Everywhere was
colossal expenditure of men and money: nowhere existed check or
restraint. Something had to be done.
It was generally admitted that the first thing for everybody to do was
to spend less on themselves than in times of peace. When, where and how
to save became the great question. To save money at the cost of
efficiency for essential and urgent work was not true economy. "But,"
said the thrift promoters, "waste is possible even in the process of
attaining efficiency. For example, people may eat too much as well as
too little, they may buy more clothes than they actually need, ride when
they could walk, employ a servant when they could do their own work, use
their motors when they could travel in a tram."
Thus every class came within the range of the lightning that was about
to strike at the root of an ancient evil.
The start was interesting. Before the war was a year old definite order
emerged of what was at the beginning a scattered protest against
reckless spending. But long before the first organised message of saving
went to the home and purse of the worker, the rich began to economise.
Here is where you encounter the first of the many ironies and contrasts
that mark this whole campaign. The people who could most afford to be
extravagant were the first to draw in their horns. This, of course, was
not particularly surprising because the rich are naturally thrifty. It
is one reason why they get and stay rich.
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