The Secret Of Wealth

CHAPTER XI

"The world abhors closeness, and all but admires extravagance; yet a slack hand shows weakness, and a tight hand strength."--Buxton.

ALMOST every European writer who has ever visited America has gone back home and written as his first impression received in America that as a people we are "Dollar-chasers."

One well-known English writer who has visited every civilized country on the globe writes: '' The chief occupation of every American man, woman and child is the pursuit of the Dollar."

It would be difficult to state the case of the average American and be further from the truth, unless it may be that the American chases the dollar away. We surely do not chase it with the idea of getting it and keeping it, because we keep a smaller percentage of the dollars which fall into our laps than the people of any other country.

If we were "Dollar-chasers" or "Money-grabbers," we would not let go of our dollars so easily. The case of the average American is better stated by saying we are "Price-worshippers."

When we walk into a shop to buy anything we first ask the price and from the price we judge the quality. Having been taught that good goods sell for high prices and that it pays to buy the best, we first learn the price and then select the article which costs the most and go home with our purchase secure in the feeling that we have bought the best. Quite recently a shoe store in a large city in the middle west sold shoes at $6.00, $9.00 and $12.00 per pair at an advertised sale. The shoes all cost the same, $7.50 at the factory doors. The $12.00 shoes were all sold the first day with the exception of a few odd-sizes, the $9.00 shoes were more than half sold while ninety percent of the $6.00 shoes were on hand at the close of the six-day sale. The shoe buyers asked the price and bought the best in the belief that the highest-priced shoes must be the best.

At a recent sale of china silk in one of the largest retail stores in a large city, which sale was generously advertised, a number of bolts of silk were placed on sale at $1.65 per yard and a number of bolts at $1.35 per yard. Shortly after noon the $1.65 quality was all gone and a considerable part of the $1.35 quality remained. The silk was all of the same quality and it did not require a silk expert to see that there was no difference as the stamping on the margin, including the stock number, was identical.

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