is, for unnecessary things, although I was given 
 some privileges aUmg the line of spending money 
 for that which I thought would be most profitable 
 to me." 
 
 /
 
 20 JHE USE OF MONEY 
 
 In this, as in many instances, the chief thought 
 in the mind of the parent is that money must not be 
 spent fooHshly. 
 
 "I received money from my parents. Sometimes 
 they gave it to me without asking, but more often 
 I asked for it. I was not allowed to spend my 
 money as I pleased. From twelve to eighteen I 
 earned my 'spending money' by doing household 
 duties. I was given more freedom in spending my 
 money and I usually spent it for books or something 
 that I really wanted and needed. My parents still 
 saw to it that I did not spend money foolishly." 
 
 Moral Training Often Given by Parents. — 
 Sometimes benevolence is encouraged, apparently 
 with the idea of giving moral training, as in the 
 following case : "I did not have a regular allowance 
 but made money occasionally by running errands 
 or doing some unpleasant job. I was encouraged 
 to spend it unselfishly though not forbidden to 
 spend it as I wished. Usually I put it in the Sun- 
 day-school collection." 
 
 Moral training in finance is often taught when 
 nothing else receives attention : "My financial train- 
 ing at home was not very extensive. When I had 
 money I spent it. When I had none I did without. 
 I was taught, however, to be strictly honest and 
 was never permitted to go in debt." 
 
 In the following case the mother apparently had
 
 FINANCIAL TRAINING 21 
 
 an educative purpose in view and her plan appears 
 to have been successful: "When I first began to 
 teach I regularly gave my earnings to my mother 
 and asked her for money as I needed it. Later she 
 insisted that I pay my board and act as my own 
 treasurer. This I consider my most valuable finan- 
 cial experience. Before this time I had but little 
 idea how much money I spent. I immediately 
 started a bank account and determined to deposit a 
 certain percentage of my income each year." 
 
 In the following case the child was perhaps pur- 
 posely given experience in handling money, choos- 
 ing and learning values preparatory to later com- 
 plete control of a fixed amount: "From the age 
 of six to twelve I had no regular allowance nor 
 did I earn any money. My parents bought my 
 clothes for me and met all other expenses incurred 
 by me. As I lived on a farm, I did not have occa- 
 sion to spend much for incidentals, as children in 
 town do. However, money was often given me 
 by my parents and older brother and sister. Some- 
 times I was encouraged to save this, sometimes I 
 might spend it at once. Whenever I was sent to 
 the store for anything I was given money sufficient 
 to pay for it, and thought little of the price. I'rom 
 the age of twelve to eighteen I had more experience 
 in financial matters. Still I earned no money, and 
 for the first two years of that time I had no regular
 
 22 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 allowance. However, I chose my own clothes and 
 settled expenses for myself, the money being fur- 
 nished according to my need. When I entered high 
 school at the age of fourteen I was given an allow- 
 ance of ten dollars a month. This was to buy my 
 books and school supplies first, then the remainder 
 might be spent for such things as a schoolgirl likes, 
 provided I did not go to extremes." 
 
 Knowledge of Family Affairs as a Means of 
 Training. — In a home where the parents are 
 meeting the problem of a limited income in such a 
 way that the child notices it he inevitably gains 
 some training in money matters. 
 
 "My lessons in handling money were received un- 
 consciously in the home. My parents were paying 
 for our home, and putting money in the building 
 association. The value of putting a definite amount 
 away at regular intervals early made an impression 
 on me. But it was through the example of my 
 mother, who bought only what she needed, who 
 never spent money foolishly, who denied her- 
 self the pleasures that most women want, who 
 never wasted anything, that I received my greatest 
 lesson. Another example which she set was in not 
 buying a. lot oi cheap articles, but rather one good 
 one. It was from her also that I acquired the habit 
 of never buying something on the impulse of the 
 moment, but of waiting for a week or so. By that
 
 FINANCIAL TRAINING 23 
 
 time I am sure whether I really want the thing, or 
 whether it was merely a passing fancy. Often the 
 desire to have the thing is lost in the waiting. 
 
 "Knowing and understanding conditions I rarely 
 asked for money, and then only after carefully con- 
 sidering all sides of the question and making sure 
 that I was not asking for the nickel which should 
 go for bread. I was permitted to spend the money 
 as I wished. There were no secrets in our home 
 concerning financial affairs and consequently my 
 parents trusted me to do the wise thing. I spent 
 it for necessities. Only at rare intervals did I pur- 
 chase candy and then only in very small amounts 
 which were divided always with my sister and two 
 brothers. The financial experience which has been 
 most useful to me came through poverty. I have 
 learned to economize carefully at all points and find 
 that I verge almost on stinginess. Yet I do not re- 
 gret it." 
 
 Poverty alone may evidently be a pretty good in- 
 structor. In some homes, especially where money 
 is not plentiful, the children have full knowledge 
 of the financial affairs of the family, and through 
 hearing their parents talk and seeing what they do 
 financial training of the greatest value is obtained. 
 
 "My parents, when they had been Iniying certain 
 articles, would show them to us children and speak 
 of the bargain they got. They would tell us why
 
 24 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 it was profitable to buy one article and not another. 
 They taught us what were the characteristics of 
 good stock and why certain stock on the farm did 
 not pay." 
 
 Another says : "At an early age I was permitted 
 to know the financial afTairs of the home. I soon 
 began to see why I should save my earnings. I 
 could contrast those who owned a comfortable 
 home, horses, cattle, sheep, etc., with some others 
 of the community who did not own their homes, 
 etc. If a deal or trade of some kind were to be 
 made, the matter, both pro and con, was talked over 
 and I was usually present. I was thus taught to 
 look into things and discover whether or not a trans- 
 action was worth while." 
 
 Ownership as a Means of Training. — In the 
 following case very important effects followed an 
 act of the father, who may or may not have had 
 that end in view: "At thirteen I was given a pig, 
 the runt by the way, and told to manage it to suit 
 my fancy. It seems to me I turned that pig into 
 more business experience than I have anything 
 since. Within three years I had manipulated my 
 pig so successfully that in its stead I had a cow and 
 calf. From a boy's standpoint, future affluence was 
 then assured. Since then I have not lacked pin 
 money. I think that bit of diplomacy on my fa- 
 ther's part kept me from going to the city to make
 
 FINANCIAL TRAINING 25 
 
 money. Many boys who should remain on the farm 
 might be kept there by letting them do something 
 for themselves, have some property they could call 
 their own. This sense of ownership not only made 
 me feel rich in money matters, it made me inter- 
 ested in doing better work and made a better fellow 
 of me all around." 
 
 Another similar case follows: *T was given a 
 horse (colt), some sheep, calves, pigs, also small 
 plots of ground to cultivate. In raising and selling 
 the stock and in cultivating and marketing the crops 
 I learned something as to the value of money, etc. 
 I think this was the best financial training I ever 
 received." 
 
 In another case a boy of ten with no idea of 
 money affairs was transformed by the experience 
 of having a regular income gained from selling pa- 
 pers. 
 
 No Definite Training in Money Affairs. — A defi- 
 nite policy is indicated in the following case : "As 
 a child I had no regular allowance. Any money 
 that I had was secured by work for the neighbors 
 in the form of odd jobs, carrying coal, sweeping, 
 whitewashing, etc. These same jobs had to be done 
 at home as a part of the family discipline without 
 any remuneration. To a large extent I was given 
 full lil)erty in the expenditure of my money. I was 
 encouraged to put it into things useful. My toys
 
 26 THE USE OF MONEY. 
 
 usually represented the savings of several w^eeks. 
 Money being scarce and hard to get, the expendi- 
 ture was very carefully safeguarded. Some went 
 for cheap candy, not much. Having to earn and 
 spend my own money has taught me to prize it. 
 Moving from the city to the country at the age of 
 twelve and being in poor circumstances meant that 
 all the children had to contribute through their la- 
 bor to the family exchequer." 
 
 In many instances the parent thinks more of hav- 
 ing the money well spent than of teaching the child 
 how to spend it : "My experience in getting money 
 was always the same. From the first I was trained 
 to ask for the money, usually small sums for spend- 
 ing. I never was given money for saving. I do 
 not remember ever getting any special allowance. 
 The money was given me after making known what 
 use I should make of it. If my parents judged it 
 right I should have it, the sum required was given 
 me." 
 
 Sometimes, as in the following case, a definite 
 plan is started but not adhered to: "Between the 
 ages of six and twelve years my usual method of 
 obtaining money was to ask for it as I needed it. 
 After I was twelve years old arrangements were 
 made to give me an allowance each week. This did 
 not prove to be very satisfactory for, besides this, 
 I wanted to use the old method just the same. The
 
 FINANCIAL TRAINING 27 
 
 allowance plan only lasted a short time and then I 
 asked for money the same as before." 
 
 Various Incidental and Intentional Financial 
 Lessons. — Favoring circumstances as well as 
 good sense on the part of parents may help to give 
 good financial training, as in the following instance 
 which presents a rather unusual variety of experi- 
 ences : 
 
 "My earliest recollections of getting money are 
 running into the house and begging mother for a 
 penny for candy or perhaps it was the bell of the 
 hokey-pokey man that started the desire for ice- 
 cream. But at first it was always a small sum of 
 less than five cents that was given. Later it began 
 to be small compensations for running errands or 
 wheeling out the neighbor's baby, ranging any- 
 where from five to ten cents, according to time and 
 distance. Later on or at about the age of ten years, 
 mother gave me a regular allowance of five cents 
 a week, to spend in any way I desired, without any 
 question as to how I spent it. At the age of twelve 
 my family moved to a farm in the country. This 
 opened a new and varied experience of earn- 
 ing money, such as picking berries, fruit and vege- 
 tables. It also gave me the chance to raise a garden 
 of my own with all materials supplied without cost, 
 and the ways and means supplied to get to a market, 
 the profit to be my own. This took the place of an
 
 28 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 allowance. The first summer, counting in fruit 
 from cherry trees, about ten dollars were made. 
 Both these plans satisfied me at the time; the first, 
 in comparison with others who received larger 
 amounts and had to report how they spent it; the 
 latter, both from freedom and amount made. I still 
 think they were good methods. After beginning to 
 earn wages at teaching I began to have the desire 
 to attend Normal School. This helped me to appre- 
 ciate the value of money, and the planning to make 
 a certain amount pay all expenses helped me to use 
 it to the greatest advantage." 
 
 In the following exceedingly varied experience 
 there was obtained very good financial training: 
 "When very young, or between the ages of five and 
 six, I did not have any regular allowance, but sim- 
 ply asked for money when I wished to buy some 
 little thing. I suppose I also had pennies given me 
 for doing little errands sometimes, or for being 
 good at a certain time. When I grew older, or 
 when I entered high school at fourteen years of age, 
 I had an allowance given me each week. I also 
 earned money from time to time by caring for chil- 
 dren an hour or so, by addressing envelopes for a 
 brother who was in business and by taking library 
 books back and forth for several people. I was 
 quite satisfied with the allowance which was given 
 me at that time, though now it would be quite in-
 
 FINANCIAL TRAINING 29 
 
 sufficient for my incidental expenses. I remember 
 how I earned my first money which amounted to 
 anything. I took up the work of a hbrary route 
 which my older brother had had for a number of 
 years. I was about ten years old then. Every Sat- 
 urday and sometimes on Wednesdays I collected the 
 books from regular customers to be returned to the 
 library, and brought them back one or more books. 
 I received two cents for each book, and so earned 
 from twenty to twenty-five cents for each time. 
 
 "We had a school savings-bank system when I 
 was in the grammar school, so I made quite a little 
 account through it by buying one, three and five- 
 cent stamps, with an occasional twenty-five-cent one 
 after having a l)irthday or some unusual reason for 
 a gift of that kind. I was not unlike all other chil- 
 dren, for I spent many a penny for candy, ice- 
 cream and sodas. I remember too that when I was 
 about thirteen or fourteen years old I had a craze 
 to wear flowers to church on Sunday, and so in the 
 winter would very often buy a couple of hothouse 
 flowers for that purpose. 
 
 "Marbles, return balls and jump ropes were al- 
 most necessities at one period in my life, and I do 
 not doubt that many a nickel went in this way. 
 When I was in the last grades of grammar school 
 I was very fond of taking children on May parties 
 during the first week of that month. Many of their
 
 30 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 mothers were too busy to make them paper crowns^ 
 soldier hats and May baskets, so I used to buy quan- 
 tities of tissue-paper and make them all the fixings 
 which accompanied a May party. Many a time I 
 remember making investments with my brothers 
 who were a few years older than I, by lending them 
 ten cents or so, and receiving at time of payment 
 one cent as interest. 
 
 "I have always been encouraged to make my own 
 purchases from a small child, which, I believe, has 
 developed my appreciation of money and how to 
 use it. Also, when we grew older mother gave each 
 one of us girls (my two sisters and myself) full 
 charge of the table bills for one year. We had to 
 plan the meals and do the ordering and still keep 
 within certain limits of expense. From this ex- 
 perience I know that I learned much economy and 
 discretion in spending money." 
 
 The following presents an interesting question 
 as to which is cause and which is effect. Is the 
 young lady unable to save because she had no train- 
 ing in getting along with a limited allowance, or 
 did her parents refuse the allowance because they 
 believed it was not in her nature to use it wisely? 
 The chance to show financial ability should have 
 been given her anyway. 
 
 "Between the ages of six and twelve my usual 
 way of getting money was by asking my parents
 
 FINANCIAL TRAINING 31 
 
 for it, also between the ages of twelve and eighteen 
 I did the same most of the time. Of course, I used 
 to do little things and receive a little pay for it, but 
 not nearly enough as I thought. Now I know that 
 my folks used to pay me a great deal more than it 
 was really worth, just for the purpose, I believe, 
 of keeping me interested in work. Never have my 
 parents given me an allowance when I have asked 
 for it. I never could find out really why they with- 
 held it from me. I had rather earn my own money. 
 I never can save any money. No matter how much 
 I have I can't seem to save a cent." 
 
 We see from these examples that there are many 
 ways of receiving financial training. A large part 
 of it seems to be gained incidentally with only a 
 little planning on the part of the parents. In many 
 instances this is inevitable and often advantageous 
 but it would seem that if more thought were given 
 to the matter by parents, many defects in financial 
 training would disappear.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 FINANCIAL JOYS AND SORROWS 
 
 The Child's Wishes Should Be Respected.— 
 Adults often find difficulty in deciding what use of 
 money will give the most pleasure to themselves, 
 but frequently they assume that they know better 
 than a child how he should spend his money. The 
 child's desires, however, differ so much from those 
 of adults that the latter are often mistaken as to 
 what will give most satisfaction. A nickel spent 
 by a child to get just what he wants at the time, 
 even though the pleasure it gives is only temporary, 
 may be worth more then, and later in memory, than 
 a five-dollar bill spent wisely in adult life. The 
 child may never again be able to get so much satis- 
 faction for the money as when he spends it for 
 something he will not care for when older. 
 
 Parents have learned by their own experience 
 that it does not usually pay so well to spend money 
 for immediate temporary pleasures as for more per- 
 manent ones, but they know that there are excep- 
 
 32
 
 FINANCIAL JOYS AND SORROWS 33 
 
 tions to this rule. In directing the spending of chil- 
 dren they are Hkely to forget that their adult ex- 
 periences and feelings about the matter may not 
 ahi'ays be the standards for the child in exchanging 
 money for satisfaction. They also often underesti- 
 mate the value or harm of the child's own experi- 
 ences of pleasure and disappointment. 
 
 A large number of normal students were asked 
 to give their earliest, pleasantest, most disagreeable 
 and most useful experiences with money. The typ- 
 ical quotations from these reminiscences given below 
 will tend to give a truer view of the value of money 
 from the child's standpoint. 
 
 "My earliest experience with money came when 
 I was about four years old. An uncle and aunt were 
 visiting my home at the time. My uncle gave 
 me a dollar bill and told me to give half of it to my 
 cousin who was about the same age. When I was 
 alone I took the scissors and cut the bill in halves 
 so we could each have half. We immediately set 
 out to buy candy as most children would do, but 
 were disappointed to find that the storekeeper 
 wouldn't take our money. When my uncle heard of 
 the catastrophe he gave us silver and took the torn 
 bill to be mended." 
 
 It is less surprising that children of that age 
 should do this than that an adult should expect them 
 to know the meaning of "half of a dollar bill."
 
 34 JHE USE OF MONEY 
 
 "One of the pleasantest experiences was when I 
 was twelve years old. Up to this time I had never 
 been allowed to go alone to the city to shop, but one 
 day my mother consented. I started out with a 
 brand new two-dollar bill, and I felt almost as rich 
 as Croesus. The novelty of going about big stores 
 and getting on and off cars all alone made this one 
 of my pleasantest experiences with money." 
 
 A young man just beginning business for himself 
 is not having experiences more important than this 
 shopping trip was to this girl. 
 
 "The only time I can remember when money 
 seemed disagreeable to me was when I was obliged 
 to spend the contents of a dime bank which I had 
 succeeded in filling, for some clothing for myself. 
 I was about eight years old and mother, knowing 
 it was best for me to spend the money on clothes 
 rather than on sweets, insisted that I buy some 
 clothes. I parted with the money reluctantly, and 
 thought at the time that it was the most disagreeable 
 thing that could happen to me." 
 
 Some children are very happy and proud when 
 they spend their own money for clothing. This 
 one might have been if she had been led to plan for 
 it instead of having it forced on her while her other 
 plans were interfered with. 
 
 The following suggests that the effort of parents 
 to give children a good time at Christmas might in
 
 FINANCIAL JOYS AND SORROWS 35 
 
 part at least be spent in giving them the opportu- 
 nity to win their own less selfish happiness. 
 
 "My most useful experiences with money were 
 at Christmas. It was then that I spent all my pen- 
 nies. I would feel very old indeed when I was 
 planning how much I could spend on each present 
 and what each would like. As I was the oldest of 
 six children when I was ten years old, I was greatly 
 interested in making out the 'lists' of their Christ- 
 mas shopping. The spending of our own money 
 at Christmas time came to mean a great deal to us 
 all. It meant hard work, planning and reckoning, 
 a little sacrifice and a great deal of fun. It helped 
 me to be more careful of money and to spend it less 
 foolishly during the year. My money came to me 
 in different ways. As my home is in the country I 
 picked berries during the summer and sold them. 
 My grandfather would hire us children to help him 
 pick cucumbers, paying us five cents for a basketful. 
 In winter I helped my brothers pile wood in the 
 shed. There were always errands to run and little 
 things to do which would bring in the pennies. Our 
 parents often gave us money but somehow that 
 never seemed to be worth much. It was always the 
 money that we earned that was really money."
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 SPENDING MONEY 
 
 Knowledge of Spending Precedes That of 
 Earning. — It is in spending money that a child 
 first learns its uses. He must get it before he can 
 spend it but usually the idea of the cost of money is 
 gained later than that of its use. A child may 
 spend money for years and learn a great deal about 
 how to get the most satisfaction out of a given 
 amount without forming any definite idea of the 
 cost of money. Indeed it is only after the idea of 
 the use of money has developed that there is any 
 stimulus to earn money. The first care of parents 
 in the financial training of children should be to 
 give them correct and increasingly definite ideas of 
 the uses of money and of what it is best to buy 
 with it. 
 
 In order to gain full appreciation of how to use 
 money the child must have considerable experience 
 in buying and in seeing others buy. Some buying 
 must be done by himself or he will not notice and 
 
 36
 
 SPENDING MONEY 37 
 
 understand the significance of purchases made by 
 others. 
 
 Freedom in Spending. — It is not necessary 
 that the parent should see that the child always 
 spends his money wisely, as many parents seem to 
 think. Continual supervision and absolute prohibi- 
 tion of unwise expenditure accomplish the immedi- 
 ate result of preventing foolish use of money but it 
 has very little training value for the child. 
 
 One woman gives in American Motherhood the 
 following as her experience with money: "My 
 mother gave money to my brother and me from time 
 to time and we each had a bank where we were sup- 
 posed to keep it. The only times we were allowed 
 to spend money without getting permission were 
 Christmas and for birthdays of members of the fam- 
 ily. So as I thought it was mine and they had no 
 right to refuse, I used to spend it without permis- 
 sion and, of course, do away with what I bought, 
 in secret, when I would have liked to share with the 
 home folks. But the evil did not stop here. My 
 brother was almost miserly and it would not do for 
 his pile of money to be so much greater than mine 
 or mama would learn the reason. So I used to take 
 money from his to increase my stock. As mother 
 was very careless about money she never found out 
 what I was doing." 
 
 It is evident that restriction as to spending money,
 
 38 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 if not accompanied by close supervision in all re- 
 spects, will almost surely have evil effects, such as 
 are here mentioned. One mother who is troubled 
 about her boy's dishonesty says: "He has a little 
 money to spend every month (fifty cents) which I 
 will not permit to be spent foolishly or on candy, 
 as we make it occasionally." 
 
 Of course children who are allowed to spend as 
 they wish may become dishonest if their desires ex- 
 ceed their means and care is not taken by parents, 
 but it is more likely to occur if there is no freedom 
 in spending. 
 
 Some time the child must choose and decide for 
 himself and to do this he must have practise in 
 choosing. It may be a good thing for the parent to 
 advise the child and explain to him the relative ad- 
 vantages of different purchases, yet at times the 
 child should be left entirely free to choose as he 
 thinks best. It will even be a good thing if he makes 
 a very unwise choice, "pays too much for the whis- 
 tle," because the contrast between such a purchase 
 and one that brings a good deal of satisfaction is 
 the most impressive lesson in wise financiering that 
 a child can obtain. No amount of talking and ad- 
 vising by others can be so effective. 
 
 Children who begin spending money for candy 
 soon become, by their own experience and that of 
 their companions, experts in buying that article.
 
 SPENDING MONEY 39 
 
 They get the largest amount of sweetness, if not 
 the best quality, for the money. Sometimes nearly 
 all the children of a school spend most of their 
 money for sweets of some kind. A little store sell- 
 ing cheap candy, gum, cookies and perhaps ice- 
 cream, in the neighborhool of a school, may be al- 
 most wholly supported by school children. It was 
 found that poor children in Chicago spend from 
 ten to twenty-five cents a week largely for sweets. 
 Not only is this sometimes not good for the health 
 of the children, but it is poor financial training for 
 them. They not only form the habit of spending 
 money as fast as they get it, but they get a very nar- 
 row experience in buying. It is sometimes quite a 
 revelation to a child who has been spending his 
 money as soon as he gets it for candy to have the 
 experience of saving for a while, then purchasing a 
 plaything that will last him for weeks. He gets a 
 wholly new idea of the possibilities of money. 
 
 Methods of Spending. — A considerable variety 
 of experience in buying is valuable in teaching a 
 child the uses of money. A liberal allowance favors 
 this, if parents take pains to see that the child's at- 
 tention is called to the various possible ways of 
 spending money. Yet an allowance that is so lib- 
 eral that the child can easily purchase everything 
 that he wishes leaves him with no strong stimulus 
 to make wise choices. In Chicago it was found that,
 
 40 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 when asked how they would spend a thousand dol- 
 lars, four times as many poor children named def- 
 inite ways of spending it as did the rich children. 
 
 Amount of Money Should Be Limited. — It is 
 sometimes thought that to have all wants satisfied 
 would be bliss, but all experience shows that it 
 means deadly boredom and misery. He is happiest 
 and most active and progressive who always has 
 unfulfilled wants that he is hoping and trying to 
 satisfy. A "divine discontent" is to be desired for 
 all, both young and old. 
 
 Affairs should be so arranged therefore that a 
 child shall want more money than he can get. In 
 the case of poor children, especially if they associate 
 with children of the well-to-do, no arranging is nec- 
 essary, and often their wants are too far in excess of 
 the possibility of satisfying them. In the case of 
 the rich continual care needs to be exercised lest 
 the means of satisfying wants reaches or exceeds 
 the possible or, at least, reasonable desires. A strict 
 limitation of the amount of money the child has, 
 is absolutely necessary to the best financial training. 
 This is, however, not likely to be effective or satis- 
 factory if other members of the family or the 
 child's companions spend money extravagantly. 
 
 In the case of middle-class families the problem 
 of properly conducting the income and expenditure 
 of the children is nearly always a difficult one. If
 
 SPENDING MONEY 41 
 
 the child's associates spend money extravagantly he 
 is likely to want to do so. The tendency in a com- 
 munity is apt to be toward the more extravagant ex- 
 penditure, because each child tells of how the ex- 
 travagant children spend money ; thus he often gets 
 his own parents to let him have more money and 
 each success is a new argument for the other chil- 
 dren to use with their parents. Where there is no 
 parents' association to discuss the question the tend- 
 ency is usually to excess of expenditure on the part 
 of the children and it is difficult for a single parent 
 to resist such a tendency. 
 
 This difficulty becomes especially great at the 
 high-school age. The youth feels greatly humili- 
 ated if he or she can not spend money as freely as 
 companions do. It is sometimes impossible to con- 
 vince the young person that the parent is justified in 
 refusing more money. This produces an unpleas- 
 ant situation and sometimes leads to wrong actions. 
 Taking money secretly, especially from parents, is 
 very common. Many children think that it is 
 slightly, if at all, wrong to take money that belongs 
 to parents. Such practise may, however, lead to 
 stealing from others or to other immoral ways of 
 getting money. 
 
 Immediate and Delayed Spending. — One of 
 the most important financial lessons to be learned is 
 that concerning the advantages of the immediate
 
 42 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 spending of money as compared with saving it until 
 there is enough to satisfy some larger need. Most 
 adults assume that it is well to save money, while 
 most children feel strongly the impulse to get what 
 is wanted now, rather than to wait until some dis- 
 tant date for getting something worth while. Al- 
 though children will sometimes accept the parents' 
 view, yet they do not really appreciate the ad- 
 vantages of saving to buy something more impor- 
 tant unless they have the experience. The parents 
 should therefore see that they have such experiences 
 and under as favorable conditions as possible. The 
 first few times that a child saves for a given pur- 
 pose he should not have too long to wait and the 
 thing purchased should give a good deal of satis- 
 faction. If such is not the case, the child may con- 
 clude that it is a device of the parent to teach him 
 what is not really true. It will be better if things 
 are so managed that the child's actual experiences in 
 saving do, under natural conditions, give him sat- 
 isfaction. 
 
 Usual Ways of Spending. — Accounts of 
 spending money by children who are free to spend as 
 they choose show great variety according to the 
 individuality of the children. One spends chiefly 
 for candy, another for ribbons, another for moving 
 pictures, another for college ices. As with older 
 people, each has a pet extravagance. Very few plan
 
 SPENDING MONEY 43 
 
 ahead very far as to how they will spend their 
 money. Many save for specific purposes, such as a 
 sled or bicycle, or sometimes for articles of clothing, 
 and others save for spending at special times such 
 as Christmas. 
 
 There is a strong temptation to interfere and not 
 allow a child to spend most of his money for one 
 thing and that of no permanent va,lue. Yet if he is 
 led to spend in a variety of ways that are expected 
 to give more satisfaction, but still gets more pleasure 
 from his former expenditure, the parent should not 
 interfere so long as only a difference in taste is in- 
 volved. If, however, the child's preference is the re- 
 sult of an acquired and undesirable habit of spend- 
 ing, for which another may be substituted, the par- 
 ent may be justified in interfering. In any case it 
 will help to have the child figure just how much he 
 is spending on his special extravagance in the course 
 of a year. 
 
 Spending and Will Training. — Few parents 
 now believe in breaking a child's will. On the con- 
 trary, most intelligent parents believe in developing 
 and strengthening the will of the child. Some do 
 this by striving to get children to form high ideals, 
 while others give special attention to habit forma- 
 tion. The first is idealistic but, without support, in- 
 effectual, while the second alone produces only me- 
 chanical actions of a certain type, with no ability to
 
 44 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 act in new situations. Both are needed and in addi- 
 tion there must be practise in choosing what course 
 of action to follow. It is not sufficient that children 
 shall want the highest or shall behave the best, .but 
 they should be able intelligently to choose the better 
 course when there is no one at hand to tell them 
 what to do. Not only do they need to choose the 
 better way but to persist in that choice without some 
 one to watch over them. 
 
 It is in this field of choice and persistency of will- 
 ing and acting that training is most needed. No 
 better opportunities can be found for giving such 
 training to small children than in allowing them to 
 spend a limited amount of money freely and abide 
 by the consequences. A boy of two and a half who 
 gave up a bright penny for some candy wanted to 
 go back to the store, after the candy was gone, and 
 get his penny back. When he found this could not 
 be done he accepted the inevitable and thereafter 
 realized when he spent money that it was gone for- 
 ever. In a similar way children who want two 
 things and have only enough to buy one, find that 
 spending money means deciding what their future 
 in certain respects shall be. There are few acts in 
 which a child can realize so clearly his power to de- 
 termine for himself what desires shall be satisfied. 
 In many lines the parent must decide for the child 
 because he can not know the results of his acts, but
 
 SPENDING MONEY 45 
 
 in this field he can learn just what each choice and 
 expenditure of money will bring about. If he re- 
 frains from buying candy every day for a week, 
 then buys something that gives pleasure for many 
 days, he learns the great truth as to the advantages 
 of giving up small temporary pleasures that a 
 greater and more permanent one may be secured.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 GETTING MONEY BY IRREGULAR GIFTS 
 
 Most Children Receive Money as a Gift Irreg^ 
 ularly. — Inquiries made of many young people 
 reveal the fact that a majority of them received 
 their money by irregular gifts until they were in 
 the teens and sometimes until they were of age. In 
 some of the following cases there were chances to 
 supplement gifts by outside earning, 
 
 "I never had a regular allowance. If I needed 
 anything I asked for it and if possible and reasona- 
 ble I got it. The same was true of pleasures. I had 
 a pretty free use of my people's money but they al- 
 ways knew what I spent it for and when, and I 
 knew the things that were beyond and those within 
 my means." 
 
 "Every birthday I had money given me according 
 to my age and I always put that in the bank, also 
 any gifts at Christmas, but I've never saved any in 
 my life — to really save. I haven't any idea yet as 
 to the use or value of money but now I always think 
 longer about spending it if I've earned it myself." 
 
 46
 
 MONEY BY IRREGULAR GIFTS 47 
 
 The gifts of money on which these children de- 
 pended were from parents, relatives and visitors. 
 Usually the child did not know when he would re- 
 ceive money or how much, though sometimes he 
 learned to expect a more or less certain amount on 
 birthdays from relatives and sometimes from cer- 
 tain visitors. 
 
 One says: "Nearly all the gifts coming from 
 friends came from elderly people and I fear I con- 
 nected the appearance of any elderly visitor with 
 the money he or she might give me. There was a 
 certain minister who visited us who always gave us 
 a dime on leaving and I would reckon how much 
 money would be in my bank, including that dime, 
 many days before he came." 
 
 In a large proportion of cases where no sys- 
 tematic policy was followed the child asked his par- 
 ents for money when he wanted it. Some report 
 that they were nearly always given it, while others 
 say that the parents asked how the money was to be 
 spent and gave it only if they approved of the pro- 
 posed expenditure. 
 
 In homes where this rather planless procedure is 
 followed the children often receive money for serv- 
 ice rendered to relatives, friends or strangers, 
 though in a very few such homes this is not al- 
 lowed. Usually payment is more in the nature of 
 a tip than of a just reward for the service rendered.
 
 48 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 Tips Not Suited to American Children. — It 
 will readily be seen that such a method of obtain- 
 ing money gives children no true idea of the ways 
 in which they will get it when they are grown, un- 
 less they belong to the class that receive tips. It 
 may be argued with some reason that such a method 
 of receiving money tends to make children polite 
 and kind to other people and appreciative of what 
 is given them. In general, those who believe in 
 the tipping system will be satisfied with this method 
 of dealing with children on the basis of personal fa- 
 vors rather than in accordance with strict business 
 principles. In many oriental countries much of the 
 business is done on a personal basis. One man of- 
 fers goods or service freely and the other gives 
 presents in return or pays according to his liberality. 
 Each may make a good business deal and at the 
 same time feel that he has done the other a favor and 
 been kindly treated by him. To a high-minded Arab, 
 a bargain between friends may seem degrading. 
 
 In this country a large proportion of people take 
 the ground that friendship should not have any large 
 place in business deals but that there should be a 
 definite understanding as to prices and a fixed price 
 to all. The independent American wants no gifts 
 but fair and honest payment, the same as others re- 
 ceive. On the other hand, he is perfectly willing to 
 give and receive social favors and would strenuously
 
 MONEY BY IRREGULAR GIFTS 49 
 
 object to making bargains as to favors to be given 
 for kindness rendered. 
 
 It would seem clear that if the independent 
 American is typical of the men desired in this coun- 
 try, children should at some time receive such 
 training as will prepare them for strict business 
 transactions. On the other hand, if we believe in 
 the oriental practise, or wish to prepare the chil- 
 dren to become porters, waiters, etc., the method of 
 irregular giving is the one to practise. 
 
 Gifts Versus Definite Payments. — There is 
 good ground for claiming that the child's early ex- 
 perience in getting money should be by gift. This 
 may be justified by the consideration that in early 
 childhood he receives care and protection of all 
 kinds from his parents, and it is not unfitting that 
 this should be the case as regards money. The chief 
 questions that arise here, are: "How early should 
 he learn that money is to be obtained only by ef- 
 fort?" "When should he begin to be self-support- 
 ing?" "How long should the amount he is to receive 
 be kept indefinite?" There is little question that 
 children should be given money and have a chance 
 to learn its use before they begin to earn it, and it 
 may also be well, just at first, that the amount of 
 money given them should be indefinite. It is only 
 after a child has learned something of the uses of 
 money and has gained some power of calculating 
 
 /
 
 50 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 that a limited and fixed amount has a definite train- 
 ing value. 
 
 How old should the child be before the irregular 
 method of giving is abandoned? Some parents con- 
 tinue it until children are of age and even later, 
 many abandon it at fourteen or fifteen, while some 
 find that children may learn to plan some of their 
 buying from a limited allowance before they go to 
 school. Some think that the idea of money as lim- 
 ited in amount should be developed at first, lest the 
 idea of spending freely should develop too strongly. 
 It appears that many children as they reach the age 
 of adolescence have an increasing desire to know 
 how much they are going to have. This is of 
 course more often the case when the amount re- 
 ceived is not likely to be sufficient to purchase all 
 that is desired. When such is the case, a child cer- 
 tainly can not plan with any satisfaction or wisdom 
 since he has little or no means of estimating how 
 much he will have to spend. 
 
 It may be claimed that young children should not 
 be paid on the basis of service rendered but on the 
 basis of reciprocal kindness, the child to do favors 
 whenever asked, and to receive whatever older per- 
 sons please to give him. In some homes this plan 
 is made to work very successfully. In such in- 
 stances the idea of money is always subordinate to 
 that of being kind. Experiences of being paid what
 
 MONEY BY IRREGULAR GIFTS 51 
 
 the parent chooses to give teach the child that money 
 is obtained by rendering service, but they give him 
 no clear idea as to just how much service of any 
 particular kind is worth, since the payment is usually 
 very irregular. It may well be claimed that habits 
 of mutual kindness should be developed earlier 
 than ideas of business, yet it may be replied that 
 early ideas of business do not necessarily interfere 
 with acts of kindness. No general rule can be laid 
 down for all to follow. In some homes irregular 
 gifts may work much better than in other homes, 
 and for a longer time. 
 
 Sometimes children practise making themselves 
 agreeable in order to get money. This often gets 
 them more money than actual work would. In 
 other cases the child calculates as to whether he is 
 likely to be paid and how much, and may object to 
 going on errands or may do them very poorly if he 
 does not expect adequate pay. 
 
 No intelligent person can advocate irregular gifts 
 and indefinite payments as a permanent treatment 
 of children and young people, if they are to have the 
 financial training suited to this age and country. 
 Much, however, may be said for this way of deal- 
 ing with young children. How soon a different sys- 
 tem should be adopted depends on the home and on 
 the individuality of the child.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 REGULAR ALLOWANCES 
 
 Fixed Allowances Not Given Children in Most 
 Homes. — Regular allowances are probably given 
 more frequently in rich and well-to-do homes than 
 in poor ones. In Chicago thirty-five per cent, of 
 the wealthy children in a private school had such 
 an allowance. Many of the poor children earn 
 money and they are also given money (pennies) in 
 an unsystematic way. It was found incidentally, in 
 a study made by the United States Child Labor 
 Commission, that only about half the children be- 
 tween fourteen and sixteen received a regular por- 
 tion of their own earnings. 
 
 When regular allowances are given irregular gifts 
 are usually rare and payment for work done is 
 usually on a business basis, but this is not always 
 the case. Sometimes a regular allowance is given 
 but at the same time the child is free to ask for ad- 
 ditional amounts whenever he wants them. In such 
 cases the essential reason for having a regular al- 
 lowance is partially ignored. The child knows that 
 
 52
 
 REGULAR ALLOWANCES 53 
 
 he is to have at least a certain amount but there is 
 no reason for close planning and careful choice of 
 what shall be bought, since more money may be ob- 
 tained. Such procedure belongs rather with the 
 irregular gift plan than with that of a regular al- 
 lowance. Nearly two-thirds of the Sioux City chil- 
 dren stated that their parents gave them money 
 every week. Probably in not more than one-half 
 of the cases was this really a regular allowance. The 
 remaining one-third may have been given money oc- 
 casionally but not every week. Not so many of the 
 older children, especially boys, were given money as 
 were the younger, which probably indicates that 
 they were expected to earn their own money. 
 
 In many homes, however, the only way in which 
 a child can have a definite amount of money to de- 
 pend on is by having a regular allowance. This is 
 true to a much greater extent in both rural com- 
 munities and cities, under modern conditions, than 
 formerly; hence the question of an allowance is cor- 
 respondingly important. 
 
 Amount and Purpose of Allov^^ance Important. 
 — In giving a child an allowance the question of 
 amount is very important. He should have enough 
 so that he does not feel too keenly the greater 
 wealth of other children. 
 
 It is even more important that the allowance shall 
 not be more than is needed for his present happi-
 
 54 THE USE OF MONEY. 
 
 ness, or so large that the child forms habits of luxury 
 perhaps unsuited to his future station. It is not well 
 for him to be able to buy everything that he wants. 
 Not only does he then fail to learn that the money 
 supply is limited but he also misses the pleasure and 
 discipline of planning purchases so as to get the most 
 for his money and the best of what is possible. 
 
 In summarizing we may say that in deciding the 
 amount to be given, one should consider the age of 
 the child and his probable wants in view of the place 
 in which he lives and the companions that he has, 
 especially the latter. The allowance should not be 
 so liberal that he does not know what to do with it, 
 nor even so much as to permit him to indulge his 
 appetite very freely. It is better to make it too 
 small to start with, than too large. It should be in- 
 creased as he grows older unless his opportunities 
 for earning increase. A child who is inclined to 
 save money and to spend cautiously and for other 
 things than immediate pleasures may safely be 
 given a larger allowance than one who spends money 
 as fast as he gets it, although the need in the latter 
 case seems to be greater. 
 
 The amount of the allowance should vary in pro- 
 portion to what the child is expected to buy with it. 
 If he is to buy small articles and pay incidental ex- 
 penses he should of course have more than if he is 
 to use it largely for his own pleasure. The question
 
 REGULAR ALLOWANCES 55 
 
 of whether he is saving any money or not should 
 also be considered. In general, his allowance should 
 be chiefly for necessities or to purchase gifts or 
 meet church, school or other obligations, and only 
 partly for his own pleasures. 
 
 Adolescent Sensitiveness. — In fixing the al- 
 lowance of a child in his teens one must consider not 
 only his actual needs but also his feelings with refer- 
 ence to what he ought to spend, as suggested by what 
 his companions purchase. He should not be too much 
 humiliated in his own eyes and in those of his com- 
 panions by compulsory economy in spending, and 
 still less should he be given money in excess with 
 which to make a show. If there is any way in 
 which he can earn money he should himself provide 
 for extra luxuries. Few parents realize how so- 
 cially sensitive are most young people, at the period 
 of early adolescence, and how keenly they feel any- 
 thing that prevents them from doing as others do. 
 Some never get over a subconscious feeling of in- 
 feriority that originated in youth. The showy ex- 
 travagance in spending, on the part of some men 
 who have been poor in their youth, is perhaps due 
 as much to the subconscious impulse to convince 
 themselves of their ability and desire to spend as it 
 is to a wish to impress others with that fact. 
 
 Regular Payment and Debt. — Not only sliould 
 the amount of an allowance be fixed but also the
 
 56 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 time of pa3rment. In general, the child should not 
 be permitted to draw his allowance in advance. 
 It is also well to discourage going in debt in other 
 ways. Usually debts for personal indulgence should 
 not be incurred by adults, and the same practise is 
 beneficial for children. In cases where there is a 
 chance to invest to good advantage or to buy an ar- 
 ticle really needed or to buy something valuable that 
 can not be obtained later, it may be all right for 
 either adult or child to go in debt, providing he has 
 a sure means of paying it later. 
 
 Although going in debt is not in general a good 
 thing and should not, except under special circum- 
 stances, be encouraged, yet it is probably not always 
 best to prohibit it. The experience of incurring an 
 unwise debt, together with difficulty in paying it, 
 may give more valuable training than strict prohibi- 
 tion or much preaching. When a child gets in trou- 
 ble on account of going in debt he should not usually 
 be helped out at once. He may be helped by advice 
 and sometimes by opportunities to earn money but 
 should usually be allowed the instructive experience 
 of working his way out himself. It may be neces- 
 sary to refuse to loan money to some children who 
 are inclined to discount the future and to stop their 
 allowance if money is borrowed outside of the 
 family.
 
 REGULAR ALLOWANCES 57 
 
 An Allowance Should Not Be a Wage. — An- 
 other matter often connected with the giving of an 
 allowance is that of requiring that certain tasks 
 shall be performed. It is probably desirable that 
 every child from the age of four or five years shall 
 have certain tasks to perform every day. Some of 
 these may concern his own clothes and room, but it 
 is well if there is also something of general value to 
 the family. This is preparatory to social life in 
 general, in which each one has a part to perform. 
 
 From one point of view the child receives a reg- 
 ular allowance and performs his regular duties as 
 payment. This idea really makes an allowance into 
 a wage. To be consistent the amount of the allow- 
 ance should be proportioned to the work done. An- 
 other and a better view of the matter is that of a 
 free gift and free service. The child is given an al- 
 lowance just as he is given food and clothing, and 
 he performs certain duties in the household just as 
 do other members of the family. This is the better 
 plan both theoretically and practically. It is not de- 
 sirable that all the financial relations of parents and 
 children shall be on a strictly business basis, and a 
 freely given allowance is one of the best ways of 
 preventing this condition. Whenever financial rela- 
 tions are supposed to be on a business basis they 
 should be managed in a really businesslike manner,
 
 58 JHE USE OF MONEY 
 
 that the child may learn just how business is con- 
 ducted and what are the usual prices paid for serv- 
 ice. In many homes it would not be possible to find 
 enough regular work to justify an allowance as large 
 as the child should receive, or properly to increase 
 one as the other is increased. 
 
 If a child fails to perform his regular task the 
 regular allowance is, by some parents, withheld. 
 This tends to put the matter on a business basis, 
 especially when the amount withheld is proportioned 
 to the failure to do. It is possible, however, to put 
 the matter on a social basis. The family belong to 
 one social group. All have their work and all re- 
 ceive something for their own use. The one who 
 does not do his work ceases, for the time being, to 
 be a member of the group and should not expect the 
 rewards that others receive. In general, however, 
 it is probably not best to say or do much to make 
 young children feel that there is any relation be- 
 tween the regular work done and the allowance 
 -received. 
 
 Typical Allowances. — In the few cases re- 
 ported in which a regular weekly allowance is 
 given to a child under ten years of age, it is usu- 
 ally small (under twenty-five cents). This is fit- 
 ting, since young children can not intelligently 
 spend large sums. In the case of children in 
 their teens the range is from twenty-five cents
 
 REGULAR ALLOWANCES 59 
 
 np to several dollars, according to what has to 
 be purchased and the position of the family. 
 Some of the allowances are conditional but most 
 of them are not. 
 
 Nearly all children prefer allowances to irregular 
 gifts unless they feel that the amount is too small 
 and can not be added to in any way. Often oppor- 
 tunities for earning are found by which the income 
 is increased. Most of those children who are given 
 a regular allowance are permitted to spend it as they 
 choose, but a few are restricted in the spending and 
 thus deprived of the educational experience of plan- 
 ning and choosing. One mother gave her seven- 
 year-old boy ten cents a week, one cent to be spent 
 for sweets, six to be given to church and Sunday- 
 school and three to be put in the bank. It was not 
 stated whether the child was permitted to choose his 
 sweets or not, but probably they were also chosen 
 for him. A child whose parents paid no attention to 
 his money affairs would be more fortunate.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 EARNING MONEY 
 
 Children Like to Earn Money. — The desire to 
 earn money seems to be almost universal in children, 
 at least in America. In Sioux City ninety-seven 
 per cent, of the twenty-seven hundred desired to 
 earn money while only one per cent, wanted to get it 
 without earning it. The chief reasons in order of 
 importance were: "to be independent," "to spend 
 in useful ways," "to spend," "to save," "to spend on 
 luxuries," "to help parents," "to be rich," "to get an 
 education," Miss Palmer found that in a poor dis- 
 trict in Chicago seventy-one per cent, of the boys 
 and fifty-nine and one-half per cent, of the girls 
 earned money, while in a more wealthy section 
 eighteen and five-tenths per cent, of the boys and 
 fourteen and eight-tenths per cent, of the girls 
 earned money. 
 
 In the method of earning money, logically car- 
 ried out, the child gives an equivalent in work for 
 all the money that he receives. Not many parents 
 begin this plan early and carry it out strictly. They 
 either follow some other plan until the child is ten 
 
 60
 
 EARNING MONEY 61 
 
 or twelve years old, or pay in excess of what his 
 work is worth, or supplement his earning by gifts or 
 an allowance. In most cases it is probably best to 
 introduce the plan gradually, by giving the child 
 money until he learns its uses, then have him per- 
 form tasks by which he will learn what money 
 costs. 
 
 After he has learned that money costs effort the 
 child should learn later just how much effort of each 
 kind brings a given amount of money. When a 
 child is learning the first lessons and is developing 
 a tendency to satisfy his desires for what money will 
 buy, by his own efforts in earning money, a little 
 overpayment is permissible. When he is able to cal- 
 culate and is ready to form more exact ideas of 
 time, effort and service rendered, he should be paid 
 as nearly as possible on a business basis for what- 
 ever work he does. 
 
 A Fair Price Should Be Paid Children.— It is 
 quite important that the child should not be paid 
 excessive prices for what he does, because this will 
 lead him to put too high a value on his services and 
 engender dissatisfaction when he starts out for him- 
 self. It also gives him a false idea of the amount 
 of effort required to satisfy desires. Further, it en- 
 courages him to spend freely money that lids cost 
 little effort. With adults, "Easy come, easy go;" 
 so it is with the child.
 
 62 THE USE OE MONEY 
 
 Children Not to Be Paid for Everything. — 
 
 One of the difficulties associated with paying chil- 
 dren for work is that they may get the idea that 
 they should be paid for everything that they do. 
 This should be guarded against very carefully. It 
 should be understood that only certain kinds of 
 work, especially such as would have to be paid for in 
 any case, are to be performed for pay. The child 
 should expect to do many things in the home with- 
 out recompense. 
 
 In doing errands for neighbors It is well that the 
 child shall not always expect pay. In general, if the 
 work done is such as one neighbor would do for an- 
 other (e. g., getting something at the store to which 
 he is going on another errand) the child should not 
 receive pay. If, however, a special trip of some 
 length is required, it is quite proper for him to ac- 
 cept pay if offered. 
 
 A definite lesson may sometimes be needed to pre- 
 vent children from taking an entirely selfish view as 
 to the ways in which they get money. An effective 
 lesson of this kind is represented in the following 
 quotation : 
 
 "WHAT BRADLEY OWED 
 
 "One morning when Bradley came down to break- 
 fast he put on his mother's plate a little piece of pa-
 
 EARNING MONEY 63 
 
 per neatly folded. His mother opened it. She could 
 hardly believe it, but this is what Bradley had writ- 
 ten: 
 
 "Mother owes Bradley: 
 
 For running errands $0.25 
 
 For being good 10 
 
 For taking music lessons IS 
 
 Extras .. .05 
 
 Total $0.55 
 
 "His mother smiled, but did not say anything, and 
 when lunch time came she placed the bill on Brad- 
 ley's plate with fifty-five cents. Bradley's eyes fairly 
 danced when he saw the money and thought his busi- 
 ness ability had been quickly rewarded, but with the 
 money there was another little bill, which read like 
 this: 
 
 "Bradley owes mother : 
 
 For being good $0.00 
 
 For nursing him through his long ill- 
 ness with scarlet fever 00 
 
 For clothes, shoes, gloves and playthings .00 
 For all his meals and his beautiful room .00 
 
 Total that Bradley owes mother... $0.00 
 
 "Tears came into Bradley's eyes, and he put his 
 arms around his mother's neck, put his little hand 
 with the fifty-five cents in hers, and said, 'Take the
 
 64 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 money all' back, mama, and let me love you and do 
 things for nothing.' "* 
 
 Freedom in Working. — In general, a child 
 should be free to do or not to do tasks for which he 
 is paid. This is the condition of all free laborers 
 and is equally important in training children. If a 
 child is paid for a piece of work the pay should be 
 the motive for doing the work. If he is forced to 
 work he should not, as a rule, be paid for doing it. 
 When, however, a child begins a piece of work for 
 money he should not usually be paid unless he fin- 
 ishes it and he may very properly be required to 
 finish it. In such a case he may receive full pay, 
 partial pay or no pay as may seem best to the par- 
 ent. In many forms of contracts failure to com- 
 plete work means no pay and delay means partial 
 pay, and this rnay be the basis of settlement with 
 the child, or the parent may make it more a matter 
 of discipline, insisting that work begun should be 
 finished and that failure in duty brings forfeiture of 
 reward. 
 
 Which of these ways is best in individual cases 
 depends in part on the methods of discipline usually 
 followed by the parent and on the peculiarities of 
 the child. In any case, if the parent follows a con- 
 
 ♦Reprinted by the kind permission of Fleming Revell Com- 
 pany from Children's Story-Sermons, by Hugh T. Kerr, D. D. 
 Copyright 1911.
 
 EARNING MONEY 65 
 
 sistent course it will usually commend itself sooner 
 or later to the child as being proper and just. 
 Everything of value educationally will be lost if the 
 parent is inconsistent, so that the child feels and 
 continues to feel that he is not being treated justly 
 or as he expected. 
 
 It is necessary that a child shall develop a desire 
 for what money will buy before he will choose to 
 engage in any work that it is not his pleasure to per- 
 form at the time. A child who wants something 
 very much will be very anxious for a "job," but if 
 there is nothing special that he wants at the time it 
 may be hard to get him to choose to do anything. 
 With some the idea of adding to savings may be a 
 sufficient motive, but usually this is not nearly so 
 effective a motive as the idea of some definite thing 
 to be purchased. The idea of some big thing to be 
 obtained months or years hence is rarely a strong 
 stimulus unless it has been made prominent by the 
 suggestions of others. Many children are, in this 
 respect, like some improvident adults who will work 
 only when they are hungry and never to provide for 
 the future. Some children, however, perhaps im- 
 pressed by their parents' attitude, are always saving, 
 but without definite plans as to how their hoardings 
 are to be spent. 
 
 Salary or Piece Work. — Sometimes instead of 
 being paid for separate "jobs" a child may be paid
 
 66 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 a fixed amount each week for performing certain 
 tasks. This has the advantage of leading to regular 
 habits of work instead of to mere spasmodic effort 
 under the stimulus of some special need. It also 
 gives a steady income on which the child can count. 
 In the case of special pieces of work for special pay, 
 there may be too much that the child may do at one 
 time and too little at another. This is often unsatis- 
 factory to both the child and his employer. It is a 
 good thing, however, for a child to have some ex- 
 perience in both methods of earning money. It is 
 well also that he shall have experience at both piece 
 and time work. In the one case care should be 
 taken that the work is well done, and in the other 
 that the time is faithfully employed. 
 
 One of the difficulties connected with occasional 
 tasks is that it is hard for a child to stop playing 
 and do the work at the time it should be done. This 
 may be a difficulty in the case of regular tasks, but 
 the child by proper management can be led to form 
 the habit of doing such work at fixed times. In the 
 case of special jobs the difficulty is greater. The 
 child must use his will power to turn to the task 
 when he is already interested in something else. 
 
 An experiment of one parent in overcoming this 
 difficulty gave interesting results. A boy of seven 
 was paying for a bicycle and in order to help him 
 financially and to give him training in working
 
 EARNING MONEY 67 
 
 whenever he was called on, the following contract 
 was made with him. He was to receive a dollar a 
 week on condition that he did whatever work he was 
 asked to do promptly and without question. For 
 some weeks he did very well, but as work became 
 scarcer he responded less quickly when called on to 
 do something. He was reminded of his bargain and 
 was told that if he did not carry out his part the con- 
 tract would cease and he would have to earn the rest 
 of his money by special jobs. A little later he ob- 
 jected to doing something and said he would give 
 up the contract. He then began working by the job, 
 being paid just what each task was worth. He could 
 not get much work and money accumulated very 
 slowly. After a few weeks he shyly asked if he 
 might go back to his contract again, but was told 
 "No." It was a long time before he finished paying 
 for his bicycle. He remembered the experience a 
 good while and often wished that he could "have a 
 dollar a week again." 
 
 Supervision of Work. — It is very hard for 
 most children to work alone. It is a good thing 
 when possible, both in time and in piece work, for 
 them to work for a while with some older person 
 who, by his example, stimulates and directs. In any 
 case the work that a child is doing or has done sh< aild 
 be inspected as to amount and quality. No oppor- 
 tunity to commend should be omitted, but on the
 
 68 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 other hand the child should be expected to do as well 
 as he can and should be stimulated to attain a high 
 standard of achievement. In talking to the child 
 about the work it is better not to say that it is easy. 
 It is much more stimulating to be told that it is hard, 
 but that he is doing it rapidly and well for one of his 
 age or experience. Boys of spirit have no interest 
 in easy things, but they delight in showing that they 
 can do difficult things. 
 
 The highest artistic work is done not for pay but 
 for the pleasure gained by successful effort. This 
 same spirit may be shown by ordinary workers who 
 will not do poor work even though a better quality 
 is less profitable. The child naturally has a joy in 
 work well done and this motive should be kept as 
 prominent as possible. The pay to be received should 
 not be the only reason for work, but only an added 
 motive, whenever it is possible to bring about this 
 condition. 
 
 Adolescence and Earning. — It is a well-known 
 fact that children change greatly in the teens. The 
 most unobservant parent is aware of this truth which 
 modern child study has so much emphasized, but 
 even thoughtful parents fail to realize how pro- 
 found are the changes in mind as well as body at 
 this time. The whole attitude toward every phase 
 of life undergoes change. More children wish to 
 leave school at about fifteen than at any other age.
 
 EARNING MONEY 69 
 
 One of the chief reasons for this is that they may 
 earn money. The period of helpless protected in- 
 fancy is passed and the instinct of independence as- 
 serts itself. The boy is no longer satisfied to be 
 wholly supported by others, and present social con- 
 ditions are bringing about a similar state of mind in 
 girls. 
 
 In many tribes there are elaborate ceremonies and 
 changes of dress at the period of adolescence, to 
 mark the change from childhood to manhood. In 
 this country to begin providing for one's self finan- 
 cially is taken as the most significant sign of adult- 
 hood. Earning money was desirable before, but 
 now self-respect seems to demand that the youth 
 shall be financially somewhat independent. It is 
 not necessary that he shall be entirely self-support- 
 ing, but he must do something for himself and 
 spend what he regards as peculiarly his own, to 
 gratify his now more clearly defined individual 
 desires. The person who has never earned money 
 has no adequate appreciation of its value. If a child 
 has not had the experience of working for money 
 he should certainly be given it, and at this time he 
 should now have additional opportunities. 
 
 Pay for Economic Service Only. — Children 
 should rarely if ever be given pay for doing some- 
 thing that has not a commercial value of some kiufi. 
 Being paid for an act of self-denial or endurance,
 
 70 ,THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 such as not talking, or having a tooth pulled, is some- 
 times an effective stimulus to the will, but it does not 
 give the child a true idea of financial affairs. It 
 may even be claimed that it gives wrong ideas 
 that may later, when he becomes a citizen and an 
 official, make immoral action seem natural (e. g., 
 receiving favors that are in reality if not in form, 
 bribes or a form of graft) . The natural reward for 
 being good or brave is not financial remuneration 
 but social approval, and the good opinion of his 
 friends is often worth more to a child than money. 
 Payment for speaking pieces is analogous to the pay 
 that speakers and actors receive, and hence has some 
 justification, but payment for being good can rarely 
 if ever be justified. 
 
 Work Outside of Home. — It is good experi- 
 ence for a child, especially in his teens, to find work 
 outside of the home. Commercial enterprises that 
 children engage in often give valuable experiences. 
 It is an advantage if not all the means of earning 
 money are supplied or suggested by the parents. A 
 child who needs money and exercises his ingenuity 
 in finding ways of earning it is developing initiative 
 that will be of great value to him in after life. 
 
 Those who are interested in preventing the evils 
 of child labor should not forget the valuable experi- 
 ence that is gained in earning money. In many city 
 homes this can not be given in the family and some 
 
 /
 
 EARNING MONEY 71 
 
 form of part time work will probably have to be pro- 
 vided for children in their early teens. This is not 
 to be construed into a plea for the exploitation of 
 children by manufacturers. Work, as well as study 
 and play, should be conducted in such a way as to be 
 a valuable experience to them. Work at regular 
 times for a just compensation develops and educates 
 a child, providing the work is not too hard or too 
 specialized and if he has left sufficient time for 
 study and for recreation. Many children would be 
 the better for a few hours' work a day for a part of 
 the time and the money earned would make it pos- 
 sible for many of them to continue studying under 
 healthful conditions longer than would othex*wise 
 be possible.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 BUSINESS DEALINGS OF CHILDREN 
 
 Street Trades. — ^The variety of business car- 
 ried on by children is astonishingly great. Boot- 
 blacking has long been a business for children in 
 cities, but boot-blacking parlors have now largely 
 taken the place of the street trade. Newspapers 
 they still sell, but much of the business is now con- 
 ducted by some central adult agency. The chief 
 business activity of the newsboy is in hustling for 
 customers and in making change in delivering pa- 
 pers. Where a boy has a paper route and collects 
 his pay every week he has to keep accounts in at 
 least a crude way. 
 
 Taking subscriptions for papers and acting as 
 agent for selling various small articles is such a 
 prominent form of child business that some firms 
 make a specialty of securing child agents. These 
 firms often offer, instead of money, some article 
 that children desire, as a reward for selling. In 
 
 n
 
 BUSINESS DEALINGS 73 
 
 many instances the articles are not sold on their 
 merit, but because the customers wish to help the 
 child. This kind of business is often of question- 
 able value to the children. 
 
 Farming. — In rural districts a common way of 
 making money is through stock raising and agri- 
 cultural operations. Unfortunately parents do not 
 always allow this business to be conducted. Some 
 farmers allow a boy to call a hog or a calf his until 
 it is sold, then they take some or all of the money 
 themselves. This is giving them an example of dis- 
 honest double-dealing that is worse than ordinary 
 business dishonesty, because practised on a child. 
 In other cases the father is perhaps too easy and 
 Hberal, allowing a child to acquire stock without ef- 
 fort, feed it out of the father's bin and use all the 
 money it brings. In other cases a more definite busi- 
 ness arrangement is made by which the child is 
 justly entitled to the calf or pig and to feed for it. 
 In such instances a definite account may be kept, and 
 this, as the child gets older, is decidedly the best 
 plan. 
 
 In raising vegetables or other crops a variety of 
 methods similar to those involved in stock raising 
 are practised. Recently the national and state gov- 
 ernments and also commercial bodies and schools as 
 well, have encouraged farming ventures by chil- 
 dren. These, in the South and West, usually take
 
 74 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 the form of corn clubs for boys and tomato clubs 
 for girls. 
 
 Not only do the children carry on the work, but 
 they purchase the seed and fertilizer, market the 
 crop and keep a complete account of all expenditures 
 and receipts. This gives them an excellent general 
 business training as well as special agricultural 
 training which is described further in Part II. 
 
 Various Means. — In both city and country 
 children frequently engage in raising vegetables, 
 fruits and flowers and often make a good deal of 
 money, besides winning prizes at fairs and gaining 
 business experience. One girl raised, on a small 
 city lot, flowers that she sold for nearly two hun- 
 dred dollars. 
 
 Picking wild fruit and flowers and selling them 
 are means of making money frequently resorted to 
 by rural children and by those living where they 
 can easily get into the country. Buying traps and 
 guns and getting furs and game to sell is a method 
 of making money that was once practised a great 
 deal by boys, but is now less practicable. This has 
 in many cases given place to the rearing of rabbits, 
 birds and other pets for sale. Besides these more 
 common ways of making money there are hundreds 
 of others, varying according to the locality and in- 
 genuity of the children. With a large proportion of 
 them the parents have little to do.
 
 BUSINESS DEALINGS 75 
 
 Parents Should Know of Child's Business 
 Dealings. — In nearly every case the business car- 
 ried on by the child himself gives him a very valu- 
 able form of financial training. It is frequently 
 best that the child shall, in the main, be left to him- 
 self in such business ventures. Parents should, 
 however, know what is being done and see that the 
 child engages in nothing that is unhealthful or il- 
 legitimate, such as taking lead pipe from empty 
 houses and selling it. More children are brought 
 before the juvenile court for selling stolen junk 
 than for any other cause. Three hundred such ar- 
 rests were made in Chicago in one year. 
 
 Children Not Responsible for a Livelihood. — 
 In the previous discussion it is supposed that the 
 making of money is not an absolute necessity for 
 children, but only a means of getting things that 
 they want. In poor families both parents and chil- 
 dren often feel that the children must earn money. 
 This is an undesirable condition. It is not well that 
 children should at an early age be oppressed by the 
 feeling that they must provide the necessities of life. 
 The period of infancy and early childhood is natu- 
 rally a protected one and only gradually should chil- 
 dren come to feel the necessity of making a living. 
 Parents should take that responsibility and should 
 be at some pains to prevent the young child from 
 feeling it too early or too strongly. The necessities
 
 76 THE USE OF, MONEY 
 
 of the home should if possible be provided by par- 
 ents, but the child may early learn to provide for his 
 own luxuries and sometimes for articles of clothing. 
 
 Advantages and Disadvantages of Early Busi- 
 ness Experience. — Engaging in business for him- 
 self gives the child the most direct and stimulating 
 financial training of any method of getting money. 
 There are, however, disadvantages in having chil- 
 dren engaged in business a great deal. The com- 
 mercial spirit may be developed too early and too 
 strongly, at the expense of kindness, faith in others 
 and good fellowship. There is always the tempta- 
 tion also to resort to tricks or dishonest practises 
 when the child is very eager to make money. The 
 parent, therefore, should not only know where the 
 things dealt in are obtained and how, but should 
 know how business is being carried on and, by occa- 
 sional advice and suggestion, prevent the child from 
 being cheated and so as to guard against any dis- 
 honest practises on his part. 
 
 Typical Examples of Earning Money. — "One 
 of the first experiences of earning money which I 
 remember was when I was about four years of age. 
 My brother and I picked up several baskets of early 
 fall apples and sold them for a few pennies to people 
 passing. The thought of pleasure rather than earn- 
 ing money was uppermost in our minds." 
 
 The following is an interesting instance of encour-
 
 BUSINESS DEALINGS 17 
 
 agement to earn money that was given by a Sunday- 
 school superintendent : 
 
 "A few years ago our Sunday-school superin- 
 tendent gave twenty-five dollars to the Sunday- 
 school to be divided among the pupils, and each pu- 
 pil was to try to see how much he could increase his 
 share during one year. The pupils in my class were 
 given twenty-five cents apiece. I bought a dozen 
 eggs with my money and set them. In three weeks 
 I had seven chickens. When they were large enough 
 I sold the four pullets and later I had the roosters 
 killed and sold them. After taking out what it cost 
 to feed them I found I had increased my twenty- 
 five cents to about three dollars. Then I began to 
 buy cloth and made and sold aprons. With the 
 profit from these I made about six dollars. With 
 this experience I learned that twenty-five cents could 
 be increased greatly with the use of a little spare 
 time and labor."
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 SAVING MONEY 
 
 Most Parents Encourage Saving. — In a pre- 
 ceding chapter we considered saving money for spe- 
 cific purposes. In this we consider saving, not for 
 a specific object, but in order to have money that 
 may be used in any desired way at a future time. 
 
 This is the financial ideal that parents more gen- 
 erally try to develop in their children than any other. 
 With very few exceptions parents who do anything 
 at all to give their children financial training either 
 require or encourage, in various ways, the saving of 
 money for a more or less indefinite future use. 
 Sometimes this emphasized but little understood ac- 
 tion affects children in much the same way as re- 
 ligious rites or those of superstition and fear. Just 
 as an unseen danger may arouse more fear than one 
 that is known, or the unknown results of a ceremony 
 may make it impressive, so the indefinite, unknown 
 value of hoarded money may impel to sacrifice in 
 saving. 
 
 78
 
 SAVING MONEY 79 
 
 Intelligent Saving Slowly Learned. — A knowl- 
 edge of the real reasons for saving and an ap- 
 preciation of the desirability of doing so, rather 
 than a superstitious feeling that saving is a vir- 
 tue, are, however, very slow in developing. Only 
 after a child has developed an idea of the use of 
 money for buying now, and of the advantage of 
 waiting to buy something more worth while in the 
 future, can he have an intelligent appreciation of the 
 desirability of having money on hand for anything 
 that he may want in the future. 
 
 Only the experience of being unable to buy a very 
 much desired article because of not having saved 
 money can give a child a real appreciation of the ad- 
 vantages of saving for possible and probable future 
 needs. Often many such experiences are needed be- 
 fore this probable future need is as strong a stim- 
 ulus as a definite object for which the money is to be 
 used now or in the future. 
 
 Miss Pahncr, in her study of the savings of Chi- 
 cago children, found that the great majority of the 
 poorer children saved for some definite end, such as 
 to buy clothing or Christmas presents, while the 
 children oi the rich more often saved for some in- 
 definite future. 
 
 The following illustrates how children may save 
 without gaining any real appreciation of what it 
 means :
 
 80 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 "I received money as gifts from an uncle of mine, 
 but I did not care for them at the time, for I always 
 had to put them in the bank or I knew he would 
 never give me any more." 
 
 "I remember when I was quite young that my 
 grandmother put money in the bank for me, but I 
 didn't appreciate it at the time and couldn't under- 
 stand why she didn't give it to me if she wanted me 
 to have it. It was some time later, while overhear- 
 ing a discussion of money and bank books, that it 
 came to me that I could use it whenever I needed it, 
 even if it were locked up in a safe." 
 
 In such cases as this the money may prove useful ; 
 and when that happens the idea that thrift is a good 
 thing is made prominent. Having children save, 
 whether they appreciate it or not, may therefore be 
 justified on the ground of utility and because the les- 
 son is learned and appreciated some time. This may 
 be admitted, and yet it may be said that a still better 
 plan for parents who know how to do it is to give 
 lessons in saving that will be appreciated earlier. 
 
 Having money on hand is the contrast of being 
 in debt. The one who has money ahead can buy 
 when there is an opportunity and at a bargain, while 
 the one who is in debt can not do so but must use his 
 money as fast as he gets it to pay, perhaps with in- 
 terest, for pleasures already past. The child's at- 
 tention may well be called to contrasting cases of
 
 SAVING MONEY 81 
 
 adults ^vho save and have money on hand and those 
 who go in debt ; but a stronger influence will be his 
 own actual experiences and those of companions. In 
 order that such instances may give the proper les- 
 son the one who has nothing ahead or is in debt 
 ought not to be helped by a loan whenever he desires 
 it to buy what he wants, or by gifts to get him out 
 of debt. If he is, he is likely to conclude that saving 
 and keeping money on hand do not pay, since the 
 one who spends his money as fast as he gets it is 
 helped by gifts more than the one who always has 
 money ahead. 
 
 The encouragement of saving is so common 
 among self-supporting people that it is scarcely nec- 
 essary to say anything to induce parents to do their 
 duty in this direction. It is perhaps worth while, 
 however, to emphasize the point that although money 
 saved in childhood is sometimes a great help to the 
 young man or young woman, yet the most important 
 thing is not the fact that money is saved, but the ed- 
 ucational effect on the one who saves. This is often 
 described as the habit of saving. Sometimes it is 
 this and nothing more. In such cases a change in 
 conditions, whereby the youth takes full control of 
 his own finances, may cause the habit to disappear. 
 This is often the case where the saving has been 
 more or less compulsory or at least artificially pro- 
 duced.
 
 82 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 Another effect is the formation of an ideal of 
 saving based on observation and experience of the 
 benefits resulting. This and the idea of how best to 
 use money are the most important aims in financial 
 training. 
 
 Modes of Saving. — The most common way in 
 which children save money is by putting it in a small 
 bank to be put in a savings bank later. Many make 
 use of the school stamp-saving system. A few put 
 it in a cooperative bank, and others merely give it 
 to a parent to keep for them. Relatives usually en- 
 courage all forms of saving, frequently by giving 
 the child some money to start with, adding to what 
 he puts in the bank by making it a condition on 
 which money is given that a certain amount shall 
 be saved. 
 
 Occasionally children, instead of putting money 
 in a bank, invest it in some form such as in bonds 
 or property, with the advice of an older person. A 
 boat or a bicycle may be bought partly as an invest- 
 ment for carrying on some kind of business and 
 partly as a source of pleasure. The following illus- 
 trates the more usual modes of saving: 
 
 "Between the ages of six and twelve I saved a 
 great deal of the money that was given me. I used 
 a toy bank at home and when it became filled I trans- 
 ferred it to the stamp book at school." 
 
 "Nearly all the money I earned or had given to
 
 SAVING MONEY 83 
 
 me was put into the bank. I had a small bank at 
 home and when I had enough in it I took it to the 
 savings bank. Some of the money was spent for 
 candy and such things." 
 
 "On my tenth birthday my father gave me a five- 
 dollar bill. He has done this for my brother also 
 and probably will give my sister one on her tenth 
 birthday. We have all put this in the bank and used 
 it as our nest egg. We wouldn't think of ever draw- 
 ing out the last five dollars. The summer after I 
 was ten years old I got twenty-five cents a week for 
 getting the mail for one of our neighbors. This I 
 also put in the bank." 
 
 "The only way I saved money from the ages of 
 six to twelve was by the stamp savings system in the 
 schools. The money was given me each week, gen- 
 erally five cents, and when I had the book filled with 
 stamps I drew out the money and placed it in the 
 l)ank. This is the way my saving by a bank ac- 
 count started." 
 
 Some convenient means for saving that appeals to 
 children is usually necessary to induce them to save. 
 The interest of the device used and the practise of 
 companions and adults are frequently more influ- 
 ential in getting a child to save than any real appre- 
 ciation of the advantages of the practise, as the fol- 
 lowing partially illustrates: 
 
 "The earliest I can remember in connection with
 
 84 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 money was my childish joy in putting pennies into 
 my A. B. C. bank. I was not over five years old I 
 am sure. Then, every few days I delighted in shak- 
 ing out the money and having mamma count it for 
 me. Something to which I looked forward each 
 Sunday was depositing proudly my penny in the 
 basket at Sunday-school, as we marched around 
 singing, 'Dropping, dropping, little pennies, hear 
 them as they fall.' When I had a birthday and 
 stood up all alone before the class, dropping the 
 number of pennies I was years old into a large glass 
 bank, I certainly did feel very happy and very im- 
 portant." 
 
 Attractive devices, ceremonies and competition 
 are usually effective with small children. This is 
 well illustrated by the above. 
 
 Youths are more influenced by having their atten- 
 tion called to the advantages that have come to them- 
 selves and others from saving. They are nearly 
 always surprised to find how much a small amount 
 saved every week will amount to in a year or in ten 
 years. 
 
 "I find it very hard to save money now unless I 
 put it in the bank at once. For a time I tried keep- 
 ing my pennies in a little box until I got five dollars, 
 and then I put this sum in the bank. That worked 
 well for a time, but later on when I wanted extra 
 money I'd break open the box and take out what I
 
 SAVING MONEY 85 
 
 needed. Now out of my allowance I am supposed 
 to buy my gloves and shoes and any small article, 
 also pay my car fares. At first I ran over my allow- 
 ance every month, but now I usually manage to save 
 a dollar a month. I send this to my mother to put 
 in the bank at home for me. One rather unusual 
 way in which I tried to save money when I was 
 younger was by putting a small amount in at least 
 six small pocketbooks and then hiding them all in 
 different places. Sometimes I'd forget where one 
 of them was and nothing pleased me more than find- 
 ing one unexpectedly."
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF CHILDREN 
 
 What This Means. — A little girl knocks a 
 tumbler off the table and breaks it, or a boy throws 
 a stone through the window. What shall be done 
 about it? In many homes they receive a slap, a 
 scolding or a caution about being careful. In other 
 homes the child asks, "How much did it cost?" and 
 goes to his bank and gets the money. Where chil- 
 dren have money of their own and are held respon- 
 sible for any damage they may have caused to prop- 
 erty they expect as a matter of course to pay for all 
 damages that they produce. 
 
 This responsibility may be developed in children 
 at eight or ten years of age or even earlier. Whether 
 such an advanced stage of financial training should 
 be reached so early is questioned by some, but cer- 
 tainly before leaving home the child should have 
 learned to be financially responsible. 
 
 Financial responsibility can not be properly de- 
 veloped apart from other forms of responsibility. 
 Training in responsibility begins when a child is re- 
 
 86
 
 FINANCIAL RESi'jNSIBILITIES 87 
 
 quired to pick up his own plajiihings and to return 
 to their proper places things that he has removed. 
 It is given to some extent when a toy that the child 
 has destroyed is not replaced and Wi^^ii >""^ is not al- 
 lowed to have anything that he mistreats. It is 
 given when a child is cautioned but not prevented 
 from doing something that will hurt him, but not 
 too seriously, such as touching a hot object. Such 
 experiences teach him that his own acts bring inevi- 
 table results. 
 
 Financial responsibility is felt when a child is first 
 allowed to spend money as he wishes and again 
 when he must do something in order to get money. 
 It is more definitely prepared for by previous finan- 
 cial training in which the child has found that things 
 cost money and has experienced the loss or destruc- 
 tion of what belongs to him. A boy of eight who 
 had a bicycle of his own and a regular allowance 
 was warned not to leave the bicycle out in the rain 
 and sun. He did it, however, and a rim was warped 
 so that it cost two dollars to repair it. The boy paid 
 without complaint and was more careful afterward. 
 
 Ownership and Responsibility. — The child's 
 own experiences enable him to appreciate that things 
 belonging to other people cost money and should be 
 replaced if destroyed. For instance, if some one has 
 lost or broken something belonging to him and has 
 purchased a new article or given money for getting
 
 88 THE USE Op MONEY 
 
 another, he is quite ready then to see that he should 
 make good any damage that he has caused. Boys 
 who have been very destructive of property have 
 been known to become very careful, after getting a 
 toy or a garden plot of their own, to refrain from 
 inter'"ering with those of others. It is almost im- 
 posiible for an adult and still more difficult for a 
 child to understand rights and responsibilities that 
 he has never had himself; hence a child has little 
 respect for property until he has been an owner and 
 suffered loss through his own acts or those of an- 
 other. 
 
 It is not necessary at first that the child should 
 pay for the exact amount of damage that he has 
 done. The first thing to do is to develop the idea 
 that the child is responsible and should do some- 
 thing to replace property he has destroyed. As he 
 comes to know more about figures more exact esti- 
 mates should be made. It is not necessary, however, 
 that the child should in all cases pay the full amount. 
 If a girl is helping her mother wipe dishes and acci- 
 dentally drops one and breaks it there is good ground 
 for saying that she should not pay the whole cost of 
 the dish. It is probably well to charge half the cost 
 of any article injured when handling it for legiti- 
 mate purposes. If a child meddles with something 
 that he has no business to touch and damage results, 
 more may properly be charged.
 
 FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES 89 
 
 Punishment and Paying. — If property is inten- 
 tionally injured full damage should of course be 
 paid and further punishment may sometimes be jus- 
 tifiable. Where a child is held financially responsi- 
 ble for damage to property he should not in general 
 receive any other punishment than this natural one 
 of making good the loss. The only possible excep- 
 tion to this would be in cases where the child has 
 not only damaged property but has intentionally 
 tried to injure some one in that way. In such cases 
 a clear distinction should be made between paying 
 for property and atoning for an unkind act toward 
 some one. If a child is scolded when he has to pay 
 for property unintentionally damaged he feels that 
 he is receiving a double punishment and is likely to 
 consider that the whole thing is arbitrary. On the 
 other hand, if the parent calmly and sympathetically 
 discusses the loss caused by accident or even by some 
 degree of carelessness, and charges only a reason- 
 able sum, the child feels that in making good the 
 loss he is only doing what, in the nature of things, 
 justice demands. 
 
 Justice. — It is important above all things that 
 the child shall feel that he is being dealt with justly 
 and sometimes generously. A merchant employed 
 his boy to unpack some lamps, agreeing to pay him 
 a quarter for doing it. The boy broke a lamp that 
 had cost a quarter and the father paid the boy noth-
 
 90 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 ing because the boy had caused him that much loss. 
 The boy felt that he had been unjustly treated be- 
 cause he had performed all that work without any 
 reward. The father intended to be strictly just, but 
 probably reasoned incorrectly. In any case he should 
 have been sure enough of his grounds to be able 
 to convince the boy that he was right before fully 
 deciding not to make a more liberal settlement with 
 him. He might have reasoned in this way : *T am 
 out the cost of the lamp and you are out the effort of 
 unpacking the lamps, and since the breaking of the 
 lamp was an accident for which 3''ou were not inten- 
 tionally responsible we will share the loss." 
 
 In another case, a boy of twelve, in hitching up a 
 horse, left it for a moment with only one shaft fas- 
 tened. The horse started and when it felt the un- 
 equal strain became frightened and ran away, break- 
 ing the shafts. The father charged the boy with 
 half the cost. He paid it without much protest yet 
 claimed that he was not responsible for what the 
 iwrse did. He had on his side the extenuating facts 
 that he had not been expressly told about the dan- 
 ger of leaving a horse in that condition, and the 
 further fact that another boy stood near whom he 
 thought would look after the horse. It is true that 
 the father showed some impatience at the time and 
 this probably contributed to the feeling of the boy 
 that he was not being justly treated. If this had
 
 FINANCIAL RESrONSIBILITIES 91 
 
 been the first time that he had been held financially 
 responsible it would have had a bad effect on him, 
 but he was fully accustomed to being held responsi- 
 ble for losses he had caused and had gained a good 
 deal of confidence in his father's justice and kind- 
 ness, hence the one instance in which he felt himself 
 not treated justly did not destroy his confidence in 
 his father or in the principle of paying for damage 
 done. 
 
 Assuming Responsibilities. — Children should 
 be expected to assume many other responsibilities 
 besides those for property, and if they have a suffi- 
 cient allowance they are usually willing to do so. 
 When they buy Christmas or birthday presents for 
 others it should be out of their own money. Their 
 contributions to church and Sunday-school and to 
 other societies should also be paid from their own 
 allowances. Later, class and society dues and some 
 or all of their small personal expenses should be 
 paid by themselves. Entertainments for their own 
 amusement would usually come under this class, 
 but .something attended at the advice of parents, for 
 cultural and educational purposes, may very well be 
 paid for by parents. Of course there is no objection 
 to parents giving their children occasional free 
 treats of any kind they deem fitting. 
 
 It is a very good result of financial training when 
 children are ready, without suggestion, to assume
 
 92 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 new financial responsibility. It is not unusual for 
 them to take pride in buying some of their own 
 clothing or in getting some treat for other members 
 of the family. The highest result of financial train- 
 ing is the appreciation of money, not merely as a 
 means of gratifying one's own desires and meeting 
 just claims on one, but as a means of contributing 
 to the pleasure of others. 
 
 Typical Examples. — A few of the various 
 ways in which parents deal with the destruction of 
 property, and the varying effects of these ways on 
 their children, are illustrated below. 
 
 "As a child I was not held responsible for break- 
 ing or damaging goods. If I broke a dish that was 
 valuable I received a scolding but was not obliged to 
 pay for it. If the dish or article was not valuable 
 I did not always receive a scolding. Occasionally, 
 however, I was made to pay for library books kept 
 over time, if I let several run by the date for re- 
 turning. I practically never had to pay for broken 
 goods." 
 
 *T never had to pay for anything I broke, and my 
 father usually replaced anything I needed or wanted 
 very badly. I do not remember of his ever scolding 
 or punishing me when I had destroyed or injured 
 anything. Instead, he made me feel sorry by telling 
 me that many children never had such nice things 
 and that if I didn't like them and take good care of
 
 FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES 93 
 
 what I had he would give the articles to those whom 
 he knew would be very thankful and careful. In 
 most cases my father's own sorrowful manner when 
 I had broken anything made me feel badly. As 
 something was generally put in the place of the ar- 
 ticle destroyed I did not miss the latter and was not 
 punished by going without it. I remember having 
 to mend torn leaves in a book and I know that made 
 me careful not to tear any more leaves, as I did not 
 like the task." 
 
 "When I was a child I used to feel very badly 
 when I broke anything. If it happened when no 
 one was around I hated very much to tell my mother 
 about it, and I would put it off as long as I could. 
 Finally, however, I would tell her. I do not remem- 
 ber ever being spanked for breaking anything but I 
 know that my mother used to speak to me about my 
 carelessness and sometimes scold me quite severely. 
 However, when it was over a great load. was lifted 
 from my heart and I soon forgot all about it." 
 
 "One day, a few years ago, I became very anxious 
 to go out with my playmates, who were enjoying 
 themselves by playing games. Mother said, 'You 
 may go out and play, but mend your dress before 
 you go. Remember a stitch in time saves nine.' 
 However, I forgot, and ran out without mending 
 the dress. Just when we were having a merry time 
 that little ripped place in my dress caught on a nail
 
 94 JHE USE OF MONEY 
 
 and before I knew what was happening the whole 
 hem was ripped off. I had to stop playing and go 
 home. I knew I would have to mend my dress my- 
 self, and I knew it would take the rest of the after- 
 noon to do it. My mother handed me a sewing 
 basket and said, *A stitch in time saves nine.' A 
 stitch in time would have saved me at least fifty- 
 nine that day. Every Saturday mother gave me 
 ten cents and I always looked forward to it, but on 
 this day I was much disappointed for I was told 
 that I could have no more money for two months. 
 It was saved toward buying another dress. Without 
 doubt I should have learned a lesson even if I only 
 had to mend my dress, but when I could not have 
 my money I realized that even a dress for play was 
 of some value." 
 
 "My parents did not believe in punishing me when 
 I broke anything. My father's idea was, and still 
 is, that no one breaks anything on purpose, and that 
 it is not carelessness. As a rule I did not break very 
 many things when I was a child." 
 
 "When any property was destroyed, such as win- 
 dows, I was usually given a whipping, while my 
 folks paid for the damages." 
 
 "If I broke or destroyed anything that be- 
 longed to a person outside of my own family, 
 whether on purpose or accidentally, if it was of any 
 value I was required by my parents to pay for it
 
 FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES 95 
 
 out of my own money. In my own home if I broke 
 anything by accident, I was not obliged to pay for 
 it but in case I did it on purpose I was punished and . 
 had to pay for it too." 
 
 "When I broke dishes I was never made to pay 
 for them but my mother always pretended to feel so 
 badly or, if it was a good dish, really did sorrow so 
 much that I had a great horror of the occurrence. 
 The times I felt most seriously were when I broke 
 anything of my own. It seemed more terrible than 
 ever then. When in school I always paid for any- 
 thing I broke and in a private school which I at- 
 tended the principal always told us if w^e broke any- 
 thing to report to him at once and he would tell us 
 what to do about the matter. This always seemed 
 a matter of course to us all, and so when we broke 
 anything the first thing we did was to report to him, 
 and the next, to do whatever he decided on in pay- 
 ment for the loss." 
 
 "I do not remember of ever destroying or break- 
 ing anything except lamp chimneys and other small 
 breakable articles before I was sixteen years old. 
 When I broke any of these articles I usually re- 
 ceived a severe scolding, but it did not seem to do 
 so very much good as the dishes were usually broken 
 while I was washing them and they slipped out of 
 my hands before I knew it. I think it did make me 
 a little more careful though. Once I remember
 
 96 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 breaking a dish that my mother was very fond of 
 and, fearing a scolding, I hid the dish in the ash 
 barrel. It was finally found and mother was very 
 angry." 
 
 "When I was about five years old I took great 
 pleasure in watching my grandfather weed his gar- 
 den. He explained to me one day the harm that the 
 weeds did. A few days later I was playing in a 
 neighbor's yard and noticed a small garden full of 
 what I supposed were weeds. I set to work and 
 succeeded in pulling all of them up. I then took a 
 few home and showed my grandfather what I had 
 done. He looked at the 'weed' for a minute and 
 then told me that I had pulled up all my neighbor's 
 radishes. I had been told never to touch things that 
 didn't belong to me and I knew I would be punished 
 for this. My grandfather had given me money from 
 time to time so that he knew I could buy more 
 radish seeds but he also knew that I wouldn't con- 
 sider this a punishment. So he decided on a plan 
 that he knew would be a severe punishment for me. 
 I think I was more afraid of strangers than most 
 children and would never say anything to persons 
 unless I knew them well. My grandfather there- 
 fore gave me a package of radish seeds and told me 
 to go to the neighbor's and tell her what I had done. 
 I think no one can realize how hard this was for me. 
 I certainly will never forget it. Later, whenever I
 
 FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES 97 
 
 did a wrong thing, I was punished in the same way, 
 for my parents realized that this was more of a pun- 
 ishment than anything else." 
 
 "When I was small I had my own playthings and 
 toys marked and so did my brothers and sisters. We 
 each had a special place in the closet and a drawer 
 in a cabinet to keep them in. If at any time we bor- 
 rowed one another's toys and lost or destroyed them 
 we had to settle with the owner, sometimes by giving 
 over something that belonged to us, or by paying 
 for the article. We were taught to be careful not 
 only of our playthings and personal belongings, but 
 also of everything in our home. If we accidentally 
 broke a window, a lamp globe or shade or something 
 of this sort we were made to pay for it out of our 
 own money, provided we had any at that time, and 
 if we didn't we were given some extra work to do. 
 Maybe we had to walk right up street to the store 
 to get a duplicate of what we had broken and this 
 we always thought a terrible punishment." 
 
 A Broader View of Punishment. — Evidently 
 there are many ways of training children to be care- 
 ful. Those parents who scold or punish aim chiefly 
 to make the child more careful by making the con- 
 sequences of carelessness painful to him. Those 
 who do not scold or punish but show sorrow im- 
 press the child with the fact that injury to property 
 gives others pain, while those who require that the
 
 98 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 loss shall be made good are bringing home to him 
 the fundamental truth that acts have inevitable re- 
 sults and that each person should, as far as possible, 
 bear the consequences of his own deeds. Parents 
 can not, however, easily deal with children in a way 
 contrary to their own training and their own phi- 
 losophy of life. Modern science reveals causes and 
 effects and educators are taking the ground that pun- 
 ishments should reveal truth by calling attention to 
 natural consequences. They do not serve their real 
 purpose when they merely produce pain and cause 
 a change in conduct. This accords with Herbert 
 Spencer's theory of natural punishments, as being 
 preferable to artificial ones.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 BUYING CLOTHES 
 
 Paying for Necessities. — In most cases where 
 children are given an allowance they are expected 
 to pay only for luxuries and a few small necessities. 
 Some parents, however, give an allowance designed 
 to cover all expenses including that of clothing, 
 usually with the express idea of giving the young 
 person training in the use of money. Some chil- 
 dren take pride in being able to buy important ar- 
 ticles of clothing from their own earnings or from 
 an allowance not intended to cover the cost of 
 clothing. 
 
 Not a Good Plan for Young Children. — Not 
 many children i)uy their (jwn clothing until they are 
 in their teens. In most cases it is not wise to give 
 an allowance for that purpose earlier, not only be- 
 cause the child would not have sufficient foresight 
 and judgment but because some children would per- 
 haps not care to dress so well as their parents desire, 
 and hence might spend too little on clothing and too 
 much for other things. In their teens, however, 
 
 99
 
 100 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 when the social and sex instincts develop, there are 
 few young people who are not anxious to conform 
 to the conventions and desirous of dressing as well 
 as their companions. The most serious danger in 
 starting children on the plan of buying everything 
 is that they may use up their money nearly as fast 
 as they get it and not save enough for the larger 
 things that must be purchased only occasionally. 
 This is a situation that every one must meet sooner 
 or later and it is well that a child should meet it be- 
 fore he is of age and begins to shift for himself. He 
 should suffer some of the inconvenience resulting 
 from bad judgment or lack of self-control; yet help 
 in getting out of the difficulty, in the form perhaps 
 of an opportunity to earn some extra money, may 
 better be given the child than later to the young man. 
 It will be less harmful to his self-respect and inde- 
 pendence than it will be after he has started out 
 for himself. However, this danger may be largely 
 avoided by starting the plan gradually. The results 
 of hastily entering on such a plan are illustrated by 
 the following case, while the second one shows the 
 results when more thought and self-control were 
 used. 
 
 "When I was thirteen years old I asked my father 
 if he would give me an allowance of fifty cents a 
 week, and I said that if he would I would buy my 
 own stockings and hair ribbons. One of my friends
 
 BUYING CLOTHES 101 
 
 did that, and I wanted to try it too. All went well 
 for a time for it happened that I had just had a 
 fresh supply of these two articles given me, but 
 when my stockings began to wear out I began to 
 wish I had never made such a contract, for I spent 
 my money each week and had not saved a bit for 
 emergencies. And what bothered me most was 
 that they all wore out at the same time, and as they 
 were not darned properly, owing to my carelessness, 
 for I had to darn my own, they soon looked very 
 shabby indeed. What I did spend my money for 
 each week was mostly ribbons, I loved pretty rib- 
 bons and consequently I did not suffer for want of 
 those ornaments. However, it was different with 
 the stockings, I do remember buying four pairs of 
 them on throwing the last old pair into the rag-bag, 
 but it rather hurt, spending two whole weeks' allow- 
 ance for such trifling articles, and I resolved to be 
 more careful of those, I don't remember just 
 how long this lasted but I think not more than 
 a year, and I know I was ready long before then 
 to go back to my old allowance of twenty-five cents 
 and let my parents buy my clothing wholly." 
 
 "When I was a senior in high school I asked my 
 father for an allowance. Up to this time whenever 
 I had wanted money I had always asked him for it. 
 But now I thought I'd rather have a certain amount 
 to do with as I wished. My father agreed, with the
 
 102 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 condition that I was to ask him for no other money 
 besides this; that is, to spend for pleasure. For a 
 time I couldn't seem to manage it properly, for at 
 the end of the month I was always out of money 
 and often asked my mother to lend me some until 
 the next month. After a time, however, I learned to 
 manage better and soon had no trouble at all. Now 
 my father gives me a larger allowance out of which 
 I pay my car fares and for lunches at school, but 
 now, instead of running in debt, I manage to save a 
 little money each month. I think the other method, 
 that of asking for money and getting it from time 
 to time, causes less calculating, but the allowance 
 plan makes me feel more independent." 
 
 Preliminary Training in Buying. — No child 
 should, without any preliminary training, be given 
 the responsibility of purchasing his own clothing. 
 He should have had much training in using a limited 
 supply of money and have learned to choose things 
 of permanent value, even though he must save for 
 some time in order to get them. 
 
 He should also have gone shopping with his par- 
 ents and learned a good deal about the cost of va- 
 rious articles and their durability. For several 
 years, too, he should have been allowed some choice 
 as to styles and colors of articles purchased. 
 
 It is sometimes well to begin with one article of 
 clothing, such as shoes, allowing the child to have
 
 BUYING CLOTHES 103 
 
 anything left from this allowance to use for 
 pleasures. This may be done with children between 
 nine and twelve, who may thus learn to economize a 
 good deal by proper care of their shoes, such as 
 avoiding wetting and having them repaired at the 
 right time. 
 
 It will be of great advantage to the youth be- 
 ginning to buy his own clothing if he has kept an 
 account of all the clothing purchased for him during 
 the previous year. This will give him some idea of 
 what he will need and perhaps also help the parent 
 to decide how much should be allowed him. As he 
 gets older his expenses for dress and social affairs 
 will be greater, and unless opportunities for earning 
 increase he will need more each year. 
 
 Helping After the Plan Is Started. — The 
 young person will usually need and desire some help 
 from parents in purchasing his clothing during the 
 first few years. The reasons for buying one thing 
 rather than another should be fully discussed. If 
 the parent believes in buying the best rather than 
 the cheapest, this doctrine may be inculcated, but 
 should admit of some modifications in the case of 
 growing children who are likely to outgrow the best 
 clothing before it is worn out. 
 
 The experience of buying one's own clothing 
 gives a training in advance of that gained by spend- 
 ing for pleasures and saving for what may be de-
 
 104 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 sired in the future. It is a considerable step in the 
 transition from the protected condition of child- 
 hood, in which all necessities are provided and pur- 
 chased for the child and he has only to look out for 
 the extras, to that stage in which he must first of all 
 provide the necessary things of life and be sure that 
 he has enough money before he can buy things that 
 he would like but does not really need. The de- 
 velopment of this tendency is one of the most im- 
 portant preparations for successful financiering in 
 adult life. It is the final lesson regarding the spend- 
 ing of money which the youth needs before he starts 
 out for himself. 
 
 The age at which it is best for a child to take the 
 responsibility of buying all his own clothing varies 
 greatly with the individual, not only as regards pre- 
 vious training but as regards his natural disposition. 
 One child of twelve may be more successful in man- 
 aging an allowance for clothing than another child 
 in the same family who is half a dozen years older. 
 It is not best to begin the plan if failure is certain 
 to result. Financial stability as an adult is better 
 assured by reasonable success in financial affairs as 
 a youth, than by complete failure. 
 
 In many instances it may be well to begin with a 
 few articles of clothing besides shoes, such as gloves 
 or ribbons, and as the child profits by the experience
 
 BUYING CLOTHES 105 
 
 increase the allowance and the number of things for 
 which he or she is responsible. The following illus- 
 trates how parents may prepare children and help 
 them to be successful in buying necessities. 
 
 "My father has given me a small allowance for 
 several years and I put this with what I earned. I 
 had four small envelopes upon which I wrote, 
 *Spend,' 'Birthdays,' 'Christmas,' and 'Save.' I di- 
 vided my money unequally between these envelopes. 
 With the money I saved I bought several dresses and 
 once I saved long enough to buy a muff. Nearly 
 always I saved enough to buy my gloves and some- 
 times my hair ribbons. I always enjoyed doing this 
 very much because I was helping and I thought more 
 of the things I bought with my own money. It also 
 taught me the value of money. Another reason why 
 I enjoyed saving my money and buying things for 
 myself was because my parents were so pleased to 
 think I, myself, thought of the plan of having four 
 envelopes." 
 
 "Before I was fourteen I earned a great deal of 
 my own money, earning from one to two dollars 
 a week doing various kinds of work. This money 
 had to buy all my accessories, such as ribbons, tan 
 shoes and stockings, extra dresses, pins, ties, etc. 
 At times I had to buy the trimmings for my clothes 
 if I wished them different from the way my mother
 
 106 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 planned. Although I paid for many of my own 
 clothes I seldom selected them, as it took too much 
 time." 
 
 Children's Budgets. — No general rule can be 
 given for the budget of a child of a given age be- 
 cause of differences in neighborhoods and in the 
 social positions of families. It may be well, how- 
 ever, to modify the following general schedule to fit 
 conditions in your neighborhood : 
 
 CLOTHING 
 
 Outside clothing 
 
 Suits and dresses 
 
 Underclothing 
 
 Hats and shoes 
 
 Adornments (ribbons, ties, etc.) 
 
 Athletic and outing necessities 
 
 Cleaning, pressing and laundry 
 
 OTHER NECESSITIES AND INCIDENTALS 
 
 Car fare 
 
 Lunches 
 
 School or society expenses 
 
 Postage and stationery 
 
 Benevolences 
 
 Gifts 
 
 Vacation expenses 
 
 LUXURIES 
 
 Entertainments 
 
 Sports 
 
 Sweets 
 
 Losses and breakage
 
 BUYING CLOTHES 107 
 
 SUGGESTIONS 
 
 The following are some of the questions that need to be 
 considered : Which of these items do not need to be consid- 
 ered in j'our neighborhood? Do any need to be added? 
 Would it be well for the parents to retain the responsibility 
 for some of these? It would be well if parents of each com- 
 munity should meet and discuss these questions and make 
 estimates of what the conditions of life in the neighborhood 
 demand. If this is not done some children have too much, 
 many are dissatisfied and a few really have too little. A de- 
 tailed estimate for each item should be made on the basis of 
 what is known of the facts in the neighborhood. In a club, 
 several should do this, and, if possible, figure on a final esti- 
 mate.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 KEEPING ACCOUNTS 
 
 Why Keep Them? — Keeping accounts is often 
 an enlightening experience to adults and may be 
 even more so to children. It is not only a means 
 of financial training but incidentally it gives train- 
 ing in penmanship, spelling and arithmetic. Keep- 
 ing accounts also emphasizes the importance of 
 transactions by putting them on record. There is 
 often hesitancy in recording a use of money that 
 is admittedly foolish. The greatest advantage is 
 in being able to tell how much money has been spent 
 for various purposes and to plan more jyisely in 
 the future. 
 
 "When I was twelve years of age my brother 
 had a paper route and I always considered it a great 
 honor to be allowed to help him with it. Finally 
 he made a bargain with me. I was to receive so 
 much a week and have a certain small portion of 
 the route for myself. This necessarily meant keep- 
 ing a"n account, a thing very new to me and inter- 
 
 108
 
 KEEPING ACCOUNTS 109 
 
 esting. I usually came out evenly at the end of the 
 week and also found it to be the only way I could 
 save a little money. If I did not keep an account, 
 which I tried for a short time, I often spent my 
 money for candy and at the end of the week came 
 out very much in arrears. Ever since keeping that 
 paper route account I have had a great dislike for 
 accounts and nothing could induce me to keep one 
 now, although I will admit they are very beneficial." 
 The Essentials. — The essential things in an ac- 
 count are (1) date of receiving or expending 
 money, (2) the purpose for which it is received or 
 spent and (3) the amount. The receipts should be 
 kept on a separate page from the expenditures. In 
 the simplest form of account keeping, this, with 
 occasional balancing, is all that is necessary. It is 
 sometimes well to balance every week so that omis- 
 sions may be discovered before they are forgotten. 
 At each balancing the amount of cash on hand 
 should be set down and money owing to or from 
 the child may be indicated if it is thought best. The 
 next week, when balancing, the cash on hand the 
 previous week and the receipts should be compared 
 with the expenditures and the present cash on hand. 
 If these two sums are not equal something has been 
 omitted. Of course, if the child receives money in 
 payment of a loan, that should be recorded with 
 the receipts and the same is true if he borrows
 
 110 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 money, while any loans that he may make should 
 be placed with expenditures. 
 
 The following will illustrate the accounts kept 
 by a boy of fourteen : 
 
 RECEIVED 
 
 April 13— Cash on hand $0.50 
 
 Due— From E. A. K 1.80 
 
 April 15 — Fishing rod, sold 60 
 
 April 16— Car tickets, sold 10 
 
 April 17 — Cash from E. A. K 50 
 
 April 19 — Share of eggs 10 
 
 April 2(>-Allowance 2.00 
 
 $5.60 
 SPENT 
 
 April 14— Car tickets $0.50 
 
 April \4 — Lunch 03 
 
 April IS— Ball 10 
 
 April IS — Lunch 14 
 
 April 16 — Fishing tackle 45 
 
 April 16 — Lunch 03 
 
 April 17 — Lunch 05 
 
 April 17— Candy OS 
 
 April 18— Lunch 04 
 
 $1.39 
 
 April 20 — Cash on hand 51 
 
 April 20— Due from E. A. K 3.30 
 
 $5.20 
 
 In this case the boy received a weekly allowance 
 from E. A. K., but usually kept some of it as credit, 
 instead of having it all in money. In balancing up
 
 KEEPING ACCOUNTS 111 
 
 it was necessary each time to figure how much was 
 due, then see if the cash on hand would make the 
 balance; if not, and an effort to recollect any omis- 
 sion or to discover any mistake failed, the boy put 
 down the amount lacking under the head of "lost." 
 
 After a child has had some instruction in book- 
 keeping he may keep a more elaborate account, but 
 a simple one will do for a beginning. At the close 
 of the year or oftener the account should be gone 
 over and the same or similar items grouped, to dis- 
 cover how much is spent during a quarter or during 
 a year for various purposes, necessary and other- 
 wise. The child will often be surprised to find how 
 much small items of luxury such as ice-cream and 
 candy amount to in a few months. This will tend 
 to make him a little more careful of the pennies 
 and nickels. In talking the matter over with him 
 the question kept most prominent should be that of 
 using the money so as to get the most out of it, 
 whether it be by saving for the future or by buying 
 more of some things and less of others. 
 
 If the child has several sources for the receipt of 
 money the other side of the account should be ana- 
 lyzed to find out how much he has earned by work 
 and how much he has gaincrl from other sources 
 besides his fixed allowance. 
 
 It is not, of course, necessary that the keeping of 
 accounts should be confined to those who have an
 
 112 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 allowance; the experience will be helpful regardless 
 of the way in which the child receives his money. 
 
 When and How to Begin Personal Accounts. 
 — The age at which a child may begin keeping ac- 
 counts may vary greatly according to the progress 
 of the child and the amount of attention the parent 
 gives to the matter. A child of three or four who 
 is given a certain number of pennies each week ob- 
 serves how his store disappears. As soon as he can 
 count he keeps a more definite mental record. If 
 a mother desires to do so she may begin keeping 
 an account for her child when he is just beginning 
 to learn to write and do numbers. Then as soon 
 as he can make figures and write a little she may 
 let him keep his account, showing him how and 
 helping to spell the hard words. In most cases, 
 how^ever, children are not asked to keep accounts 
 until they are ten or twelve years old. It should 
 not be delayed much longer than this. 
 
 A failure is disagreeable, especially if it occurs 
 frequently. This is the chief reason why older peo- 
 ple so often dislike keeping accounts and why chil- 
 dren often hate them. If accounts do not balance, 
 as is so often the case, the sense of failure is borne 
 in on one and keeping accounts is held responsible 
 for the unpleasant feeling. There is some justifi- 
 cation, therefore, in encouraging children to keep 
 records of money that they get and that they spend
 
 KEEPING ACCOUNTS 113 
 
 without asking them to balance the account. After 
 they have become used to keeping accounts and 
 have been taught how business men keep them, they 
 may take pride in using the same method and in 
 having the accounts balance. 
 
 Other Accounts. — With the keeping of per- 
 sonal accounts there may well be preliminary and 
 supplementary practise in making out statements of 
 shopping errands. These should include a state- 
 ment of money received and the items of expendi- 
 ture, and the cash returned should balance with it. 
 Considerable financial training may be obtained by 
 girls in connection with household affairs. For ex- 
 ample, a little girl of eleven, who had just baked 
 her first batch of bread, figured out its cost in com- 
 parison with baker's bread in the following way : 
 
 BREAD 
 
 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon cottolenc, estimated $0.01 
 
 Yi cup molasses at 60c per gallon 02 
 
 M cup sugar at 5c per pound 01 
 
 Yi sievef ul graham flour at 3c per pound 02 
 
 3 cups milk at 6c per quart 04 
 
 3 sievefuls of flour at 3c per pound 18 
 
 1 yeast cake at 2c per cake 02 
 
 $0.30 
 
 Tliis recipe made six pounds of bread and one and one- 
 half dozen biscuits, which would cost seventy-five cents at a 
 bakery. This shows that forty-five cents arc saved by making 
 bread at home, not counting the work and cost of baking.
 
 114 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 Some children take naturally to keeping accounts, 
 as the following reports illustrate, while others al- 
 ways find them a bore, but there is almost universal 
 testimony that the experience is a valuable one. 
 
 "At first I used to keep account of the cents I 
 spent in little books made by myself out of plain 
 white paper. Then one summer when I was about 
 twelve I used to go into my cousin's house next 
 door and dust or wash dishes for her several times 
 a week, and she gave me my pay at the week-end. 
 A record of this and of what I spent it for I always 
 kept in the back of some old diary where pages are 
 lined for account keeping." 
 
 "When about ten years old I used to amuse my- 
 self by making out an imaginary order. For in- 
 stance, I would pretend that I had one hundred dol- 
 lars to spend. Out of a catalogue I would choose 
 the dresses, hats, etc., that I liked best and carefully 
 fill the order blank. I was very careful that the 
 amount was no more or less than one hundred dol- 
 lars." 
 
 "When about thirteen and fourteen I had an al- 
 lowance, although very small. I kept account of 
 all I spent and what I received, although it was 
 sometimes difficult to make my money balance with 
 the books. Too often I would forget to put down 
 some expense and then wonder where the amount
 
 KEEPING ACCOUNTS 115 
 
 had gone. I thought by keeping an account I would 
 save more money, but I didn't do as I expected. It 
 was while keeping accounts that I reahzed what 
 small things take the money out of our pocket- 
 books."
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 FINANCIAL COMMUNISM IN THE HOME 
 
 Practicability Dependent on the Spirit of the 
 Home. — In many homes there is a common 
 pocketbook into which all earnings go and from 
 which is purchased whatever is needed, as deter- 
 mined by one or more adults of the family or by 
 family council. The spirit in which this method 
 of financiering is carried on may make it one of the 
 worst or one of the best methods possible. 
 
 Dangers. — This plan, even when the family 
 consists of only husband and wife, often fails in 
 practise. To succeed both must be on an absolute 
 equality or all differences must be fully concealed 
 by love. Unless both feel that everything belongs 
 to one as much as to the other and that their needs 
 are equal, or else that all belongs to both, and how- 
 ever spent is being used for both, the plan will not 
 be satisfactory. In the first the tacit understand- 
 ing is likely to be transferred into definite under- 
 standing and comparison, or one is likely to take 
 more than the proper share, either with or without 
 
 116
 
 FINANCIAL COMMUNISM 117 
 
 the complete approval of the other. If one denies 
 himself and the other spends freely the equality is 
 destroyed, and the more careful one, if he or she 
 desires to spend a little extra, scarcely feels it right 
 to do so. If both spend freely the supply may be- 
 come short, and if both save they may become mi- 
 serly. 
 
 Even in the second case, where love seems to con- 
 ceal all differences and each is as free as the other 
 to use the money and each is equally pleased, no 
 matter for which the money is spent, a situation 
 similar to that described above may gradually arise, 
 unnoticed by either. Even if it does not there is 
 often the desire to devote something that is entirely 
 one's own to the pleasure of the other or to some 
 special object. Where there is nothing peculiarly 
 one's own this is impossible. 
 
 In many homes where there is, in general, finan- 
 cial unity, it is still found more pleasant for at least 
 some small portion of the income to belong to hus- 
 band and wife personally. They can then more 
 truly give each other presents or spend money to 
 gratify their individual desires. In one home all 
 bills were paid from the common fund, then the 
 remainder was divided equally between husband and 
 wife for personal use as each saw fit. This plan 
 seemed to work very satisfactorily. 
 
 It may be, as some would say, that if there were
 
 118 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 perfect unity and love, so that the interests of one 
 were fully and completely those of the other, there 
 would be no desire for money for purely personal 
 use. If this were admitted theoretically, still, as 
 people are constituted and mated, there would not 
 be one case in a thousand where this would be true 
 of a husband and wife and would remain true all 
 their lives. Again, it may be questioned whether 
 even theoretically this would be desirable. Would 
 it not be too great a sinking of individuality to have 
 such a complete fusion of interest? Will not both 
 be more useful, happier and more interesting to 
 themselves and others if each, while caring as much 
 for the welfare of the other as for his own, or even 
 more, still desires in many ways to live his own life 
 and have the other do so? Financially this will 
 mean that each shall wish the other to have funds 
 for common use and also a certain more or less 
 definitely fixed amount for personal use. 
 
 Partial Communism Better. — This probably is 
 as close an approximation to an ideal financial ar- 
 rangement as is practicable. In a home where there 
 are children the same plan may be followed, the 
 family rather than the individual being the chief 
 unit. In family council plans may be made for the 
 good of all its members. It may also be agreed that 
 each one shall have certain amounts for giving pres- 
 ents or for other personal uses. The parents will
 
 FINANCIAL COMMUNISM 119 
 
 naturally have the greater influence in these coun- 
 cils but they may be conducted in such a way that 
 all shall feel that the interests of the family as a 
 whole are of primary importance. Children thus 
 treated are more likely to favor the use of money 
 for some common end, or for some other member 
 of the family, than to clamor for it for their own 
 use, as they often do where the idea of individual 
 use of money has been developed into selfishness. 
 
 Advantages of Common Money Interests. — 
 That the family is the chief unit financially, to 
 which all the income belongs and for which it should 
 be expended, is an important truth to be taught. It 
 produces a delightful social and moral atmosphere 
 in the home and is preparatory to the training of 
 public-spirited citizens who consider the interests 
 of town, state or nation as well as their own private 
 welfare. 
 
 This ideal may be developed, however, without 
 omitting to teach the equally important truths of 
 individual financial rights and responsibilities. In 
 the dealing of the family with outsiders some of 
 these principles may be learned. If the children 
 have chances to earn money outside of the home 
 this financial training may easily be given. If their 
 money for personal use comes from the family 
 fund, an allowance is less opposed to the comtnunis- 
 tic idea than payment for work done in the home.
 
 120 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 Money Affairs Related to Other Affairs. — 
 
 This suggests a point that one must continually have 
 in mind in planning the financial training of chil- 
 dren. The money affairs of a family are not sep- 
 arate from their other interests but intimately con- 
 nected with them. The spirit of the home will make 
 a great deal of difference as to the success of any 
 financial plan that is adopted. In a home where 
 individualism prevails, especially among the chil- 
 dren, each seeking his own interests to the suppres- 
 sion of those of the others and of the family as a 
 whole, the same financial plan will not work as in 
 a home where each has the interests of the family 
 and each member at heart. In the one, each is try- 
 ing to get as much as he can for himself and, in 
 the other, to contribute as much as possible to the 
 family life and happiness. A looseness in financial 
 matters that would prevent the success of a finan- 
 cial plan in a home of the first type would be quite 
 permissible in a home of the second type. There 
 may be great looseness of financial relation between 
 members of the family in a home of the latter type, 
 without injury, providing none of the family be- 
 come selfish and all are very careful to be strictly 
 honest and just in dealing with those outside. 
 
 The above statement should not be taken as an 
 excuse for having no plan of financial training in 
 the home or for not carrying out such a plan when
 
 FINANCIAL COMMUNISM 121 
 
 one has been adopted. The financial transactions 
 of the home are a part of its life and exercise an 
 important influence upon all phases of social life 
 in and outside of the family. Directing the finan- 
 cial affairs of children properly is merely one way 
 of directing their whole life and training them for 
 successful enjoyable living. Indeed, all social and 
 moral problems are involved in financial transac- 
 tions and their real nature may perhaps be best un- 
 derstood in such transactions. It follows, therefore, 
 that the financial training of children is one of the 
 means of developing a proper spirit in the home. 
 This is possible only when children use money both 
 for the needs and pleasures of others and for their 
 own personal gratifications.
 
 PART II 
 
 TRAINING OUTSIDE THE HOME
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 INSTITUTIONS FOR CHILDREN'S SAVINGS 
 
 Means of Saving Provided by Various Soci- 
 eties, — Reasons for the financial training of chil- 
 dren are supplied in abundance by social workers. 
 Many of them find that they can render the best 
 service to the people of the community in which 
 they are working by providing them with a conve- 
 nient means of saving and by teaching them how to 
 buy wisely. They find it very difficult to teach 
 adults thrift and get them to overcome habits of 
 self-indulgence and wasteful use of money. Yet 
 it is found in most social settlements that work 
 along that line is well worth while and closely as- 
 sociated with improvement in other lines. Time 
 and efifort are still better expended in giving chil- 
 dren financial training because the results are so 
 much greater than in the case of adults whose habits 
 are hard to change. 
 
 Not only have social settlements done a good deal 
 to provide opportunity, encouragement and instruc- 
 tion in saving and spending, but various philan- 
 
 125
 
 126 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 thropic and business organizations have provided 
 means by which department-store employees, fac- 
 tory workers and others may save money for specific 
 purposes, such as a coat, a dress, winter clothing, 
 a week's vacation, Christmas presents or any one 
 of a hundred things that may be desired but can 
 be obtained by the poorly paid wage earner only 
 by going in debt or by saving for a considerable 
 length of time. 
 
 Until recently in this country opportunity and 
 conveniences for this form of saving have been fur- 
 nished by neither banks nor the government. It 
 is not strange, therefore, that pawnbrokers, loan 
 sharks and sellers of goods on the instalment plan 
 have flourished at the expense of those with little 
 money and slight financial training. Recently, how- 
 ever, the post-office has been opened to receive small 
 savings and many banks are offering facilities for 
 the temporary deposit of small sums. 
 
 In England the government favors the small de- 
 positor to such an extent that there is no need for 
 schools or charitable organizations to conduct a 
 stamp or other savings system. A child may buy 
 a single penny stamp and when he has a shilling's 
 worth of them he can become a depositor in the 
 post-ofifice. Teachers there need only to encourage 
 saving while the government furnishes the oppor- 
 tunity.
 
 CHILDREN'S SAVINGS 127 
 
 Work of Schools in Promoting Saving. — In 
 this country there is need in most places for the 
 schools to furnish both facilities for saving and 
 instruction regarding financial matters. This is now 
 being done in perhaps two hundred cities and towns, 
 but only a small fraction of the school population is 
 reached. In 1913 a quarter of a million children 
 had deposited five million dollars through the 
 schools. In a large proportion of cases where 
 school children are given facilities for saving some 
 society or bank is cooperating with the school au- 
 thorities or with the teachers in caring for the sav- 
 ings. In some cases the teachers do much of the 
 work of receiving the savings and keeping the ac- 
 counts, while in others an agent of the society or 
 the bank visits the schools and does most of the 
 work. In a few places the matter is attended to, 
 in part at least, by pupils in the commercial depart- 
 ment of the high school. 
 
 The Two Methods Most Used. — The two 
 principal forms of money saving carried on by 
 schools are the stamp saving system and the school 
 banking system, r.oth have the same purpose and 
 are often arranged so that local banks take charge 
 of individual deposits as soon as they reach a cer- 
 tain amount, usually one dollar. The stamp saving 
 system appeals to younger children because they can 
 see by the increased surface covered by stamps how
 
 128 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 their savings are growing. To older children buy- 
 ing stamps may seem babyish, while an account 
 book and the possession of a bank book similar to 
 that of adults is a matter of pride. The latter sys- 
 tem also gives some training in proper methods of 
 keeping accounts. Disappointment through loss is 
 also not so likely as in the stamp saving system. 
 
 How it Works in One Place. — The following, 
 quoted from a circular sent out by Superintendent 
 Cummings, Lansing, Michigan, describes a good 
 system that is working well : 
 
 "The system of School Savings Bank was intro- 
 duced into the Lansing public schools in November, 
 1908. Its aim is to develop thrift, frugality and 
 self-denial, and also to give the pupils some famil- 
 iarity with the actual practises of banks and busi- 
 ness. It is not the plan of this system particularly 
 to encourage the saving of large sums of money, 
 but rather to develop the habit of saving for some 
 definite purpose. Three thousand, ninety-eight pu- 
 pils are at present availing themselves of the school 
 savings system and the amount on deposit is well 
 above ten thousand dollars. Is not this conclusive 
 evidence of the good that is being done? Certainly 
 a large number of the boys and girls are learning 
 the value of the penny. 
 
 "The system in itself is simple. Each pupil ex- 
 pressing a desire to start a savings account is fur-
 
 CHILDREN'S SAVINGS 129 
 
 nished by the teacher with a small manila card, 
 ruled for each of the thirty-eight weeks of the 
 school year. Deposits are made by the pupil di- 
 rectly with the teacher upon the day set by the 
 school as 'bank day,' and the pupil is at once credited 
 upon his card with the amount of such deposit. The 
 money thus received by the teacher is turned over 
 to the principal of the building and deposited by 
 him in the depository bank. When the deposits of 
 any pupil aggregate one dollar the principal checks 
 out one dollar from that particular school's account 
 at the bank, and the bank issues a slip to the pupil, 
 entitling him to one dollar's credit in the bank's 
 saving department. This slip is taken by the pupil 
 to the bank, where he deposits it and for the first 
 deposit receives a regular bank book. For each sub- 
 sequent deposit he receives credit for one dollar. 
 The above plan, subject to certain rules and regula- 
 tions, a copy of which appears upon the pupil's card, 
 constitutes the system." 
 
 Cautions To Be Observed. — To get the best 
 results from a saving system in school the mere 
 idea of saving is not the only thing to emphasize; 
 the question of wise spending is of equal or even 
 greater importance. The so-called habit of saving 
 will persist with few. except miserly persons, unless 
 the advantages of .such saving arc impressed on 
 them through getting a great deal of satisfaction
 
 130 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 from the money that has required time and sacri- 
 fice to save. 
 
 Where nothing but saving is emphasized the chief 
 interest often consists in competing with other chil- 
 dren as to amount of savings. This puts some chil- 
 dren at a disadvantage and has, in some cases, led 
 to stealing. It may also become as objectionable 
 as is the rivalry between adults in making a show 
 of wealth. 
 
 Institutions that concern themselves only with 
 saving are frequently popular only as long as there 
 is novelty and some competition. This is the rea- 
 son why, in many cities, great interest is shown in 
 a savings system for a year or two, then it dies out 
 and not infrequently the plan is abandoned. 
 
 If, on the other hand, attention is given in any 
 town or city to wise spending of money that has 
 been saved the interest is likely to continue and the 
 individual children will steadily develop better 
 ideals and habits in financial affairs. More time 
 may well be spent in talking to children about good 
 ways of spending money than in urging them to 
 hoard it. Also definite things for which a child is 
 to save will furnish the most natural motive for 
 keeping his money. Children may often be inter- 
 ested in telling or writing an account of how they 
 got the most for the money they had saved.
 
 CHILDREN'S SAVINGS 131 
 
 What is Gained by the Promotion of Saving. 
 — The chief intellectual lesson derived from saving 
 lies in discovering how much a little laid by every 
 day or week will amount to in a few months. The 
 best financial and moral training is gained by giving 
 up little indulgences for a time, then spending on 
 some larger and more permanently satisfying thing, 
 because this develops the tendency to inhibit present 
 desires for a future and greater good. 
 
 A large number of answers to questions regard- 
 ing the advantages and disadvantages of savings 
 systems in schools contained many such expressions 
 as the following : "Surprising results as to accounts 
 booked" ; "Has proved most successful" ; "Children 
 spend less on candy" ; "It has taught the children 
 the value of money and encouraged thrift"; "Habit 
 of saving formed"; "Less use of candy and cheap 
 soda." In none of the answers sent the author were 
 there any disadvantages mentioned, while in many 
 it was stated that there was none. 
 
 It is undoubtedly true, however, that such sys- 
 tems are not having as universally permanent an 
 influence on children as some of their enthusiastic 
 advocates think they have. Of forty-one normal 
 students who had, when in the grades, an opi)()r- 
 tunity to deposit in a school saving institution, 
 thirty-two had done so but only nineteen had con-
 
 132 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 tinued to deposit for more than one year. Seventeen 
 were sure that the experience was a valuable one to 
 them. Rivalry was named by the majority as the 
 chief incentive to saving. 
 
 In most cities little was reported as having been 
 done by the schools to suggest ways of spending 
 the money that was being saved. This should be a 
 prominent feature in all promotion of saving.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 SCHOOL ARITHMETIC AND FINANCIAL TRAINING 
 
 Aims and Deficiencies in Arithmetical Train- 
 ing. — Two aims have been varyingly prominent 
 in the teaching of arithmetic, — the scientific or dis- 
 ciphnary, and the practical. By the common people 
 arithmetic has been regarded with favor in this 
 country, because they believe it is of practical value, 
 especially to boys. 
 
 Until recently, however, most writers of text- 
 books and many teachers have been dominated by 
 the scholastic idea of arithmetic as an exact science 
 and by the pedagogic theory that thorough training 
 in it is the l^est form of mental discipline. Yet they 
 were influenced by the demand that arithmetic 
 should be of practical value, to the extent that all 
 sorts of subjects and exercises connected with busi- 
 ness were introduced into the text-books and made 
 the basis of long and careful drill by teachers. Long 
 
 133
 
 134 JHE USE OF MONEY 
 
 hours were spent in working examples in partial 
 payments, banking, stocks, bonds, insurance, com- 
 mission and taxation, by pupils who had never seen 
 a note, cashed a check or heard of bonds or commis- 
 sions outside of school. Still business men continued 
 to complain that clerks fresh from these schools 
 were not good in practical calculations. 
 
 Text-book makers and teachers improved mat- 
 ters somewhat by explaining terms more clearly and 
 illustrating them by the introduction of the forms 
 of business into school. The examples were made 
 more practical and less illustrative of technicalities. 
 In some cases an imaginary banking or other busi- 
 ness was carried on in school. In spite of these ef- 
 forts, complaints are common that most graduates 
 of both grade and high schools are not practically 
 trained. 
 
 Academic Idea Prominent. — Two reasons for 
 this unfortunate condition may be mentioned. The 
 first is that the teaching, in spite of the efforts of 
 text-book makers and of educators, continued to be 
 academic. In most cases teachers had great respect 
 for arithmetic as an exact science and for the tra- 
 ditional classifications and processes. This tendency 
 was increased by the standards set in grading ex- 
 amination papers. Examples were selected and ar- 
 ranged with a view to showing clearly the different
 
 SCHOOL ARITHMETIC 135 
 
 types of examples and the exact rule that must be 
 followed for each type. The text-book maker rea- 
 soned that this was necessary to make his books re- 
 spectably scientific and the teacher felt that only by 
 carrying out this idea could she show evidence of 
 thoroughness when her pupils were subjected to 
 examinations. The children felt no particular in- 
 terest in the subject-matter of the problems and did 
 not care who experienced profit or loss. Each child 
 knew that his business as a pupil was to classify the 
 problems correctly and apply the right rule so as to 
 get the required answer. He also tried to write out 
 the example and explain it according to the forms 
 prescribed by the teacher, if she made much of that 
 feature of the work, as was often the case. 
 
 However hard educators tried they were often un- 
 able to change this academic attitude on the part of 
 all concerned. This is not strange, for a mathemati- 
 cian naturally regards every problem as embodying 
 a general principle which is the important thing. It 
 is impossible for him to attach as much importance 
 to the rate of interest, or the nature of the debt upon 
 which it is computed, as to the mathematical prin- 
 ciple involved or to the logical statement of reasons. 
 This point of view may be defended on the ground 
 that it is the principles that are important rather 
 than the particular problems by means of which
 
 136 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 they are being studied. Yet it is this attitude that 
 makes the arithmetic teaching academic rather than 
 practical. 
 
 The Business Attitude. — The man of business 
 is not concerned with mathematical principles and 
 logical statements, but with the correct answer to 
 the particular problem which means dollars and 
 cents to be received or paid out. The exact nature 
 of the transaction and the particular amounts in- 
 volved are the things he notes most carefully, while 
 the mathematical principles applied, if thought of 
 at all, are only means to the important end, a cor- 
 rect answer. 
 
 The natural attitude of the child is analogous to 
 that of the business man. He is inclined to think, 
 much to the disgust of a scholarly teacher, that the 
 correct answer, no matter how obtained, is the im- 
 portant thing. 
 
 As long as the academic standpoint is prominent 
 in the teaching of arithmetic, pupils will get good 
 marks in school and blunder in practical affairs. 
 Some means must be found of harmonizing the 
 scholarly point of view with the natural attitude of 
 the child and the business man. 
 
 The teacher must allow to the child his belief 
 in the importance of results, but she must convince 
 him by experience that the best way to get the 
 correct result is by adhering to certain mathematical
 
 SCHOOL ARITHMETIC 137 
 
 principles and perhaps also by arranging the work 
 in a certain way. If she can not convince him of 
 the advantages of such rules and arrangements then 
 it is likely that there is something wrong, either with 
 the rules or her teaching. 
 
 Knowledge of Business Facts Lacking. — The 
 second reason why the effort usually fails to make 
 arithmetic practical is closely related to the first. It 
 is that the child has been taught processes involved 
 in business transactions of which he has little or no 
 real knowledge or experience, or in which he is not 
 interested. It is perfectly natural that one should 
 not be eager to learn exactly how to perform an op- 
 eration that he has never attempted to perform, 
 that he has no expectation of performing soon, and 
 that he has no motive for performing now, save 
 that of meeting school requirements. 
 
 What difference does it make to him how much 
 Mr. A owes Mr. B for selling one thousand two hun- 
 dred forty-six dollars and fifty cents' worth of goods 
 at a commission of three per cent. ? It gives a little 
 exercise to his imagination to suppose that he is 
 the merchant who has consigned the goods to his 
 chum John, but he knows that it is only a play af- 
 fair and not a real transaction in real money. As 
 a play it may be quite inferior to imaginary lion 
 hunting, for you can play you have killed the lion 
 without taking so much pains in taking aim as is
 
 138 JHE USE OF MONEY 
 
 necessary in calculating the amount of the com- 
 mission. 
 
 Acting out business transactions, however, does 
 give a pupil a much better idea of the real nature 
 of the problems he is solving. But that does not 
 give any but younger children the same motive for 
 solving the particular problem, and for learning 
 the general principles involved in solving it, as is 
 given by real transactions in which the pupil him- 
 self or persons that he knows are actually con- 
 cerned. 
 
 Attempts at Improvement. — In such an exam- 
 ple as follows, from a popular arithmetic, there is 
 an attempt to give reality to the problems. 
 
 Mr. Evans' tax is three thousand five hundred 
 and sixty dollars. The rate of taxation is two and 
 one-half per cent. What is the assessed value of his 
 property? 
 
 Since, however, this is one of a list of problems 
 of applications of percentage, no other of which has 
 anything to do with Mr. Evans, there is no prob- 
 ability that the pupils will feel any desire to know 
 what the valuation of Mr. Evans' property really is. 
 
 In another, a diagram of a beet field is given and 
 six problems regarding the growing of beets fol- 
 low. Three of these are independent problems and 
 three are related in such a way that the answer to
 
 SCHOOL ARITHMETIC 139 
 
 one gives data used in the next problem. This gives 
 some financial training, since the problems of beet 
 growing are dwelt on long enough to make some im- 
 pression as to costs and profits, but unless the child 
 is interested in beet growing or in comparing its 
 profits with those of other crops the impression is 
 slight. The financial training involved is therefore 
 not much greater than in purely formal arithmetic. 
 
 In another much used arithmetic nearly all the 
 problems are taken from the industries and fre- 
 quently they are arranged in related series. In one 
 case there are nine problems regarding the roof of 
 a barn, but the problems are all problems of cost ac- 
 cording to material used, and are not made to bear 
 on any practical question to be decided. In real life 
 the chief problem would be, "What shall I use to 
 cover my barn?" and the various subordinate prob- 
 lems would be to determine the amount needed and 
 cost of various materials, such as shingles, rubber 
 roofing, etc., in order that the main problem might 
 be decided intelligently. 
 
 If text and teacher not only exercised care in 
 having prices correctly given in the examples, but 
 arranged the material so that the examples would be 
 means to deciding what course of action to follow, 
 and if the teacher so excited the imagination of the 
 children that they really cared to find out what it
 
 140 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 would be best to do, the financial training would be 
 much better. 
 
 Of more than a hundred normal students who 
 were asked regarding the real financial training they 
 received from the study of arithmetic, only a few 
 had studied under a teacher who gave attention to 
 the prices mentioned in concrete problems and cor- 
 rected them if they were not reasonable in that lo- 
 cality. Few of the students had noticed the prices 
 or learned anything about real financial transac- 
 tions in their study of arithmetic. Nearly all, how- 
 ever, thought that the drill in fundamental opera- 
 tions had been of value when they came to work 
 actual business problems. 
 
 Interest in Solutions Needed. — In order to be 
 genuinely practical the child must do more than 
 solve problems that are like those he may meet at 
 some time in the future. He must solve problems 
 that he really wants to have solved now. The more 
 the arithmetical work is a means to finding solu- 
 tions that he really wishes to obtain the more prac- 
 tical it will be. The idea, then, is to take advantage 
 of all desires for results that can be reached by 
 arithmetical means and to arouse desires that arith- 
 metical knowledge will satisfy. 
 
 Since most arithmetical calculations in practical 
 life are connected with financial transactions, there
 
 SCHOOL ARITHMETIC 141 
 
 is a close relation between the arithmetical training 
 of children and their financial training. It is very 
 much easier to get a child genuinely interested in 
 arithmetical calculations if he has had varied finan- 
 cial experiences and thoroughly appreciates what so 
 many cents or dollars one way or the other really 
 mean in the way of effort or satisfaction of desire. 
 Such a child not only has already heard a good deal 
 about calculation, but he has an interest in the na- 
 ture and results of financial transactions that serves 
 as a good basis for intelligent and vigorous study of 
 arithmetical processes and principles. 
 
 Typical Errors in Applications. — Problems di- 
 rectly concerned with what children have been do- 
 ing are much better than imaginary problems, espe- 
 cially for older children, yet the teacher who gives 
 such problems may be greatly disappointed by what 
 the children hand in as solutions. 
 
 In an eighth grade the class made a soft custard 
 for the lunch-room and without specific directions 
 from the teacher attempted to figure out the total 
 cost — the recipe, equivalent measures and prices be- 
 ing given them. About half of the class succeeded. 
 
 The best solution follows. Nearly all put down 
 the right answer, l)ut all sorts of mistakes were 
 made and apparently the correct answer was, in 
 many cases, copied from others.
 
 142 
 
 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 November 24, 1913 
 
 Answer 
 
 Soft Custard 
 
 
 Used 10 times recipe. Cost? 
 
 
 Eggs .36 doz. 
 
 
 Milk .08 qt. 
 
 
 Sugar .06 lb. 
 
 
 Vanilla for all, .02 
 
 
 20 eggs @ .36 a doz. — 134doz. 
 
 
 .36 
 
 
 IV3 
 
 
 .24 
 
 
 .36 
 
 
 .60 for eggs 
 
 
 20 cups milk=5 qts. @ .08 a qt. 
 
 
 .08 
 
 
 .05 
 
 
 .40 for milk 
 
 
 2H cups sugar=:l^ lb. @ .06 a lb. 
 
 
 .06 
 
 
 .015 
 
 
 .075=.08 
 
 
 .40 
 
 
 .60 
 
 
 .08 
 
 
 .02 
 
 
 $1.10 Total Cost 
 
 $1.10 Cost. 
 
 In the same class, cocoa was made according to the 
 recipe: one and one-half tablespoons of cocoa, two
 
 SCHOOL ARITHMETIC 143 
 
 tablespoons of sugar, two cups of boiling water, 
 two cups of milk, all multiplied by thirty-four for 
 the lunch-room. No one succeeded in solving all 
 parts of the problem and labeling them correctly. 
 The answers ranged from sixty-three cents to twelve 
 dollars and ninety-five cents, no two getting the same 
 results for items. Some used the formula, sixteen 
 tablespoons equal one pound, but no one succeeded 
 in correctly figuring the cost of the sugar. The best 
 paper follows : 
 
 Cocoa .36 lb. Cost $1.72 
 Milk .08 qt. 
 Sugar .05 lb. 
 Made 34 times recipe. Cost? 
 
 .68 milk 
 
 68 tablespoons sugar 
 
 51 tablespoons cocoa 
 
 4/68_ 17 16/J6_ 
 
 ' 17 qts. milk .08 .02^ 
 .13 
 
 $1.36 milk 
 
 16/68_ .10 $0-26 cocoa 
 
 434 cups sugar .26 ^^jj 
 
 $1.72 12>4 oz. cocoa 
 
 With a recipe for tapioca cream, one- fourth cup 
 of tapioca, two cups of milk, two eggs, one-third 
 cup of sugar, multiplied by twenty-four, the results 
 were similar, no two agreeing in all the items. The 
 mistakes indicate that the concrete facts arc not
 
 144 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 closely associated with the symbols used in calculat- 
 ing. For example, in following the recipe one- 
 fourth cup of tapioca multiplied by twenty-four is 
 seen to mean six cups for the larger recipe. This is 
 all that is necessary for cooking purposes. In cal- 
 culating cost, eight cents (a pound) is the significant 
 thing and the children at once combined this with 
 the significant thing in cooking, i. e., the number of 
 cups, and multiplied one by the other to get the cost. 
 The previous cooking experience of the children 
 and their experience in book work in arithmetic had 
 prepared the pupils to select these two significant 
 facts, but actual experience in calculating while 
 cooking had not been sufficient to make them think 
 of translating the unit cup, significant for cooking 
 purposes, into the unit pound, significant for cal- 
 culating purposes. 
 
 Most of the mistakes made are of this character, 
 the children evidently not thinking with sufficient 
 clearness of the concrete equivalents of the symbol 
 language used in calculating. There were few er- 
 rors in arithmetical processes except in decimal 
 points. These also could have been avoided if the 
 children had noticed whether or not the answers 
 they obtained were reasonable. It is evident there- 
 fore that neither teacher has failed to teach the 
 process that each is expected to teach, but it is
 
 SCHOOL ARITHMETIC 145 
 
 equally evident that as long as they confine them- 
 selves to their special work a third teacher is needed 
 to connect the two processes of calculating and cook- 
 ing in such a way as to serve the practical purposes 
 of life. The other possibilities are, either to have 
 one teacher teach both processes at the same time, 
 or have two teachers, both of whom teach both proc- 
 esses together, one emphasizing one phase and the 
 other the other. 
 
 In the school where the work described above 
 was done the problems occurring in the practical 
 arts work were often solved in the arithmetic class, 
 otherwise the complete failures would probably have 
 been more numerous. 
 
 In a sewing class the same children calculated the 
 cost of garments they had made. The following 
 are samples of their work. Some of the class, even 
 after an hour's effort, needed help in solving these 
 simple problems. 
 
 $0.10 
 
 yds, 
 
 . Lonsdale 
 
 cambric 
 
 3/20 
 20 
 
 for 
 
 buttons 
 
 
 26^3 
 3 
 
 
 $0.30
 
 146 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 PETTICOAT 
 
 IVz yds. of Lonsdale @ $0.10 $0.24 
 
 7/3x10/1=70/3=23^ or $0.24 .34 
 
 lYi Hamburg 12^c — 
 
 8/3x25/2=200/6=.33j^ or $0.34 ^"^^ 
 
 2V^ Lonercloth 
 
 CHEMISE 
 $0.16 
 
 
 
 2^ 
 
 
 
 3/16 
 32 
 
 
 3 Hamburer 
 
 $0.12^ 
 
 $0.37>^ 2/6 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 2/3 
 
 
 
 1/^ 
 36 
 
 
 
 $0.37^ 
 
 $0.74^ or $0.75 
 
 Practise in Formulating Problems Needed. — 
 These children spent a good deal of time on such 
 problems, which were far easier than some they had 
 often solved in their regular arithmetic work. They 
 found them hard, however, because they had to take 
 the concrete facts connected with sewing and for- 
 mulate them into problems expressed in arithmetical 
 language before they could get the required results. 
 This was something that their regular arithmetic
 
 SCHOOL ARITHMETIC 147 
 
 instruction had given them httle practise in doing. 
 It will be noticed that the way in which the frac- 
 tions are handled, especially in the petticoat prob- 
 lem, is that of the book rather than the shorter busi- 
 ness method. In the chemise problem also, note 
 that the significance of fractions is not estimated 
 but the third and half cents are reduced to sixths 
 and added. 
 
 The folly of strict adherence to fixed mathemat- 
 ical rules, without using common sense, is shown by 
 the following incident. One of the girls from this 
 school had a temporary position in a store, which 
 she hoped might become permanent. She sold three 
 kinds of ribbon to one customer, but the amount in 
 each case was three-fourths of a yard and the price 
 nineteen cents per yard. She did not comljine the 
 items, then calculate the amount, but tried to figure 
 the cost of each piece of ribbon according to the rule 
 for multiplying fractions. She took so long that 
 the 'Customer became impatient and another clerk 
 helped her. She had been trained in arithmetical 
 processes at the expense of practical judgment. 
 
 This is the case in many schools, hence it is not 
 strange that a parent should report that in every 
 case a younger child who had not been in school 
 could work little practical problems better than the 
 older who had, and that this younger child, after 
 he had been in school a few years, could not work
 
 148 JHE USE OF MONEY. 
 
 them so well as before, nor so well as his younger 
 sister. Teachers with the academic idea of training 
 children in the exact science of mathematics have 
 in reality made them more or less blind followers of 
 rules, with no thought of exercising their own judg- 
 ment in solving problems. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS 
 
 Courses of study in manual training are being replaced by 
 "projects" on the ground that the interest and the incidental 
 training in making something the child cares to make more 
 than balance the ease of learning produced by passing step by 
 step from easy to more difficult processes. There are similar 
 reasons for learning arithmetic by solving concrete problems 
 instead of studying it in an abstract way. If this plan were 
 followed the children would not learn tables or processes as 
 separate exercises, but would incidentally learn number com- 
 binations, and whenever the numbers in a problem were too 
 large for easy mental calculation they would be shown how to 
 perform the process more easily on paper. 
 
 Later, in the eighth grade or high school, arithmetic could 
 -be studied systematically as a science. The question is much 
 the same as that regarding language, where one may either 
 begin or end with grammar, or in reading, where one may 
 learn letters, then words, or learn words, then the letters of 
 which they are composed. 
 
 In the project or incidental plan of learning arithmetical 
 processes it is hard to get systematic knowledge of arithmetic, 
 while by the usual plan it is difficult to get practical knowl- 
 edge. Both ends could be gained by having many problems 
 worked at various times, as the solutions were needed in the 
 process of construction, then, at certain times, calling attention 
 to the common principle involved in several problems and 
 showing how a given process can be used for other solutions.
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 ARITHMETIC WITH A MOTIVE 
 
 Practical and Vital Arithmetic. — The benefits 
 derived from the study of arithmetic as a science 
 are as great as those derived from the study of 
 any other abstract science. All that present-day 
 educational science will allow to be claimed for the 
 disciplinary value of exact thinking may be well 
 claimed for the old-time arithmetic when taught 
 with thoroughness. A few pupils in each school ob- 
 tained these benefits but the great majority of them 
 got only various confused ideas and discouragement. 
 The attempt to make the work practical by having 
 many more problems like those in real life has prob- 
 ably decreased somewhat the disciplinary value of 
 the subject to the few, without increasing very much 
 the practical value to the many. 
 
 Only by associating arithmetical work with finan- 
 cial and other problems in which the child is per- 
 sonally interested can a full appreciation of the na- 
 ture and value of arithmetic be pnjduced. On the 
 other hand, financial training is imperfect and in- 
 
 149
 
 150 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 exact without a pretty good knowledge of arith- 
 metical processes. If the child has had good finan- 
 cial training in the home, before and after entering 
 school, a good foundation has been laid for work 
 in arithmetic. The school, however, needs not only 
 to build on this foundation but it must continue to 
 associate arithmetic work with real life and with 
 financial training. This is now being done in many 
 ways. 
 
 Some of these are direct and natural and others 
 more indirect and artificial. Not all the uses of 
 arithmetic in real life are financial, but most of such 
 uses are sooner or later of financial significance. 
 Computation regarding pounds, bushels, gallons, 
 acres, miles, etc., are of ultimate value chiefly in 
 comparing or determining costs, or deciding what 
 procedure is most or least profitable in various oc- 
 cupations and transactions. 
 
 Planning Garden Plots. — The difference be- 
 tween ordinary arithmetical work and that involved 
 in affairs in which children are vitally interested was 
 forcibly brought to the attention of one teacher 
 when she had her pupils lay out a piece of ground 
 for gardening. The amount of ground that could 
 be used was limited and it was desired that each one 
 should have as large a plot of his own to cultivate as 
 possible. To determine the size of each plot after 
 allowing for paths involved a good deal of careful
 
 ARITHMETIC WITH A MOTIVE 151 
 
 measuring and computing. The children all worked 
 with unusual vigor and interest at the problems. One 
 boy who had hitherto shown little interest or ability 
 in arithmetic worked at these difficult problems with 
 greater intensity, persistency and success than any 
 of the others. When asked the cause of his change 
 of attitude he replied that in the other work in 
 arithmetic they put the work on paper, the teacher 
 marked it and then it was thrown in the waste-bas- 
 ket and that was all there was to it, while these new 
 problems meant something. "We are all going to 
 have just as big a piece of ground as we can, to put 
 in garden," he said. 
 
 After grounds are laid out for a garden, planning 
 how much of each kind of seed will be needed, order- 
 ing the necessary amounts of seed and fertilizer and 
 computing cost for each plot give knowledge of 
 prices and ideas of business transactions, in asso- 
 ciation witii the necessary arithmetical processes, in 
 a way that adds to the child's financial training by 
 giving him an appreciation of and an ability in prac- 
 tical calculation that can not be developed in years 
 of systematic formal arithmetic. 
 
 Garden Accounts. — The following is a cash ac- 
 count of the school gardening operations carried on 
 by the eighth grade of the training scho(jl at the 
 State Normal at Hyannis, Massachusetts, as kept 
 by one of the pupils.
 
 152 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 EIGHTH GRADE GARDEN, CASH ACCOUNT 
 
 1913 Dr. 
 
 Sept. 19— Beans, Mr. G $0.15 
 
 Oct. 2— Checks, Normal 11-32 
 
 $11.47 
 Oct. 27— By balance 6.86 
 
 1913 Cr. 
 
 Feb. 26— J. Breck & Sons $0.02 
 
 Feb. 26— P. Henderson & Co 02 
 
 Feb. 26— R. J. Farquhar 02 
 
 Feb. 26— C. A. Drier 02 
 
 Feb. 26— Potter-Fiske-Rawson Co 02 
 
 Apr. 4— J. Breck & Sons 02 
 
 Apr. 9— J. Breck & Sons 01 
 
 Apr. 14 — Express, seeds 35 
 
 May 1— J. Breck & Sons 2.85 
 
 June 12— W. D. Baker 50 
 
 June 12— M. G. Bradford 35 
 
 June 19— W. D. Baker 18 
 
 Oct. 2— Eldred, work in garden 25 
 
 Oct. 27— To balance 6.86 
 
 $11.47 
 
 Practical Judgment Needed. — How helpless 
 children are Hkely to be without a good deal of 
 practical training, is shown by the following experi- 
 ence of a teacher of nature study, who was prepar- 
 ing to fumigate a greenhouse. His pupils of the 
 eighth grade had already worked some problems in 
 connection with work in which they had been en- 
 gaged, yet when he told them the amount of mate-
 
 ARITHMETIC WITH A MOTIVE 153 
 
 rial required for each hundred cubic feet of space 
 and asked them to find how much would be needed 
 to fumigate the greenhouse in which they were then 
 standing, only half of them realized that they must 
 first measure the greenhouse before they could solve 
 the problem. 
 
 In cooking, sewing and other practical arts — in 
 work of all kinds where the children are doing some- 
 thing of actual value to themselves individually or 
 to the school — various calculations are necessary if 
 the best results are to be secured in the shortest time 
 and with least cost. It is not enough to have such 
 work done to furnish examples for arithmetical 
 work, or to ask them to figure the cost of materials 
 as an extra task. There must be a motive for en- 
 gaging in the work and calculations must appear as 
 a necessary means to accomplishing it. 
 
 In the following example the arithmetical work 
 in connection with cooking seems to be very good as 
 arithmetic but does it result in practical training in 
 the doing of what is necessary in the shortest way? 
 
 HEAVY WHITE SAUCE 
 
 Milk, 1 cup, @ $0.08 qt.=4 cups $0.02 
 
 Butter, 2 tablespoons, (n) .33 11).=2 cups 02062 
 
 Flour, 2 tablespoons, (aj .29 Ib.=4 cups 00090 
 
 Salt Vi teaspoon, @ .21 for 20 lb 00002 
 
 Total for 12 girls $0.04154
 
 154 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 Is it necessary to calculate the cost of the small 
 amount of salt used? Would any practical man 
 take the time to do so? Do not the children feel 
 that they are calculating only for practise? 
 
 Again, would not a practical man avoid the nu- 
 merous small fractions by figuring the total cost for 
 twelve girls and then, if he wished the cost for each, 
 divide by twelve ? \ 
 
 Exact Figuring for Practise Only Not Desir- 
 able. — The practise of making a little dab of pud- 
 ding or a coat hanger and computing the cost of 
 material and perhaps of time is largely a formal 
 process that usually gives little practical financial 
 and arithmetical training. The amounts are so small 
 that the pupil cares little for the answer, which in- 
 volves long operations with fractions. On the other 
 hand, for a group of girls to plan the whole meal 
 for a certain number of persons, or the menu for the 
 school lunches for a week, in such a way that the 
 best may be supplied at least cost, keeping the ex- 
 pense within a certain amount, gives the very best 
 sort of practical training in finance and in arith- 
 metical processes. In a similar way, girls and boys 
 who are doing work for themselves or for the school 
 may get the best of training by planning how to 
 make a dress, a hammock, a bookcase, a fence or 
 sidewalk, without the cost exceeding a certain
 
 ARITHMETIC WITH A MOTIVE 155 
 
 amount. To make such calculations effective as a 
 means of financial training, children, singly and in 
 groups, must be given some responsibility in the 
 tasks undertaken and enjoy the credit of having 
 done the work successfully, not only from the me- 
 chanical point of view but also as a business transac- 
 tion. The solving of problems should be considered 
 not as an exercise by itself, but as one of the things 
 that must be done in order to accomplish a de- 
 sired end. The school should honor faithful and ef- 
 ficient work in school affairs as similar work in the 
 community and the state is honored, i. e., by some 
 expression of appreciation rather than by a formal 
 mark. 
 
 Responsibility for a Luncheon. — In the New- 
 ton, Massachusetts, school a luncheon was served to 
 six and the cost figured as follows : 
 
 POTATO SOUP (V/i TIMI-.S THE RULE) 
 
 5 potatoes $0.05 
 
 1J4 quarts milk 10 
 
 3 slices onion 0025 
 
 3^ tablespoons butter 0416 
 
 3 tablespoons flour 0012 
 
 2 teaspoons gait 0002 
 
 Seasonings 005 
 
 $0.2005 
 
 CROUTONS FOR SIX GUESTS 
 
 % loaf bread $0.02
 
 156 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 SPANISH CREAM 
 
 1 tablespoon granulated gelatine $0,025 
 
 3 cups milk 06 
 
 3 eggs 06 
 
 Yi cup sugar 0127 
 
 1 teaspoon vanilla 0104 
 
 J4 teaspoon salt 0005 
 
 $0.1686 
 
 CHEESE WAFERS 
 
 Yi, pound cheese $0,025 
 
 Crackers 03 
 
 $0,055 
 DRESSED LETTUCE 
 
 1 head lettuce $0.08 
 
 French Dressing — 
 
 Seasonings 01 
 
 2 tablespoons vinegar 0014 
 
 4 tablespoons olive oil 0388 
 
 $0.1302 
 
 MASHED POTATO 
 
 8 potatoes $0.18 
 
 2 tablespoons butter , 0206 
 
 Yi cup milk 01 
 
 Seasonings 005 
 
 $0.1156 
 
 WHITE SAUCE 
 
 1 cup milk $0.02 
 
 2 tablespoons flour .0008 
 
 2 tablespoons butter .0206 
 
 Seasonings .005 
 
 $0.0464
 
 ARITHMETIC WITH A MOTIVE 157 
 
 - SPONGE CAKE 
 
 4 eggs $0.10 
 
 1 cup sugar 0255 
 
 Yi cup potato flour 0025 
 
 1 teaspoon baking powder 01 
 
 Frosting 047 
 
 $0,185 
 
 WHITE MOUNTAIN FROSTING 
 
 Yi cup water 
 
 1 cup sugar $0.0255 
 
 Yi egg (white) 0125 
 
 Yi teaspoons vanilla 005 
 
 $0,043 
 COFFEE 
 
 1 cup coflFee $0.08 
 
 1 egg 02 
 
 Yi, lb. lump sugar @ .08 lb 01 
 
 Yi Pt. cream @ .08 11 
 
 $0.19 
 
 LUNCHEON. NOVEMBER 13, 1913 
 
 $1.57 
 Menu Total Cost 
 
 Potato soup $0.20 
 
 Croutons 02 
 
 Lamb chops (kidney), @ .30 lb 41 
 
 Mashed potatoes 11 
 
 Creamed carrots (white sauce) 05 
 
 Bread 05 
 
 Butter, J4 lb. («^ .33 lb 08 
 
 Dressed lettuce 11 
 
 Cheese wafers 04 
 
 Spanish cream 21
 
 158 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 Sponge cake 14 
 
 Coffee 105 
 
 Frosting for cake 143 
 
 $1,573 
 This lunch was served to six persons 
 
 The cost of each article in the menu was recorded 
 in detail on separate cards and the totals on another 
 card. The pupils were probably instructed as to the 
 forms to be used and the work was neatly done. 
 Slight errors, apparently in copying, were, how- 
 ever, made. 
 
 Such problems, involving cost of materials ac- 
 tually used, must give valuable financial truths. In 
 proportion as they feel responsibility for a correct 
 answer, do the pupils solving them develop economic 
 appreciation and business judgment in connection 
 with the mathematical calculations. 
 
 Responsibility for School Repairs and Sup- 
 plies. — When school authorities abandon the 
 policy of providing buildings, furniture and appara- 
 tus and keeping them in complete repair, for the 
 plan of having the children, under the guidance of 
 skilled workmen and teachers, make a good deal of 
 the furniture and apparatus and keep everything in 
 repair, it will be possible to bring children, indi- 
 vidually and in groups, to face actual problems of 
 finance and figuring. 
 
 In a school where eighth-grade children were
 
 ARITHMETIC WITH A MOTIVE 159 
 
 serving lunch for the rest of the children they took 
 part in making change and in making up the ac- 
 counts of the lunch-room, as well as in preparing the 
 lunch and figuring the cost of materials. The 
 teacher, however, in order to make sure that every- 
 thing was properly served and that there were no 
 mistakes in making change, supervised it all pretty 
 closely. This was perhaps well at first; but would 
 it not have been possible, after some practise, to 
 have thrown the responsibility on them and thus 
 have given them the same stimulus to efficient work 
 that is found in real life? Should they not also 
 have been asked to compare costs with receipts, with 
 a view to fixing future prices of the articles served 
 at lunch? 
 
 When the time comes that children are engaged 
 in making things of commercial value and each 
 school has a certain apportionment to be used in sup- 
 plying furniture and apparatus for that building, 
 and in making improvements and repairs, it will be 
 possible not only for pupils doing the work to get the 
 financial training involved in such processes, but the 
 commercial students may keep books and carry on 
 real bookkeeping in connection with the school 
 finances. 
 
 Expert Training in All Lines Not Needed. — 
 To be entirely successful such work must not be car- 
 ried on with the idea, so common in many schools,
 
 160 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 that each pupil must learn just so much of every 
 thing and all must attain equal efficiency. Instead, 
 the actual conditions- found in the community 
 should be allowed to have their counterpart in school. 
 A grocer knows something of dry goods and book- 
 keeping, of baking, carpentering and plumbing, but 
 he has special knowledge only of the goods and the 
 transactions of his own business. In a similar way 
 each pupil should know something of the processes, 
 materials and methods of keeping records connected 
 with various jobs in which he has a part, but the 
 pupils whose special business it is to make a cup- 
 board for the cooking room need not be experts in 
 cooking or in bookkeeping, but they should know 
 enough of one to plan a practicable cupboard, and 
 of the other to hand in a report of materials used 
 that will enable the keeper of books to do his work 
 properly. 
 
 Make-Believe and Real Business. — Various 
 devices have been used with more or less success to 
 make arithmetical processes and business transac- 
 tions real to children, such as buying and selling with 
 imitation money, carrying on imaginary bookkeep-' 
 ing, banking, etc. Many of them involve some sort 
 of play or make-believe. With small children such 
 devices may work quite well because they are often 
 as much interested in playing at adult activities as in 
 actually doing things. This interest is not, how-
 
 ARITHMETIC WITH A MOTIVE 161 
 
 ever, often strong enough to make them persist in 
 working with care and exactness. They would 
 rather, as in other imaginative play, go through the 
 form of doing things but imagine all the difficult 
 parts done, instead of troubling themselves to do 
 them. 
 
 With older children the make-believe is not so at- 
 tractive. They crave realities and are not satisfied 
 for very long with sham transactions. The chief 
 value for them, and one of the chief values for 
 younger children in such work, is in learning some- 
 thing of the forms of business, which enables them 
 better to picture the conditions of the problems 
 given in business arithmetic. 
 
 In other cases the business transactions that serve 
 as material for arithmetical calculations are real. 
 Real bills, notes, receipts, etc., are brought into the 
 schoolroom and the children make just such calcula- 
 tions as the clerk, bookkeeper or banker must make. 
 This is one of the best ways of giving reality to 
 arithmetical processes and a good preparation for 
 going into business. The children may, however, 
 not have a personal interest or responsibility in 
 making such calculations. They know that those 
 who are carrying on the business will not make any 
 use of their figures. 
 
 If, however, the pupil has interspersed with make- 
 believe problems and real business problems of other
 
 162 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 people some individual and school problems that are 
 real, and in which the results are of importance to 
 the pupil or to the school of which he is a member, 
 interest will be felt in problems that do not so di- 
 rectly concern him and he will get a broader finan- 
 cial and arithmetical training than he would get if 
 he worked only the problems that arise in the finan- 
 cial affairs of himself and his school. 
 
 School Problems. — Some of the same results 
 are obtained by studying the business of some one 
 in the community and trying to solve his practical 
 problems. In one school the children make a study 
 of such occupations as those of milkman or boot- 
 black, figuring out the actual or probable income, 
 the expenses and the profits. They also try to solve 
 practical problems such as : "Does it pay best to buy 
 dresses ready-made or to buy material and make 
 them, taking into account the time required to make 
 them and the length of time they will last?" In at 
 least one school nearly the whole of the arithmetic 
 work is of this type and it is claimed the results are 
 good. 
 
 Pupils Trained to Do Business. — In the Nor- 
 mal School at Fitchburg, Massachusetts, the chil- 
 dren of the eighth grade of the Practical Arts 
 School who are taking the commercial course get a 
 good deal of practical economic training by assist-
 
 ARITHMETIC WITH A MOTIVE 163 
 
 ing the bookkeeper in auditing the bills of the insti- 
 tution and in writing its business letters. 
 
 The commercial department is conducted as a reg- 
 ular business institution and is practically the Nor- 
 mal School business office, where all of the checks are 
 made out by the children, and supplies are accounted 
 for and disbursed. The school accounts are kept 
 here, car tickets are sold to the students of both the 
 Normal and Practical Arts Schools, and most of the 
 school typewriting is also done in this department. 
 All of the Normal School checks, which are nu- 
 merous and often for large amounts, are written 
 here. One of the children recently had the experi- 
 ence of writing a check for over eight thousand dol- 
 lars, as the final payment on the new school dor- 
 mitory. 
 
 Practical experience in bookkeeping is provided 
 by the school accounts and books, considerable busi- 
 ness detail being involved in the management of the 
 school, with its several model and practise schools, 
 dormitories, etc., all of which is now conducted by 
 the children under adult supervision. The school 
 supplies are looked after efficiently by this depart- 
 ment, records being kept of those on hand and those 
 given out, and new orders placed by the children. 
 In the sale of car tickets and in many other instances 
 actual money is handled by the children.
 
 164 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 Estimating the Cost of Work Being Done. — 
 
 The pupils of the same school who are taking the 
 practical arts course get many of the problems in 
 arithmetic from the various jobs that they do. The 
 following are some of the problems formulated by 
 young men taking the practical arts course for 
 teachers, and solved by pupils of the eighth grade in 
 the practical arts school. The problems mean some- 
 thing because the pupils have all had a part in the 
 work with which they deal. To get the full benefit 
 of this kind of work the children should have a part 
 in formulating the principal problem of total cost, 
 then the subordinate problems that must be solved 
 in order to get the total. It would be well also to 
 have estimates of cost compared later with actual 
 accounts of time and material required. 
 
 PROBLEMS ON PAPER CABINET FOR NORMAL 
 SCHOOL OFFICE 
 
 Statements. The cabinet consists of the following pieces : 
 
 (A) Top and bottom, each 24^" x 16". 
 
 (B) Two sides, each 23^"xl6". 
 
 (C) Back, 231^" X 24%". 
 
 All these pieces are %" thick. 
 
 (D) Three shelves, each 23j^" x 16" x J^". 
 Oak is $66.00 per M. board feet. 
 
 Problem. What will be the cost for the lumber in this 
 cabinet? 
 
 Statements. A journeyman carpenter takes 2^ hours to 
 do the machine work, and V/2 hours to put the case together 
 and sandpaper it.
 
 ARITHMETIC WITH A MOTIVE 165 
 
 Problem. What will be the cost of labor on this cabinet at 
 $.40 an hour? 
 
 Statements. It takes — 
 (J) 1 lb. of filler with stain @ $.20 a lb. 
 (K) 1 pt. of shellac @ $2.40 a gal. 
 (L) 1 qt. of varnish @ $3.00 a gal. 
 
 Problem. What will be the cost of material to finish this 
 cabinet : 
 
 Statements. It takes — 
 
 (M) A journeyman painter V/2 hours to fill, stain and rub 
 the cabinet. 
 
 (N) y2 hr. to put on and rub one coat of shellac. 
 
 (O) 1 hr. to put on two coats of varnish. 
 
 Problem. What will be the cost of labor in finishing the 
 cabinet @ $.40 an hour ? 
 
 Statements. 
 
 (P) The work of one journeyman is equal to the work of 
 2 young men and to the work of 12 eighth-grade boys. 
 
 Problem. How long will it take 1 young man and 1 boy to 
 construct this cabinet? How long to finish it? 
 
 167xl6=23.5x24.7S=22.594=Bd. ft. of lumber. 
 
 144 144 
 
 22.594X66=:$1.4912 exact cost for lumber. 
 
 1000 
 
 1.4912x6/5=$1.79=probable cost, allowing 1/5 extra for buy- 
 ing and waste. 
 
 4X$.40=$1.60, cost of constructing. 
 
 1 lb. of filler $0.20 
 
 1 pt. of shellac .30 
 
 1 qt. of varnish 75 
 
 $1.25=cost for finishing material.
 
 166 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 Statement. 
 
 It takes a carpenter 4 hrs. to do his work. 
 It takes a young man 8 hours to do his work. 
 It takes a boy 48 hours to do his work. 
 The young man can do J/^ in 1 hr. 
 The boy can do 1/48. 
 They can do together 7/48 in 1 hr. 
 
 48-^-7=66/7 hrs.=time for young man and boy to con- 
 struct cabinet. 
 
 It takes a painter 3 hrs. to do work. 
 It takes a young man 6 hrs. to do work. 
 It takes a boy 36 hrs. to do work. 
 The young man can do 1/6 in 1 hr. 
 The boy can do 1/36 in 1 hr. 
 They can do together 7/36 in 1 hr. 
 
 36-^7=5 1/7 hrs. time for young man and boy to finish 
 work. 
 
 CONCRETE WALK 
 
 Extends from Highland Avenue to the subway connecting 
 the Normal School and the Edgerly School. 
 
 EXCAVATION 
 
 1. All excavations are carried to a depth of 18". 
 
 2. All excavations are carried to the width of the drive 
 plus the space on each side of the drive which is occupied by 
 the forms. 
 
 3. The building of the forms necessitates excavatng 6" be- 
 yond the edges of the walk. 
 
 LABOR 
 
 1. On account of the ground in this case, five men can 
 excavate 20 cu. yd. of dirt per 8-hour day. 
 
 2. All excavating and filling is done by these laborers, who 
 are each paid $2.00 per 8-hour day, except one man, who acts 
 as foreman, and receives $2.50.
 
 ARITHMETIC WITH A MOTIVE 167 
 
 3. Base is made of cinders and cobbles. It is 13" in depth. 
 
 4. Laborers will fill in base as fast as they excavate the 
 ground. 
 
 5. Two carpenters can build 100 linear ft. of forms for the 
 walk per 8-hour day. They are each paid $3.50 per day. 
 
 Questions 
 
 1. What will be the cost for labor in excavating 435 sq. 
 yd. of ground to a depth of 18"? 
 
 2. What will be the cost of labor in filling 435 sq. yd. of 
 base 13" in depth? 
 
 3. What will be the cost for labor in building wooden 
 forms on both sides of 257 linear ft. of walks? 
 
 Statement 
 
 The layer above the base, called grout, is 4" in depth, and 
 consists of 1 part cement, 3 parts sand and 5 parts cobbles. 
 The upper surface is 1" in depth and consists of 1 part cement, 
 1 part sand and 1 part granite chips. 
 
 LABOR 
 
 Five laborers mix and fill 10 cu. yd. of grout as quickly as 
 they excavate 20 cu. yd. of ground. Five laborers can mix 
 and fill 50 sq. yds. of wearing surface per 8-hour day. One 
 of these men, a mason, is paid $4.80 per 8-hour day. 
 
 Problems 
 
 1. What will be the cost for labor in mixing and filling 435 
 sq. yd. of grout, 4" in depth? 
 
 2. What will be the cost for labor in mixing and filling 435 
 sq. yd. of wearing surface, 1" in depth? 
 
 435X/^=no. of cu. yd. 
 217.5 cu. yd. -f-20 cu. yd.=10^=no. of da. 
 $10.50X19^6=$! 14.1875=cxact cost. 
 $10.50X1 l=$115.50=probable cost.
 
 168 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 435x13/36=157 l/12=ino. cu. yd. 
 157 1/12 cu. yd.-f-20 cu. yd.=:7 41/48=:no. of da. 
 $10.50X7 41/48=$82.46875=exact cost. 
 $10.50x8=$84.00=probable cost. 
 
 514 linear ft. of forms to be made. 
 514 linear ft.-f-lOO linear ft.=5.14=no. of da. 
 $7.00x5.14=:$35.98=exact cost 
 $7.00x5.5=$38.50=probable cost. 
 
 435xl/9=48i^=no. 4— $2.00 4.8^=days to lay grout 
 
 cu. yd. of grout 1 — $4.80 8.7 =days to lay top surface 
 
 $12.80 13.5^=total no. days 
 
 $12.80xl3.Si^=$173.2666=:exact cost. 
 5 men 13.5 days=$172.80. 
 Boys and 1 man ^ day=$3.40. 
 $172.80+$3.40=$176.20=probable cost. 
 
 5 men 13 days=$166.40. 
 
 Extra man Yi day and 5 regular men Yi day=7.40. 
 
 $166.40 plus 7.40=$173.80=probable cost 
 
 Community Accounting in School. — A plan 
 which has been begun and is likely to be extended is 
 that of interesting children in the financial affairs of 
 the home and the community and letting them be- 
 come more or less responsible for keeping records 
 and making calculations. In rural communities boys 
 may keep the farm crop accounts and the girls the 
 home accounts under the supervision of the teacher. 
 In cities some of the home and business calculations 
 may be performed by the children under the direc-
 
 ARITHMETIC WITH A MOTIVE 169 
 
 tion of the teacher, of course not bringing in any- 
 thing that is essentially private. 
 
 In both rural and city communities children may 
 keep some or all of the public accounts with the help 
 of the teacher. In one town all the school accounts 
 are kept by the pupils. In another all of the town 
 accounts are kept by the children. They also take 
 part in planning the budgets, figuring, assessments, 
 etc., for the next year. Nothing can be of more 
 practical value in arithmetical, financial and social 
 training than such work as this. In Gary the 
 pupils run a cooperative store where school supplies 
 are purchased. 
 
 Superintendent Edgerly, of Fitchburg, in the fol- 
 lowing statement sent out to his schools, gives il- 
 lustrations of what may be done to associate real 
 financial training with arithmetical work. 
 
 February, 1913. 
 It is expected that the city of Fitchburg will appropriate 
 for the school department this year amounts as follows : 
 
 Item 1. Salaries of Teachers in Day Schools and 
 
 Superintendent $104,000.00 
 
 Item 2. Salaries of F-vcninR Scliool Teachers 2,580.00 
 
 Item 3. Transportation of Pupils 1,720.00 
 
 Item 4. Free Text-Books and Supplies 6,100.00 
 
 Item 5. Incidentals 9,300.00 
 
 In case these sums shall be appropriated, what per cent, of 
 the entire sura will be appropriated for item 1?
 
 170 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 What per cent, for item 2? 
 What per cent, for item 3? 
 What per cent, for item 4? 
 What per cent, for item 5? 
 
 There are in all the schools four thousand three hundred 
 and thirty-one pupils. How much will be appropriated for each 
 pupil? Thirteen years is the time allowed for completing the 
 entire course. In case each one of these pupils should attend 
 school the entire time and the amount appropriated each year 
 for each pupil should be the same amount that is appropri- 
 ated this year, how much will the city expend for the educa- 
 tion of each pupil? 
 
 Name of Pupil 
 
 Name of School 
 
 Grade 
 
 Date 
 
 SUGGESTIONS 
 
 The following questions may well be considered by indi- 
 viduals and clubs interested in better financial training of 
 school children. 
 
 What work in arithmetic in your schools is helping chil- 
 dren to a real knowledge of financial affairs and what is not? 
 
 How may the children not only be interested in the work 
 but feel responsible that the results shall be correct? 
 
 Will children continue to be interested in working even 
 vitally important problems if they are unsuccessful? 
 
 What means may be used to keep up their courage and 
 interest in the case of difficult problems? 
 
 If a practical problem involves a process not yet learned, 
 would it be well, when the numbers are such as to make it 
 difficult, to use a simpler problem to teach that process?
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 INCIDENTAL AND INTENTIONAL FINANCIAL TRAIN- 
 ING IN SCHOOL AFFAIRS 
 
 Free Supplies May Encourage Waste. — In 
 most public schools where there is no tuition, and 
 books, paper, pencils, etc., are supplied free, the chil- 
 dren think very little about the cost of anything that 
 they use. Teachers sometimes try to give financial 
 training by urging them to economize in the use of 
 supplies. Such experiences as the following are re- 
 ported by normal students : 
 
 "We were continually told to be saving of the 
 paper and pencils that were given us and to be care- 
 ful c)f the text-books and other school property. I 
 well remember the day when we were first given in- 
 dividual blocks of paper. Each of us felt so proud. 
 Soon many of us were using paper in enormous 
 quantities, writing a word or two on one sheet, then 
 destroying it and using another in like manner. Our 
 teacher was disgusted with us. The day came when 
 she gave us a grand lecture, telling us that every 
 sheet we wasted cost the town so much. From this 
 
 171
 
 172 JHE USE OF MONEY 
 
 she went on to say that as the town expenses in- 
 creased, so did the taxes. This has always remained 
 with me and I class it among the instances in my 
 life which have given me financial training." 
 
 "In the primary grades I learned somewhat to 
 know the value of money. Ever since I can remem- 
 ber, I've been told not to mark or tear books and 
 not to waste paper. I've been told that books were 
 valuable and must be used for many years. I re- 
 member one teacher saying, 'Never throw away a 
 piece of paper while there is a bit of blank space on 
 it.' Of course, like most children, I considered this 
 foolish, but after seeing how much good paper was 
 thrown away each day I began to realize how waste- 
 ful and extravagant some people were. They used 
 four or five times as much paper as they needed, 
 thereby spending or causing to be spent four or five 
 times as much as was necessary." 
 
 "The greater part of my schooling was gained in 
 a small country town where books, pencils, paper, 
 etc., were furnished us. We were cautioned in re- 
 gard to marking the books or soiling them; the pa- 
 per was given to us in small quantities when we 
 needed it. Our pencil generally was to last us one 
 term, and thus the teacher, to some extent, instilled 
 into our minds the value of these materials and the 
 cost of them to the town. Still, I noticed that the 
 books were disfigured, the paper often needlessly
 
 SCHOOL AFFAIRS 173 
 
 wasted and pencils lost, and I never realized very 
 greatly until about twelve the real saving that could 
 be made. At this age, from September to the mid- 
 dle of November, I went to school in Tuxedo, New 
 York. Even for so short a time I was obliged to 
 buy all the books I was to use, together with every 
 pencil and piece of paper. Then it was I began to 
 know the advantages of my country school life and 
 the cost of the articles we used." 
 
 Each School Might Be Responsible for Its 
 Supplies. — It is evident that although some- 
 times lasting effects may be produced by a teacher's 
 words and acts with regard to supplies, yet without 
 definite figuring and personal experience of cost on 
 the part of pupils her teaching is not likely to be 
 permanently effective. 
 
 Indeed it may be claimed that furnishing free 
 school supplies is unfavorable to giving real finan- 
 cial training, because the children do not themselves 
 feel the results of wastefulness. It would be possi- 
 l)le, however, to get the advantages of free supplies 
 and at the same time get good financial training 
 l)Oth individual and social. If each school were 
 allowed so much for supplies each year, with the 
 privilege of using any money saved from this sum 
 for buying pictures, library books, play apparatus or 
 other things of value to the school, there would be 
 an excellent cliance for the teacher and pupils to do
 
 174 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 real financiering. Accounts could be kept of all 
 supplies received and used during each term, by the 
 school and perhaps by each pupil. The children 
 could then figure out the amount and cost of the 
 various articles used and perhaps the amounts used 
 individually. They could also plan how to econo- 
 mize and how to spend what they saved. 
 
 The allowance to the school might include money 
 for repairs, and the children could, in some cases, 
 buy the materials and do the work themselves, thus 
 saving money and at the same time getting the best 
 possible financial and industrial training. The fol- 
 lowing testimonies are of interest in this connec- 
 tion: 
 
 "In the first and second grades, every Christmas, 
 my teacher planned a celebration. Each child bought 
 one present for some one else, and we were limited 
 as to the amount which we could spend. This, I 
 think, was a beginning which helped to train my 
 mind in the use of money. I had the experience of 
 seeing how far I could make my money go and in 
 choosing the best thing I could buy for that sum. 
 Further on, in higher grades, we used to bring 
 money for flowers for sick classmates. This expe- 
 rience was of value in that it taught me that if 
 every one helps in a financial work by giving a little 
 success can be attained." 
 
 "All through our high-school life our class had,
 
 SCHOOL AFFAIRS 175 
 
 financially but one object in view. That was to make 
 money with which to go to Washington. We sold 
 popcorn and lemonade at baseball games. We gave 
 plays, suppers and fairs. We collected old papers, 
 had a lunch counter at school and worked our brains 
 over many a money-making scheme. Besides earn- 
 ing money we were unconsciously acquiring some- 
 thing that would do us far more good. \Ye were ac- 
 quiring the ability to make money and were learn- 
 ing to plan ways of our own to that end. We were 
 learning its value also, and what a hard thing it is 
 to get." 
 
 "In the lower grades I had little training in a 
 financial way. Money was collected once or twice 
 a year for presents or charity, but not until the 
 seventh grade did we have a class treasury. Our 
 teacher tried to get us greatly interested in our class 
 affairs. One day we all brought rubbers and with 
 the money obtained from the junkman we increased 
 our fund to the great sum of four dollars. Then 
 again we hired a team and collected all the news- 
 papers we could beg. We sold them to the same 
 junkman and added sixty cents to our hoard. When 
 I entered the high school I obtained further train- 
 ing l)y being appointed class collector for the ath- 
 letic association. At times this was a great trial and 
 I certainly found out how hard it is to part some 
 people from their money. My greatest training was
 
 176 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 in the senior year when we held our dances and re- 
 joiced at the end of the year to hear that we had 
 made one hundred dollars on our paper." 
 
 "In high school, as a member of the school coun- 
 cil, I had the handling of money from the sale of 
 tickets for our entertainments, lectures, games and 
 athletics. Then at the meetings held by the editors 
 of our school paper we discussed many topics deal- 
 ing with money, such as the cost of getting out the 
 paper, the amount to be charged for advertising 
 space and the price per copy, in order to put it on a 
 paying basis. Junior and senior year there was the 
 collecting of class dues, expenditures for class-day 
 demonstrations and a general clearing up of class 
 bills. Lastly, as a member of our class book com- 
 mittee, I obtained a definite idea of just how much it 
 costs to publish such a book, for the printing, en- 
 graving, binding and many little things increase the 
 expense." 
 
 "During our senior year the book supply room 
 was under the charge of a student for a large part 
 of the time. The student in charge sold supplies to 
 the other students. Tickets for all entertainments 
 or lectures at the school were sold by students." 
 
 Opportunities for Financial Training Becom- 
 ing Greater. — It is evident from the examples 
 given that there are many opportunities in every 
 school for real financial training and for good prac-
 
 SCHOOL AFFAIRS 177 
 
 tise in arithmetical processes in working problems 
 where the amounts are of specific significance to the 
 children. Teachers have been taking advantage of 
 these opportunities to a limited extent. With the 
 present increase of practical work in the school and 
 of cooperative social action on the part of classes, 
 societies and schools, there will be many ways for 
 live teachers to give effective financial training and 
 at the same time to succeed at last in making arith- 
 metic practical. 
 
 The following statement, from Principal Currier 
 of the training school of the Hyannis Normal 
 School, Massachusetts, describes some of these 
 ways : 
 
 "In the garden work the children keep an account 
 with the garden and themselves, in which they learn 
 how to enter items of expense and receipts, and how 
 to balance the same. In the sale of vegetables from 
 the garden arises the question of the advantage of 
 sales to the consumer directly, such as the Normal 
 School, and to the middleman or the local store- 
 keeper. 
 
 "In the club the members pay dues of five cents 
 every two weeks, and if not paid on time they are 
 fined one cent per week until they are paid. Their 
 attention is called to the fact that possibly this is 
 comparable to the interest charges on taxes when 
 taxes arc not paid at a certain time.
 
 178 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 "For a few years past the boys in the manual 
 training room have put into the club treasury a cer- 
 tain per cent, of their money earned in their work 
 there. Some of the children earned more than oth- 
 ers and so paid into the treasury of the club larger 
 amounts than others. We tried to tie this up to the 
 study of taxes. 
 
 "On inquiry I find that a number of the children 
 have bank accounts which they started at the sugges- 
 tion of a parent or some other relative. A few keep 
 a sort of cash account, and while begun before their 
 study of such a subject in the school, yet the school 
 discussion has helped them to a little better and 
 neater bookkeeping. 
 
 "When the postal savings bank was established 
 at the local post-office, the subject of a bank account, 
 the saving of money, etc., was discussed with the 
 children, and an effort made to induce them to start 
 an account. Four of the children of this year's 
 eighth and ninth grades are pledged to start such an 
 account." 
 
 From Louisville, Kentucky, in reply to questions, 
 comes the following account of the financial train- 
 ing in one school. 
 
 "Children are encouraged to bring proper lunches 
 from home. Since we have not a lunch-room, there 
 being no place for it at present, bringing pennies to 
 school is forbidden in the primary grades.
 
 SCHOOL AFFAIRS 179 
 
 "Children are healthier and the attendance is im- 
 proved thereby. 
 
 "California privet and English ivy, raised in a 
 small cold frame three feet square, were sold. Veg- 
 etables and flower seeds, raised in the school and 
 home gardens, were also sold. This money was 
 used for garden tools. 
 
 "Our City Beautiful Club, comprised of children 
 of grades two-six, contributes five cents per month 
 per family. This is not compulsory, however. Two 
 pictures were bought by the club for the school. 
 The Harvest Field ($4.50) and TJie Birch Trees 
 ($7.25). 
 
 "Each fall bulbs are distributed among its mem- 
 bers and among those residents who live in the im- 
 mediate neighborhood of the school, also five hun- 
 dred bulbs for the school garden. 
 
 "Sixty yards of calico were sent to a mountain 
 school in Kentucky to be made up into children's 
 bonnets, aprons and dresses. These were sold to 
 the parents of the school at one of their bazaars 
 to help defray the expense of a fence surrounding 
 the school, thus enabling them to plant vines, flow- 
 ers and trees and otherwise beautify the premises." 
 
 Superintendent Mills of Ogdcn City schools, 
 Utah, reports as follows: 
 
 "We are making a systematic effort to have boys 
 work either at home or elsewhere for money. Fur-
 
 180 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 ther to aid in this effort, one unit of credit is given 
 on the school cards for 'home industry.' We preach 
 the doctrine that a parent who does not train a son 
 or daughter to work and save is robbing the com- 
 munity of a good citizen and bequeathing a nui- 
 sance." 
 
 Some schools have a better chance for giving inci- 
 dental and direct financial training than others. In 
 all vocational and trade schools, either half or whole 
 time, and in continuation schools, there are good 
 chances for directly correlating the work done with 
 real financial problems and the methods of figuring 
 and accounting associated with them. In the Fitch- 
 burg high school the commercial students keep the 
 accounts of the stamp savings in the schools. 
 
 In Los Angeles all the financial affairs of the high- 
 school community are in the hands of the pupils, 
 supervised by members of the faculty. They not 
 only attend to the finances of the class and athletic 
 and other affairs, but they raise money for school 
 purposes, such as a printing press or an athletic field, 
 by forming a stock company and selling stock. The 
 profits, if there are any, go into the general school 
 fund. 
 
 Financiering in Institutions. — In such an in- 
 stitution as the "George Junior Republic" the finan- 
 cial training is, in the nature of the institution, 
 inevitable. All members must work for money to
 
 SCHOOL AFFAIRS 181 
 
 pay for their board and to buy clothing or other 
 things that they need or wish. The motives for 
 proper management of their own affairs are the 
 same as will influence them when they are adults. 
 It is interesting to note the fact that although many 
 of the early residents of the "Republic" were used 
 to getting all they could out of charity workers, yet 
 when the "Republic" was established, nearly all be- 
 came self-supporting. The few who allowed them- 
 selves to become a public expense were so unpopular 
 that they soon began earning their own food and 
 clothing. Without this financial feature of the in- 
 stitution a self-governing reform school, such as 
 this, would be utterly impossible. The plan might 
 be extended to orphan asylums and other institu- 
 tions, but not so effectively to those where the in- 
 mates spend only a part of the day at the institu- 
 tions. 
 
 Accounts of School Organizations. — There 
 can be no doubt that many officers of student organ- 
 izations handle a large amount of money in a very 
 unbusines.slike way. Not only do mistakes and dis- 
 satisfaction sometimes result, but a splendid oppor- 
 tunity to teach officers of such .societies and, to a less 
 extent, all members, proper business methods, is 
 often missed.* 
 
 *.\ Roof! account of the instruction Riven stiiflcnts in one 
 institution tliat is awake to the importance of tlie matter will 
 be found in The School Review for January, 1911, pp. 25-.13.
 
 182 JHE USE OF MONEY, 
 
 SUGGESTIONS 
 
 The following questions are worth considering: Is there 
 anything in your home school to interest children in the care 
 of school or town property? What more could be done? Is 
 there any supervision of the accounts of athletic, class and 
 other organizations in your schools? Should there be? Why? 
 Would it be feasible to use the economic feature of the 
 "George Junior Republic" in a prison or reformatory? Should 
 children in the grades, as well as in the high school, pay for 
 defaced books or furniture or broken apparatus?
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 HOME AND COMMUNITY LIFE IN FINANCIAL 
 TRAINING 
 
 Personal Experience Not Enough. — The ex- 
 periences of children form the real basis for finan- 
 cial training. Only by earning and spending money 
 can one appreciate the real significance of money as 
 a measure of effort put forth, and of possible satis- 
 faction. In the case of children, however, such ex- 
 perience is narrow. Most children have had the 
 experience of earning money in only a few ways 
 and have had occasion to spend money for only a 
 few of the many things that it will buy. In order 
 to know the place of money in the society of which 
 he is to become a responsible adult meml)er he must 
 be led to profit by the experience of others. 
 
 Instruction by Precepts and Stories. — Various 
 maxims, such as "A penny saved is a penny earned," 
 are used with more or less effect upon younger chil- 
 dren, while older ones gain something from the 
 study of bookkeeping, commercial law and cconom- 
 
 183
 
 184 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 ics. Such teaching, when abstract in character, has 
 httle effect on the hves of children and young people. 
 In the case of smaller children much greater effects 
 may be produced by vivid interesting stories of the 
 experiences of other children in earning and spend- 
 ing money. The advantages of thrift may thus be 
 impressed on them. With children a little older true 
 stories of the lives of men of finance, such as are 
 found in the books of Samuel Smiles and in Thayer's 
 Ethics of Success, may be used with good results. 
 Children should be told not only regarding the ways 
 in which business is successfully conducted, but may 
 also derive many excellent and impressive moral 
 lessons. 
 
 Apply Business Methods to the Child's Affairs. 
 — Children may be asked to write papers on How I 
 Get Money and What I Do With It, and may ex- 
 press orally or in writing their ideas as to the best 
 ways of getting and spending money. They may 
 also be asked to estimate as nearly as they can how 
 much money they have had during the year, and 
 recall for what things they have spent most of it. 
 They may then be told something of how firms and 
 officials of town, state and nation make out budgets 
 of needed expenditure. They may then be asked to 
 make out a budget for children of their own age and 
 financial situation. They should figure what an al- 
 lowance of twenty-five or fifty cents a week will
 
 HOME AND COMMUNITY LIFE 185 
 
 amount to in a year. The boys and girls should 
 then make out separate budgets showing how that 
 amount of money could be spent to the best advan- 
 tage by a boy and by a girl. These budgets should 
 be compared with each other until each pupil has 
 taken account of everything for which he expects 
 to spend money. 
 
 They may make estimates on a weekly or monthly 
 basis, with allowance for extras, and should figure to 
 see that the total comes out right. The same general 
 headings may be used by all, but the items under 
 each will differ greatly. There may be some in- 
 teresting discussions as to whether it is best to spend 
 money in one way or another, but it should be rec- 
 ognized that some persons can get more satisfaction 
 in one way, while others prefer different things. 
 
 Probably all the children will see reasons for sav- 
 ing, at least temporarily, for special occasions and 
 for costly things. Nearly all will agree that a por- 
 tion of their money should also be saved for un- 
 known contingencies and for the future. The pupils 
 should discuss these matters and in making up a bud- 
 get allow so much for emergencies and for perma- 
 nent savings. In this connection they may discuss 
 the various modes of keeping money that may be 
 used in their community, such as toy banks, savings 
 banks or cooperative banks (called building and 
 loan associations in some places).
 
 186 JHE USE OF MONEY 
 
 They should also be shown how to keep their per- 
 sonal accounts and compare them with the budgets 
 that they have made out. By such practise they will 
 be able to plan for the better management of their 
 affairs. 
 
 Family Budgets May Be Studied. — It is a 
 good thing to have children make out an estimate of 
 various family expenses, such as rent, light, fuel, 
 telephone service, food, clothing, etc., then check up 
 their estimates by inquiries and computation of the 
 actual cost. They may also consider whether it is 
 more profitable to buy ready-made articles of cloth- 
 ing or to buy the goods and make them, counting 
 time required and the relative wearing qualities of 
 home-made and ready-made clothing. Studies may 
 be made of the relative cost of periodicals bought 
 by the copy or by the year, of bread and cake made 
 at home and bought at the bakery, etc. 
 
 Investments Should Also Be Considered. — 
 Problems like this may be considered. A man in the 
 neighborhood has an income of perhaps two hun- 
 dred dollars a year in excess of the amount neces- 
 sary for his expenses, including benevolences and a 
 few pleasures. What shall he do with it? After 
 suggestions have been received the conclusion will 
 probably be reached that some of it at least should 
 be saved. How much, if any, shall be put into life 
 insurance and how much laid up or invested in some
 
 HOAIE AND COMMUNITY LIFE 187 
 
 way? The difference between straight life and en- 
 dowment policies should be explained, and compari- 
 son should be made as to the returns from an en- 
 dowment policy and the interest gained by putting 
 money in a savings bank or a cooperative bank. 
 
 Other problems of the family may be studied. Is 
 it best to buy a house or pay rent? The children 
 may gather data, compute and discuss the advan- 
 tages and disadvantages of renting and owning. 
 
 Again it may be supposed that some one in the 
 community who is not able to earn money has been 
 left, say, ten thousand dollars. How shall it be in- 
 vested so as to furnish an income on which to live? 
 Savings banks, mortgages, stocks, bonds and the 
 purchase of an annuity may be considered. It should 
 be emphasized that a large income on an investment 
 usually means less safety and that through variety 
 of investment there is a better chance to get a good 
 income without the probability of losing any large 
 portion of the principal. 
 
 These problems will give good financial training 
 in proportion as the children regard them as real 
 problems of the family and of the life around them. 
 
 The Study of the Business of the Community. 
 — Children may profit by the experience of the peo- 
 ple of their community as well as by their own af- 
 fairs and those of their family. Typical industries 
 in the community should be studied and typical prob-
 
 188 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 lems that come up in carrying them on should be 
 solved as they are in the business. In a community 
 with varied industries this will give a sufficiently 
 broad financial training. Where the industries are 
 very few the children should make a thorough study 
 of several other industries in connection with geog- 
 raphy, then figure on some of the financial problems 
 that have to be solved in those industries. 
 
 The idea of finding the problems for seventh- and 
 eighth-grade pupils in the industries of the home 
 community has been very intelligently worked out 
 in the course of study of the Indianapolis schools. 
 The children, after learning about the industries, 
 solve such problems as the following: 
 
 "A man earns $1.75 per day. He pays $1.50 a week for 
 rent, $1.00 for fuel and $1.00 for incidental expenses. Make a 
 list of groceries which his wife could afford to order during 
 the week for a family of four. She should be able to save a 
 small amount each week for clothing. The pupil should con- 
 sult his mother before making his list." 
 
 "Make out a bill for the following order of goods, using 
 prevailing market prices: V/z lbs. pork chops; 1 lb. breakfast 
 bacon ; 2 lbs. coffee at $0.30 ; granulated sugar, $0.25 ; % lb. tea 
 at $0.60 ; 1 lb. crackers ; ^ pt. oysters ; 14 pk. string beans ; 3 
 stalks celery; 1 doz. eggs; 1 lb. butter (creamery); 1 lb. 
 peaches." 
 
 "A housekeeper having canned a bushel of peaches wants 
 to know the cost per can. Find it if a bushel of peaches, 9 lbs. 
 of sugar, 100 cu. ft. of gas and 15 Mason jars were used." 
 
 "Find the cost of candy made according to the following 
 recipes and compare the cost with the usual selling price of 
 similar candy : Peanut Brittle— 1 pt. of shelled roasted peanuts ;
 
 HOME AND COMMUNITY LIFE 189 
 
 2 lbs. of granulated sugar. Stir the sugar slowly in a clean fry- 
 ing pan over a slow fire until it melts and turns a light brown 
 color. Then quickly stir in the peanuts and pour the mixture 
 out on a buttered pan so that it may spread out thinly. Mo- 
 lasses Candy — 3 cups of light brown sugar; 1 cup of molasses; 
 Yi teaspoon cream of tartar ; small piece of butter. Estimate 
 the last two ingredients at $0.02. Boil until brittle. Then pour 
 out on a buttered plate, and after it is cool, pull it." 
 
 "Read your electric meter for two successive months and 
 calculate the bill at $0.10 per K. W. hour." 
 
 "Louise started a savings account at ten years of age by 
 saving each week five cents of her spending money. She con- 
 tinued this plan for eight years. How much did she save 
 during that time?" 
 
 "A man who had been paying $25 a month for rent bought 
 a house for $3000. The taxes on the place were $50 ; the cost 
 of repairs, $25 a year; the cost of insurance, $7.50, and the in- 
 terest on his money $180 per year. How much did he save a 
 year by owning his own home?" 
 
 "George Adams purchased a corner lot for $1,200. He was 
 assessed $300 for street and sidewalk improvements by the 
 city, and was taxed $18 a year for the lot. Two years after 
 buying he sold the lot for $1,900. What was his per cent, of 
 profit on the total investment?" 
 
 "If the output of a bakery is 150,000 loaves a week and 
 $3,600 is spent for flour, $750 for other material, and $400 for 
 labor, what is the average cost of production per loaf?" 
 
 "What is the baker's per cent, of profit on each loaf, if he 
 sells all at four cents a loaf?" 
 
 "If the price of flour advances from $5.50 to $7.50 a bar- 
 rel for what should a loaf of bread which previously sold for 
 5 cents be sold to correspond with this rise in the price of the 
 flour?" 
 
 "If a quart of milk which contains as much nutriment xs 
 13 oz. of sirloin steak, worth $0.24 a lb., is sold according to 
 food value, what is milk worth ?"
 
 190 JHE USE OF MONEY 
 
 "10.5 bushels of corn and 10.5 bushels of oats ground to- 
 gether and one ton of clover hay should feed a cow well 
 for 80 days. At the present market prices, what will it cost 
 to feed a cow a year (365 days) ? Will it be cheaper to feed 
 the cow on this ration throughout the year, or to feed it for 
 215 days and to pasture it for the rest of the year at $1.75 per 
 month ?" 
 
 "In this city on a certain day there were 327 firemen, in- 
 cluding 96 officers. What was the weekly salary at an average 
 of $2.75 a day?" 
 
 "What per cent, is gained by bu}ang 6 pounds of buck- 
 wheat flour for $0.25 instead of buying it at $0.05 straight?" 
 
 "In 1910 there were 3,520 patients at the hospital. The 
 total expenses for the year were $93,594.57. What was the per 
 capita expense?" 
 
 "From tax receipt for 1910: Rate, $2.17; valuation of 
 property, $5,860; mortgage exemption, $500. Find amount to 
 be paid on first instalment. Include poll tax." 
 
 "The following number of books were loaned at the library 
 on ten consecutive summer days: 169, 212, 110, 187, 126, 140, 
 127, 269, 141, 71. What is the average daily circulation in the 
 summer ?" 
 
 "The average pay of trainmen, per 100 miles, is as follows : 
 Conductor, $3.90; engineer, $4.40; baggageman, $2.80; brake- 
 man, $2.50. Find the earnings of each in making the trip to 
 Chicago, 184 miles." 
 
 "Find the cost of sending 620 pounds of goods from Buf- 
 falo to Indianapolis at $0.45 per 100 pounds." 
 
 "Mr. Jones has $34,200 to invest. He invests this in Belt 
 Railway stock at 114. How many shares did he buy?" 
 
 "If he should receive a semi-annual dividend of 6%, what 
 is his annual income therefrom?"
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 HOW UNCLE SAM IS GIVING HIS BOYS AND GIRLS 
 FINANCIAL TRAINING 
 
 Corn Clubs Give a Good Kind of Financial 
 Training. — Doctor Seaman A, Knapp tried to im- 
 prove agricultural conditions in the South through 
 the boys and girls. In so doing he started the most 
 effective financial training that is being carried on 
 anywhere in this country. To demonstrate this 
 fully we must refer again to the part that money 
 plays in life, and must describe what is being done 
 in boys' and girls' clubs under the direction of the 
 agricultural department of the nation. 
 
 Relation of Financial and Social Progress. — 
 In the ultimate analysis the chief source of wealth is 
 human effort, and all wealth is used to satisfy hu- 
 man desire. Money is a means of measuring wealth 
 and of transmuting one form of wealth into an- 
 other. It pays for effort and buys satisfaction. In- 
 crease in the production of wealth in any community 
 makes possible all the enlightening and refining in- 
 
 191
 
 192 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 fluences which better the conditions of life. A fer- 
 tile soil makes possible a liberal expenditure for edu- 
 cation. This education not only makes labor more 
 efficient, but enables the people to maintain and 
 increase soil fertility. This in turn makes possible 
 a higher civilization, better training and more of the 
 refinements of life. 
 
 The General Education Board, which sent agents 
 to the South to find how aid could best be given to 
 the schools, decided that the only permanently ef- 
 fective means was to take steps toward improving 
 agriculture. This the Board and the Department of 
 Agriculture have been doing, largely by means of 
 agents who arrange for demonstration farms in as 
 many communities as possible. Railway companies 
 and commercial bodies have also helped to improve 
 agriculture by cooperating and by offering prizes. 
 
 How Boys' Clubs Help Boys Morally, — The 
 boys' clubs, started by Doctor Knapp, help not only 
 to improve the farming in the community, but, as we 
 shall see, they also produce important changes in the 
 boys themselves, and this is, of course, a means to 
 further advancement. The moral effects of corn 
 clubs are clearly indicated by the following an- 
 swers to questions. These extracts are from a letter 
 of State Agent J. R. Fewell, Tennessee: 
 
 "I do not know of any boy who is or has been a 
 member of the corn club work in Tennessee who
 
 UNCLE SA:M giving training 193 
 
 has committed any offense against the laws of the 
 state. 
 
 "The com club work gives the boy something to 
 think of and something to do. Too often country 
 boys have no ambition, no incentive, nothing to 
 think about and nothing to do in leisure hours but 
 to sit on the fence, whistle, whittle or smoke. Of 
 course a boy in this condition is apt to get into mis- 
 chief. The club work is more interesting than his 
 studies and he often enters into it with great enthu- 
 siasm. 
 
 "Not long ago I was at Kingston, Tennessee, and 
 a gentleman came to me and said, 'This corn club 
 work has worked a miracle in my boy. I had never 
 seen him sit down voluntarily to study or read ; we 
 always had to force him, but when you sent him 
 those bulletins and letters he sat right down and 
 read every word and began to tell his grandmother 
 about what he had read. I questioned him about 
 the bulletins, and he understood them as well as I, 
 and was more familiar with the details.' 
 
 "Last spring I visited a community to organize a 
 corn clul). I invited all of the boys to come into 
 the building, so that we could take up the organiza- 
 tion. While the teacher was making his intnuluc- 
 tory speech I lf)oked through the window and saw a 
 boy sitting on the fence, smoking. I thought that 
 pcrliaps others were near and that I would go out
 
 194 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 and give them a personal invitation to attend the 
 meeting. As I approached the boy he threw down 
 his cigarette and ran, hiding, and finally when I 
 found him he was crouched behind some rocks with 
 a rock in each hand, and he cried, *Go on away and 
 let me alone, I ain't bothering anybody, and this 
 ain't the school land.' After I explained my pur- 
 pose and the corn club work, he replied, 'Well, I 
 would like to join, but me and them teachers can't 
 get along. They sent me away and told me that if 
 I ever came back on the school land that they would 
 have me arrested.' By that time the teacher inter- 
 rupted us and stated that the boy had some trouble 
 with a former teacher, but that he had no ill will 
 against him, and that he would be glad to have him 
 return and enter the club. The boy reluctantly con- 
 sented, and to encourage him the teacher proposed 
 that the club elect him as president. The last time 
 that I heard from this boy he was not only success- 
 ful in his club work, but was leading in some of his 
 studies." 
 
 Other state agents of these clubs were questioned 
 as to the moral effects of the club work. Not one 
 of them knew of a boys' club member who had ever 
 been arrested while a member or subsequently to 
 membership. The following are some of the opin- 
 ions as to the moral effects of the club work.
 
 UNCLE SAM GIVING TRAINING 195 
 
 The following is an extract from a letter written 
 by the state agent of Alabama: 
 
 "In regard to the bearing of this work on the 
 morals of the boys I should like to say that I regard 
 it as most excellent. I think that you will fully ap- 
 preciate this when I tell you that the work has been 
 praised and universally approved by the clergy. A 
 number of the leading ministers of Alabama have 
 said to me, 'You people are doing the greatest piece 
 of work for the moral, economic and social uplift of 
 our people of anybody.' " 
 
 Extract from letter written by state agent of Mis- 
 sissippi : 
 
 "Many boys have been influenced to go to school, 
 attend regularly and to take an enthusiastic part in 
 the agricultural classes. Rural teachers have used 
 the corn club as an entering wedge to get closer in 
 touch with their patrons, that they might be able to 
 do more for them. Through the corn club agri- 
 cultural teaching has been made more effective. The 
 corn club has helped in a great way to win the gen- 
 eral public for better homes and better living and it 
 is preparing a generation of men that will respect 
 the results of scientific investigation and will put 
 them into practise. Also, it is preparing a genera- 
 tion of farmers that will be businesslike in their 
 business transactions. The corn club is inspiring
 
 196 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 and will inspire thousands of boys to go to college ; 
 we had fifty-two in A. and M. last year. The corn 
 club is breaking down the prejudices of farmers 
 against business men or those of more fortunate 
 business careers, and is creating a spirit of toler- 
 ance and brotherly love." 
 
 Extract from letter written by state agent of 
 Texas : 
 
 "The work has had a tendency to create among 
 the boys a desire for an education, and especially 
 along industrial lines, such as agriculture. Any in- 
 creased desire for an education naturally increases 
 the boy's efficiency in the schoolroom. In 1912 the 
 County School Superintendent of Comanche County 
 kept accurate data of the general average of grades 
 made in school by club members and by other pupils. 
 He found that club members made twelve per cent, 
 higher grades than the others. The work has di- 
 rected attention to industrial and agricultural col- 
 lege training. At present there are several ex-mem- 
 bers of the corn club attending the A. and M. Col- 
 lege of Texas and other educational institutions. 
 They speak with pride of the fact that they were 
 once corn club boys. The dignity and respect of 
 farm life and labor has been increased by this work." 
 
 Extract from letter written by state agent from 
 West Virginia : 
 
 "The club work in West Virginia has certainly
 
 UNCLE SAM GIVING TRAINING 197 
 
 proved beneficial to the morals of the boys. At a 
 meeting the other day I asked a group of seventy- 
 five boys (some were country boys and some were 
 city boys) what was the difference between the town 
 and country boy. The unanimous opinion was that 
 the country boy had something to occupy his mind 
 all the time, other than learning bad language and 
 loafing and many other of the very tempting habits 
 that city boys are subject to. I believe that one of 
 the great benefits to be derived from the corn club 
 work in this state is the development of a class of 
 men on our farms who will have character intensi- 
 fied by triumph in their work. They have learned 
 how to increase their working power, how to be- 
 come more efficient, and consequently more produc- 
 tive members of society, thus being potent factors of 
 better citizenship in our state." 
 
 Why the Clubs Succeeded. — One of the chief 
 reasons why the effects of these clubs have been so 
 great is to be found in the homes of the children. 
 Previous to their establishment very few of the 
 children had ever had any money or property of 
 their own. Since ownership and the power that it 
 gives are the most potent stimuli to effort, it is not 
 strange that rural boys and girls, without such own- 
 ership, had previously shown little am])ition. The 
 mcmlxirship of a corn club consists of boys be- 
 tween ten and eighteen, and the primary condition
 
 198 
 
 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 of joining is that they have a piece of land to culti- 
 vate, from which they can sell the product. The de- 
 sire for this was at first, and still is to some extent, 
 stimulated by prizes, while success is made possible 
 by instructions as to how to farm, market crops and 
 keep accounts. As the work has progressed the 
 large prizes of cash or a trip to Washington for the 
 few have been replaced by scholarships for further 
 education and by badges of achievement for the 
 many. 
 
 Profits Gained. — The artificial prize was 
 needed at the beginning, but the natural prizes of 
 profits are now proving effective. These in many 
 cases are very large, as will be seen from some fig- 
 ures that follow : 
 
 A FEW OF THE PRIZE WINNERS, GIRLS' CANNING CLUBS. 
 
 Name of Winner 
 
 Address 
 
 state 
 
 Weight of 
 
 Fresh 
 Tomatoes 
 
 Weight 
 
 of 
 
 Cans 
 
 Profit 
 
 Erin Westbrook. 
 
 Fay Parker 
 
 Isabel Davis 
 
 Clyde Sullivan... 
 
 Odenville 
 Beebe 
 
 Sunitnerfield 
 Ousley 
 
 Alabama 
 Arkansas 
 Florida 
 Georgia 
 
 3,S65 lbs. 
 1,267 lbs. 
 8,086V4 lbs. 
 5,854 lbs. 
 
 1,855 
 148 
 902 
 
 2,456 
 
 $ 88.25 
 152.83 
 108.14 
 132.39 
 
 The profits include in addition to the ordinary 
 market value of the product, extras from county 
 fair awards and from the sale of seed at fancy 
 prices. 
 
 In 1912 there were in these clubs ninety thousand
 
 UNCLE SAM GIVING TRAINING 199 
 
 boys and twenty-three thousand girls, and their pro- 
 ductions per acre were much above those of the adult 
 farmers of the neighborhood. 
 
 SAMPLE REPORTS OF BOYS' CORN CLUBS 
 
 Average Yield Vield per 
 Number Number 100 per Acre of Acre in 
 
 State. Reporting, bu. or more. Boys. State 1913. 
 
 Alabama 755 64 57.92 17 
 
 Arkansas .... 760 18 45 19 
 
 Florida 246 5 46.25 15 
 
 Georgia 3000 90 52 16 
 
 Management as Well as Theory of Corn 
 Clubs Is Good. — Real financial training means 
 a pretty broad life training. It involves (1) some 
 motive for effort; (2) learning how effort may be 
 directed so as to produce the most money ; (3) learn- 
 ing how most of the desirable things of life may be 
 obtained with this money. 
 
 Ownership and independent control, which are 
 the first conditions of membership in a corn club, 
 furnish the motive, and this is strengthened by 
 prizes, honors and success. The second condition is 
 secured by means of instructive leaflets which tell 
 how to grow and market crops successfully and by 
 supervision and advice on the part of the directors 
 of the work. The instructions regarding the pro- 
 duction of standard products, true to label, empha- 
 size a very important business principle now rccog-
 
 200 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 nized by all persons and firms who do business with 
 distant and personally unknown customers. 
 
 The third form of financial training, that of 
 teaching how to spend money, is not given directly 
 by the corn clubs, but indirectly it is given. Those 
 joining the club learn of many things useful and 
 esthetic in modem life that were previously un- 
 known to them. The encouragement given to young 
 people to go to agricultural and other schools results 
 in bringing to many of them not only increased 
 knowledge of how to make money, but also greatly 
 broadened ideas as to how it may be spent. 
 
 Marketing. — How to market is described in 
 circulars and further assistance is given by furnish- 
 ing standard labels, to be used only by those who 
 have fulfilled the required conditions. 
 
 Truthfulness and honesty are developed by hav- 
 ing the young people keep definite records that are 
 properly certified, and by granting awards, labels or 
 brands only where this has been done according to 
 directions. 
 
 Cooperative Club Work. — The work is made 
 still more broadening and efifective by cooperating 
 with agricultural societies, commercial organiza- 
 tions, schools and societies for the promotion of 
 thrift. The original corn clubs were extended so 
 that now there are a variety of products clubs, some 
 suited for small city yards and for girls as well as
 
 UNCLE SAM GIVING TRAINING 201 
 
 boys. The work is also being carried on in the 
 North as well as in the South. Arrangements are 
 now being made for contests covering more than 
 one year, in order that the value of crop rotation 
 and of stock raising as a means of increasing soil 
 fertility may be taught. 
 
 Achievement Clubs. — The work Is now being 
 still further broadened into extra or superfinancial 
 lines by the establishment of "Achievement Clubs." 
 Badges are to be given for various achievements 
 that mean improvement of head, hands, heart or 
 health. It is well to recognize that other than finan- 
 cial achievements are worth while, but some fur- 
 ther experimenting will be necessary before we can 
 be as sure of the best methods of working along 
 this line as we are in the financial line. In no other 
 kind of effort, except perhaps in athletics, do we 
 have as accurate a measure of achievements as in 
 financial affairs. It must also be remembered that 
 the attempt to make a record in some lines, espe- 
 cially in the higher forms of moral action where 
 there is no accurate measure, may produce acts and 
 states of mind that are not desirable. Much of what 
 is outlined for achievement contests will undoubt- 
 edly give good results, but some parts may need to 
 be changed. 
 
 All the common forms of morality may be taught 
 in connection with financial training, and when wc
 
 202 JHE USE OF MONEY. 
 
 have a fuller knowledge of health and social prob- 
 lems in relation to financial affairs it may be that 
 even the highest forms of morality may be developed 
 in connection with altruistic effort to maintain the 
 health and happiness of laborers, and produce effect- 
 ive cooperation in economic affairs of all members 
 of the community, the state, the nation and even 
 the world.
 
 APPENDIX
 
 APPENDIX* 
 
 My little boy is given a cent by Petrine with in- 
 structions to go to the baker's and buy some biscuits. 
 
 By that which fools call an accident, but which 
 is really a divine miracle, if miracles there be, I over- 
 hear this instruction. Then I stand at my window 
 and see him cross the street in his slow way and 
 with bent head ; only he goes slower than usual and 
 with his head bent more deeply between his small 
 shoulders. 
 
 He stands long outside the baker's window, where 
 there is a confused heap of lollipops and chocolates 
 and sugar-sticks and other things created for a small 
 boy's delight. Then he lifts his young hand, opens 
 tke door, disappears and presently returns with a 
 great paper bag, eating with all his might. 
 
 And I, who, Heaven be praised, have myself l)ecn 
 a thief in my time, run all over the house and give 
 my orders. 
 
 My little boy enters the kitchen. 
 
 *From My Little Boy, by Carl Ewald (translated by Alex- 
 ander Teixcira dc Mattos). Here reprinted with the kind per- 
 mission of the publishers, Messrs. Charles Scribncr's Sons. 
 
 205
 
 206 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 "Put the biscuits on the table," says Petrine. 
 
 He stands still for a moment and looks at her and 
 at the table and at the floor. Then he goes silently 
 to his mother. 
 
 "You're quite a big boy now that you can buy bis- 
 cuits for Petrine," says she, without looking up 
 from her work. 
 
 His face is very long, but he says nothing. He 
 comes quietly in to me and sits down on the edge of 
 a chair. 
 
 "You have been over the way, at the baker's?" 
 
 He comes up to me, where I am sitting and read- 
 ing, and presses himself against me. I do not look 
 at him, but I can perceive what is going on inside 
 him. 
 
 "What did you buy at the baker's?" 
 
 "Lollipops." 
 
 "Well, I never ! What fun ! Why, you had some 
 lollipops this morning. Who gave you the money 
 this time?" 
 
 "Petrine." 
 
 "Really ! Well, Petrine is certainly very fond of 
 you. Do you remember the lovely ball she gave you 
 on your birthday?" 
 
 "Father, Petrine told me to buy a cent's worth of 
 biscuits." 
 
 "Oh, dear!" 
 
 It is very quiet in the room. My little boy cries
 
 APPENDIX 207 
 
 bitterly and I look anxiously before me, stroking 
 his hair the while. 
 
 "Now you have fooled Petrine badly. She wants 
 those biscuits, of course, for her cooking. She 
 thinks they're on the kitchen-table and, when she 
 goes to look, she won't find any. Mother gave her 
 a cent for biscuits. Petrine gave you a cent for bis- 
 cuits and you go and spend it on lollipops. What 
 are we to do ?" 
 
 He looks at me in despair, holds me tight, says a 
 thousand things without speaking a word. 
 
 "If only we had a cent," I say. "Then you could 
 rush over the way and fetch the biscuits." 
 
 "Father . . ," His eyes open very wide and he 
 speaks so softly that I can hardly hear him. "There 
 is a cent on mother's writing-table." 
 
 "Is there?" I cry with delight. But, at the same 
 moment, I shake my head and my face is overcast 
 again. "That is no use to us, my little boy. Tiiat 
 cent belongs to mother. The other was Pctrine's. 
 People are so terribly fond of their money and get 
 so angry when you take it from them. I can under- 
 stand that, for you can buy such an awful lot of 
 things with money. You can get biscuits and lolli- 
 poi s and clothes and toys and half the things in the 
 world. And it is not so easy either to make money. 
 Most people have to drudge all day long to earn as 
 much as they want. So it is no wonder that they
 
 208 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 get angry when you take it. Especially when it is 
 only for lollipops. Now Petrine . . . she has to 
 spend the whole day cleaning rooms and cooking 
 dinner and washing up before she gets her wages. 
 And out of that she has to buy clothes and shoes 
 . . . and you know that she has a little girl whom 
 she has to pay for at Madam Olsen's. She must 
 certainly have saved very cleverly before she man- 
 aged to buy you that ball." 
 
 We w^alk up and down the room, hand in hand. 
 He keeps on falling over his legs, for he can't take 
 his eyes from my face. 
 
 "Father . . . haven't you got a cent?" 
 
 I shake my head and give him my purse : 
 
 "Look for yourself," I say. "There's not a cent 
 in it. I spent the last this morning," 
 
 We walk up and down. We sit down and get up 
 and walk about again. We are very gloomy. We 
 are bowed down with sorrow and look at each other 
 in great perplexity. 
 
 "There might be one hidden away in a drawer 
 somewhere," I say. 
 
 We fly to the drawers. 
 
 We pull out thirty drawers and rummage through 
 them. We fling papers in disorder, higgledy-pig- 
 gledy, on the floor: What do we care? If only, if 
 only we find a cent .... 
 
 Hurrah !
 
 APPENDIX 209 
 
 We both, at last, grasp at a cent, as though we 
 would fight for it . . . we have found a beauti- 
 ful, large cent. Our eyes gleam and we laugh 
 through our tears. 
 
 "Hurry now," I whisper. "You can go this way 
 . . . through my door. Then run back quickly up 
 the kitchen stairs, with the biscuits, and put them on 
 the table. I shall call Petrine, so that she doesn't 
 see. And we won't tell anybody." 
 
 He is down the stairs before I have done speak- 
 ing. I run after him and call to him : 
 
 "Wasn't it a splendid thing that we found that 
 cent?" I say. 
 
 "Yes," he answers, earnestly. 
 
 And he laughs for happiness and I laugh too and 
 his legs go like drumsticks across to the baker's. 
 
 From my window, I see him come back, at the 
 same pace, with red cheeks and glad eyes. He has 
 committed his first crime. He has understood it. 
 And he has not the sting of remorse in his soul nor 
 the black cockade of forgiveness in his cap. 
 
 The mother of my little boy and I sit until late 
 at night talking about money, which seems to us the 
 most difficult matter of all. 
 
 For our little boy must learn to know the power 
 of money and the glamour of money and the joy of 
 money. I le must earn much money and .spend much 
 money. . . .
 
 210 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 Yet there were two people, yesterday, who killed 
 a man to rob him of four dollars and thirty-seven 
 cents. . . . 
 
 It has been decreed in the privy council that my 
 little boy shall have a weekly income of one cent. 
 Every Sunday morning, that sum shall be paid to 
 him, free of income-tax, out of the treasury and he 
 has leave to dispose of it entirely at his own pleasure. 
 
 He receives this announcement with composure 
 and sits apart for a while and ponders on it. 
 
 "Every Sunday?" he asks. 
 
 "Every Sunday." 
 
 "All the time till the summer holidays?" 
 
 "All the time till the summer holidays." 
 
 In the summer holidays, he is to go to the coun- 
 try, to stay with his godmother, in whose house he 
 was pleased to allow himself to be born. The sum- 
 mer holidays are, consequently, the limits of his 
 calculations of time: beyond them lies, for the mo- 
 ment, his Nirvana. 
 
 And we employ this restricted horizon of ours to 
 further our true happiness. 
 
 That is to say, we calculate, with the aid of the 
 almanac, that if everything goes as heretofore, there 
 will be fifteen Sundays before the summer holidays. 
 We arrange a drawer with fifteen compartments 
 and in each compartment we put one cent. Thus
 
 APPENDIX 211 
 
 we know exactly what we have and are able at any 
 time to survey our financial status. 
 
 And, when he sees that great lot of cents lying 
 there, my little boy's breast is filled with mad de- 
 light. He feels endlessly rich, safe for a long time. 
 The courtyard rings with his bragging, with all 
 that he is going to do with his money. His special 
 favorites are invited to come up and view his treas- 
 ure. 
 
 The first Sunday passes in a normal fashion, as 
 was to be expected. 
 
 He takes his cent and turns it straightway into a 
 stick of chocolate of the best sort, with almonds on 
 it and sugar, in short, an ideal stick in every way. 
 The whole performance is over in five minutes : by 
 that time, the stick of chocolate is gone, with the 
 sole exception of a remnant in the corners of our 
 mouth, which our ruthless mother wipes away, and 
 a stain on our collar, which annoys us. 
 
 He sits by me, with a vacant little face, and 
 swings his legs. I open the drawer and look at the 
 empty space and at the fourteen others: 
 
 "So that's gone," I say. 
 
 My accent betrays a certain melancholy, which 
 finds an echo in his breast. But he does not deliver 
 himself of it at once. 
 
 "Father ... is it long till next Sunday?" 
 
 "Very long, my boy; ever so many days."
 
 212 THE USE OF MONEY; 
 
 We sit a little, steeped in our own thoughts. Then 
 I say, pensively: 
 
 "Now, if you had bought a top, you would per- 
 haps have had more pleasure out of it. I know a 
 place where there is a lovely top : red, with a green 
 ring around it. It is just over the way, in the toy- 
 shop. I saw it yesterday. I should be greatly mis- 
 taken if the toyman was not willing to sell it for a 
 cent. And you've got a whip, you know." 
 
 We go over the way and look at the top in the 
 shop-window. It is really a splendid top. 
 
 "The shop's shut," says my little boy, despond- 
 ently. 
 
 I look at him with surprise : 
 
 "Yes, but what does that matter to us ? Anyway, 
 we can't buy the top before next Sunday. You see, 
 you've spent your cent on chocolate. Give me your 
 handkerchief: there's still a bit on your check." 
 
 There is no more to be said. Crestfallen and 
 pensively, we go home. We sit a long time at the 
 dining-room window, from which we can see the 
 window of the shop. 
 
 During the course of the week, we look at the top 
 daily, for it does not do to let one's love grow cold. 
 One might so easily forget it. And the top shines 
 always more seductively. We go in and make sure 
 that the price is really in keeping with our means. 
 We make the shopkeeper take a solemn oath to keep
 
 APPENDIX 213 
 
 the top for us till Sunday morning, even if boys 
 should come and bid him much higher sums for it. 
 
 On Sunday morning, we are on the spot before 
 nine o'clock and acquire our treasure with trembling 
 hands. And we play with it all day and sleep with 
 it at night, until, on Wednesday morning, it dis- 
 appears without a trace, after the nasty manner 
 which tops have. 
 
 When the turn comes of the next cent, something 
 remarkable happens. 
 
 There is a boy in the courtyard who has a skip- 
 ping-rope and my little boy, therefore, wants to have 
 a skipping-rope too. But this is a difficult matter. 
 Careful inquiries establish the fact that a skipping- 
 rope of the sort used by the upper classes is no- 
 where to be obtained for less than five cents. 
 
 The business is discussed as early as Saturday: 
 
 "It's the simplest thing in the world," I say. "You 
 must not spend your cent to-morrow. Next Sun- 
 day you must do the same and the next and the next. 
 On the Sunday after that, you will have saved your 
 five cents and you can buy your skipping-rope at 
 once." 
 
 "When shall I get my skipping-rope then?" 
 
 "In five Sundays from now." 
 
 He says nothing, but I can see that he does not 
 think my idea very brilliant. In the course of the 
 day, he derives, from sources unknown to mc, an
 
 214 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 acquaintance with financial circumstances which he 
 serves up to me on Sunday morning in the follow- 
 ing words : 
 
 "Father, you must lend me five cents for the skip- 
 ping-rope. If you will lend me five cents for the 
 skipping-rope, Til give you forty cents back. . . ." 
 
 He stands close to me, very red in the face and 
 quite confused. I perceive that he is ripe for falling 
 into the claws of usurers : 
 
 "I don't do that sort of business, my boy," I say. 
 "It wouldn't do you any good either. And you're 
 not even in a position to do it, for you have only 
 thirteen cents, as you know." 
 
 He collapses like one whose last hope is gone. 
 
 "Let us just see," I say. 
 
 And we go to our drawer and stare at it long and 
 deeply. 
 
 "We might perhaps manage it this way, that I 
 give you five cents now. And then I should have 
 your cent and the next four cents . . ." 
 
 He interrupts me with a loud shout. I take out 
 my purse, give him five cents and take one cent out 
 of the drawer: 
 
 "That won't be pleasant next Sunday," I say, 
 "and the next and the next and the next. . . ." 
 
 But the thoughtless youth is gone. 
 
 Of course, the instalments of his debt are paid off
 
 APPENDIX 215 
 
 with great ceremony. He is always on the spot him- 
 self when the drawer is opened and sees how the 
 requisite cent is removed and finds its way into my 
 pocket instead of his. 
 
 The first time, all goes well. It is simply an 
 amusing thing that I should have the cent ; and the 
 skipping-rope is still fresh in his memory, because 
 of the pangs which he underwent before its pur- 
 chase. Next Sunday, already the thing is not quite 
 so pleasant and, when the fourth instalment falls 
 due, my little boy's face looks very gloomy: 
 
 "Is anything the matter?" I ask. 
 
 "I should so much like a stick of chocolate," he 
 says, without looking at me. 
 
 "Is that all ? You can get one in a fortnight. By 
 that time, you will have paid for the skipping-rope 
 and the cent will be your own again." 
 
 "I should so much like to have the stick of choc- 
 olate now." 
 
 Of course, I am full of the sincerest compassion, 
 but I can't help it. What's gone is gone. We saw 
 it with our own eyes and we know exactly where it 
 has gone to. And, that Sunday morning, we part 
 in a dejected mood. 
 
 Later in the day, however, I find him standing 
 over the drawer with raised eyebrows and a pursed- 
 up mouth. I sit down quietly and wait. And I do
 
 216 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 not have to wait long before I learn that his de- 
 velopment as an economist is taking quite its normal 
 course. 
 
 "Father, suppose we moved the cent now from 
 here into this Sunday's place and I took it and 
 bought the chocolate-stick . . ." 
 
 "Why, then you won't have your cent for the 
 other Sunday." 
 
 "I don't mind that, father. ..." 
 
 We talk about it, and then we do it. And, with 
 that, as a matter of course, we enter upon the most 
 reckless peculations. 
 
 The very next Sunday, he is clever enough to take 
 the furthest cent, which lies just before the summer 
 holidays. He pursues the path of vice without a 
 scruple, until the blow falls and five long Sundays 
 come in a row without the least chance of a cent. 
 
 Where should they come from? They were 
 there. We know that. They are gone. We have 
 spent them ourselves. 
 
 But, during those drab days of poverty, we sit 
 every morning over the empty drawer and talk long 
 and profoundly about that painful phenomenon, 
 which is so simple and so easy to understand and 
 which one must needs make the best of. 
 
 And we hope and trust that our experience will 
 do us good, when, after our trip, we start a new set 
 of cents.
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 Carus, Paul — Our Children, pp. 34-39. 
 
 Dinsmore, Blanche — Ought Children to be Paid 
 for Domestic Serz'ice. Barnes' Studies in Educa- 
 tion, vol. ii, pp. 62-70. 
 
 Ewald, Carl — My Little Boy. 
 
 Forbush, W. B. — Vol. iv, of Parents and Their 
 Problems. 
 
 Kirkpatrick, E. A. — The Individual in the Mak- 
 ing, pp. 2l0-2\2. 
 
 Kohler, Anna — Children's Sense of Money, in 
 Barnes' Studies in Education, 1896-97, pp. 323-331. 
 
 Kratz, H. E. — Studies and Observation in the 
 Schoolroom, pp. 61-74. 
 
 Lambert, Agnes — Thrift Among the Children. 
 Nineteenth Century, April, 1886, vol. xix, pp. 539- 
 560. 
 
 Lisman, F. J. — Primer of Finance. 
 
 Monroe — The Money Sense of Children. Peda- 
 gogical Seminary, vol. vi, pp. 152-158. 
 
 Newton, Bessie C. — Money and the Child. Amer- 
 ican Motherhood, September, 1910, pp. 200-202. 
 
 219
 
 220 USE OF MONEY 
 
 Oberhaltzer, Mrs. S. L. — School Savings Banks. 
 United States Bulletin of Education, 1914, No. 46. 
 
 Oulton, W. — School Savings Banks. Interna- 
 tional Congress on Education, London, 1884, vol. ii, 
 pp. 623-628. 
 
 Palmer, Gertrude — Earnings, Spendings and Sav- 
 ings of School Children. The Commons, June, 
 1903. 
 
 Smiles, Samuel — Thrift. May, 1875, p. 404. 
 
 Thayer — Ethics of Success. 
 
 Thiry, J. H. — Schools Savings Banks. Addresses 
 and Proceedings of the National Education Associa- 
 tion, 1893, p. 286. 
 
 Walter, John T. — Thrift Lessons. London, 1881, 
 p. 240. 
 
 Wiltse, Sara E. — Learning to. Use Money, The 
 Place of the Story in Early Education, pp. 93-98.
 
 INDEX
 
 INDEX 
 
 ACADEMIC IDEAS OF ARITHMETIC, 134-136. 
 
 ACCOUNTS: 108-115 ; garden, 151, 152, 186; community, 168- 
 170; school organizations, 181. 
 
 ACHIEVEMENT CLUBS, 201, 202. 
 
 ADOLESCENCE : sensitiveness, 55 ; and earning, 68, 69. 
 
 ALLOWANCE: 19, 20, 22, 39, 100, 101, 104, 105, 119, 174; 
 regular, 52-59 ; not common, 52, 53 ; amount and pur- 
 pose, 53-55 ; should not be a wage, 57, 58; typical, 58, 59. 
 
 AMERICAN MOTHERHOOD, 11. 
 
 APPENDIX. 203. 
 
 ARITHMETIC AND FINANCIAL TRAINING: 133-148; 
 with a motive, 149-169. 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY, 217. 
 
 BICYCLE, 66, 67, 82. 
 
 BIRTHDAYS, Zl, 47, 84, 91, 105. 
 
 BOOKKEEPING, 163, 178. 
 
 BRADLEY: what he owed, 62-64. 
 
 BUDGETS, 106, 185, 186. 
 
 BUSINESS: of children, 72-77; and arithmetic, 136-141 ; and 
 
 make-believe, 160-162; methods in child's affairs, 184. 
 BUYING : training in, 102, 103. 
 
 CHICAGO, 39, 60. 
 
 CHILD LABOR. 70. 
 
 CHILD'S WISHES TO BE RESPECTED, 32-35. 
 
 CHOOSING, 38. 
 
 CHRISTMAS, 34, 35, Zl, 43. 46, 79, 91, 105, 174. 
 
 CLOTHES: buying by children. 99-107. 
 
 CLUBS: corn, 74. 192-202; tomato, 74; boys', 192-202; 
 
 achievement. 201, 202. 
 COMMUNISM: in home finances, 116-121. 
 COMMUNITY: accounting in school, 168-170; and home in 
 
 financial training, 183-190; business and school arith- 
 
 mrtic, 187-190; welfare. 191. 
 COOPERATIVE CLUB WORK, 200, 201. 
 CUMMINGS. 128. 
 CURRIER, 177. 
 
 223
 
 224 INDEX 
 
 DEBT. 55, 56. 80. 81. 
 
 DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS OF MONEY, 9-17. 
 
 EARNING MONEY: 60-71. 105; significance of, 6-8; knowl- 
 edge of spending earlier than, 36; typical examples, 
 76, n. 
 
 EDGERLY. 169. 
 
 EWALD, 203. 
 
 FAMILY. AND USE OF MONEY, 22-24, 27, 28. 
 
 FARMING. IZ. 
 
 FEWELL 192 
 
 FINANCIAL COMMUNISM. 116-121. 
 
 FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, 86-98. 
 
 FINANCIAL TRAINING: 86. 91, 92. 119, 120, 139, 149, 173, 
 187, 199; importance of. 1-8; problem of, 7, 8; should 
 begin early, 16; usual. 18-31 ; family affairs as means of, 
 22-24; ownership and, 24, 25; and arithmetic, 133-148; 
 incidental and intentional, 171-182 ; opportunity greater, 
 176-180; home and community life in, 183-190; Uncle 
 Sam and. 191-202. 
 
 FITCHBURG, 162, 169. 180. 
 
 FORMULATING PROBLEMS. 146-148. 
 
 FREEDOM IN WORKING, 64, 65. 
 
 GARDEN ACCOUNTS, 150, 177. 
 GARDENING, 150. 
 
 GENERAL EDUCATION BOARD. 192. 
 GEORGE JUNIOR REPUBLIC, 180, 181. 
 GIFTS, 46, 49, 59, 80. 
 
 HABIT. 43, 66. 
 
 HIGH-SCHOOL AGE, 41. \ 
 
 HYANNIS, 177. 
 
 IDEAS OF MONEY: development of, 9-17; early, 9-13; 
 
 generalized, 13-15 ; concrete, 13-15 ; and cost of, 15-17. 
 INDIANAPOLIS. 188. 
 INDIVIDUALITY, 42. 118. 
 INSTITUTIONS FOR SAVING, 125-132. 
 INSURANCE, 186. 
 INTEREST, 140. 
 INVEST. 82. 
 INVESTMENTS, 186.
 
 INDEX 225 
 
 JOYS: financial, 32-35. 
 JUSTICE, 89. 
 
 KNAPP, 192. 
 
 LOAN, 56. 
 
 LOS ANGELES. 180. 
 
 LOUISVILLE, 178. 
 
 MAKE-BELIEVE AND REAL BUSINESS. 160-162. 
 
 MARKETING, 200. 
 
 MILLS. 179. 
 
 MONEY: importance in present-day life, 2-4; use not evi- 
 dent to children, 4, 5 ; real place in life, 4, 5 ; moral sig- 
 nificance of, 6; development of ideas of, 9-17; getting 
 it by irregular gifts, 46-51 ; children like to earn, 60, 61 ; 
 related to other things, 120. 
 
 MORALS AND BOYS' CLUBS. 192-197. 
 
 MORAL SIGNIFICANCE OF MONEY: 6; training in use 
 of money, 20-22. 
 
 OGDEN. 179. 
 
 OWNERSHIP. 24, 25, 87, 88. 
 OVERPAYMENT, 61. 
 
 PALMER, 60, 79. 
 PAY : for what, 62, 69, 70. 
 PAYMENT. 49. 55. 
 PRACTISE. 154. 
 PRACTICAL TRAINING, 152. 
 PUNISHMENT, 89, 97. 
 
 RESPONSIBILITY: 75. 102. 104; financial, of children, 86- 
 98; assuming, 91, 92; for luncheon, 155-158; for school 
 repairs, 158, 159. 
 
 SALARY OR PIECE WORK, 65-67. 
 
 SAVING: 78-85, 129-131; parents encourage, 78; intelligent, 
 
 79-82; modes of, 82-85; institutions for, 125-1.?2. 
 SCHOOL: banking, 127; saving banks. 29, 82, 127. 128; 
 
 finances, 159; problems. 162. 
 SCHOOLS: supplies in, 171-176; promote savings, 127. 
 SIOUX CITY, 16. 17. 
 SMILES, SAMUEL, 184.
 
 226 INDEX 
 
 SOCIETIES FOR SAVING, 125, 126. 
 
 SORROWS : financial, 32-35. 
 
 SPENCER, 98. 
 
 SPENDING MONEY: 36-45, 129, 130; broader significance 
 of, 6-8; knowledge precedes earning, 36; freedom in, 
 37-39 ; methods of, 39, 40 ; amount, 40, 41 ; immediate 
 and delayed, 41, 42; usual, 42, 43; and will training, 
 43-45. 
 
 SUGGESTIONS, 107, 148, 170, 182. 
 
 SUNDAY-SCHOOL, 84. 
 
 THAYER, 184. 
 THRIFT, 80, 184. 
 TIPS, 48. 
 
 UNCLE SAM AND FINANCIAL TRAINING. 191-202. 
 
 WILL TRAINING, 43. 
 
 WORK: supervision of, 67, 68; outside of home, 70, 71; esti- 
 mating cost of, 164. 
 
 YOUNG CHILDREN, 99.
 
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 Principal of Phillips Academy. Andover, Mass.; author of various 
 articles in tlie Atlantic Montlily, Outlook, Etc. 
 
 WINTHROP ELLSWORTH STONE 
 
 President Purdue University; Member of the Iiuliana Stale Roard 
 of Education. 
 
 THOMAS A. STOREY 
 
 Professor of Hygiene, College of the City of New York, Secretary 
 Fourth International Congress on School Hygiene. 
 
 M. H. STUART 
 
 Principal Manual Training High School, Indianapolis. 
 
 BLANCHE M. TRILLING 
 
 Director of Women's Gymnasium, The University of Wisconsin. 
 
 GUY MONTROSE WHIPPLE 
 
 Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology, Cornell University; 
 author of Questions in Psychology, Etc. 
 
 The Bobbs-Merrill Company 
 
 Publishers, Indianapolis
 
 The Childhood and Youth Series 
 
 NATURAL EDUCATION 
 Mrs. Stoner explains the metliods by which she made her 
 daughter "the best developed child in America" mentally, mor- 
 ally and physically; the simple yet astonishing methods which 
 make for the health, happiness and wisdom of any normal child. 
 
 By MRS. WINIFRED SACKVILLE STONER 
 Director-General Women's International Health League 
 
 LEARNING AND DOING 
 The way to learn how to run an automobile is by running it. 
 Professor Swift shows how this practical principle may be ap- 
 plied to history, literature and lanj^uajje-study. A book that 
 breaks up monotony in teacliing, stirs enthusiasm, makes the 
 parent and teacher see the child s point of view. 
 
 By EDGAR JAMES SWIFT 
 
 Professor of Psycholof^y and K(hicati<>ii, Wasliington 
 
 University; author of Miiulin tlie Making, Etc. 
 
 THE CHILD AND HIS SPELLING 
 
 Can your child spell? Business and professional men think 
 the children of this generation poor spellers. What's the trouble 
 with the way spelling is taugiit at home and in sciiool? The 
 authors of this booli make a simple but scicntiUc analysis of the 
 whole question. 
 
 By WILLIAM A. COOK 
 
 Assistant Professor of Eiiucation, University of Colorailo; and 
 
 M. V. OSHEA 
 
 Professor of Education, University of Wisconsin 
 
 THE HIGH-SCHOOL AGE 
 The "teen age" is llic critical age, the dangerous age of ado- 
 lescence, when tlie future of tiie child's life is laigely determined 
 and tlie bending of ti>e twig inclines tlie tree. Professor King here 
 shows parent and teaclier how to solve the difficult and all-iin- 
 portaut problems of this crisis. 
 
 By IRVING KING 
 
 Professor of Edunilioii, Uiiivcrsily of Iowa ; nulhor of 
 
 Psychology of Cliilil Devilopincnt, Etc. 
 
 Each volume with Sjiecial Iiiti-oduclion by the General ICditor, 
 M. V. O'Shea, Analytical Table of Contents, Carefully Selected 
 Lists of Hooks for Reference, Further Reading and Study, and a 
 Full Index. 
 
 Each, 12nio, Cloth, One Dollar Set 
 
 The B()l)l)s-Mcrrill Company 
 
 Publishers, Indianapolis
 
 The Childhood and Youth Series 
 
 THE WAYWARD CHILD 
 
 A practical treatment of the causes of juvenile delinquency and 
 methods of its prevention, by one who has extensive experience 
 in dealing with the young. 
 
 By MRS. FREDERIC SCHOFF 
 
 President National Congress of Mothers and Parent-Teacher 
 
 Association; President Philadelptiia Juvenile Court 
 
 and Probation Association ; Collaborator, Home 
 
 Education Division, Bureau of Education 
 
 FEAR 
 A comprehensive, concrete discussion of (1) psychology of fear; 
 (2) varieties of fears found normally in childhood and youth; (3) 
 ways in which fears are expressed and their effects; (4) treatment 
 of fear in home and school. 
 
 By G. STANLEY HALL 
 
 President Clark University, Worcester, Mass.; author of 
 
 Adolescence, Educational Problems, Etc. 
 
 SELF-HELP 
 Practical aid to parents and teachers in teaching children to 
 do things for themselves, written by a mother, teacher and keen 
 student of Madame Montessori, Froebel, Pestalozzi, et al. 
 
 By DOROTHY CANFIELD FISHER 
 Author of A Montessori Mother, English.Compositionof Rhetoric. Etc. 
 
 THE USE OF MONEY 
 
 How to train the young to appreciate (1) what money repre- 
 resents in labor and privilege ; (2) how it may best be expended. 
 
 By E. A. KIRKPATRICK 
 
 Head of Department of Psj'chology and Child-Study, State Normal 
 
 School, Fitchburg, Mass.; author of Fundamentals of 
 
 Child-Study, The Individual in the Making, Etc. 
 
 THE BACKWARD CHILD 
 A volume dealing witli the causes of backwardness among chil- 
 dren and also the technique of determining when a child is back- 
 ward, and practical methods of treating him. 
 
 By ARTHUR HOLMES 
 
 Dean of the General Faculty, Pennsylvania State College; 
 
 author of The Conservation of the Child, Etc. 
 
 Each Volume With Special Introduction By the General Editor, M. V. 
 O'Shea, Analytical Table of Contents, Carefully Selected Lists of Books 
 for Reference", Further Reading and Study, and a Full Index. 
 
 Each, 12mo, Cloth, One Dollar Net 
 
 The Bobbs-Merrill Company 
 
 Publishers. Indianapolis
 
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