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Readers Are Rich in Money-Saving Tips

This trims gas and gym costs.

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Finally, the column that kicked this off a few weeks ago was about the thrifty trips I gleaned from old books in the Library of Congress. Most were from the Depression, but one pamphlet, titled "The Patriotism of Saving," was printed in 1918, as the country -- and much of the world -- was emerging from war.

"Save money," the pamphlet's author urged, "not for the sake of money itself, but because the wealth which it represents in food and iron and all the other material of living are needed to reconstruct a war-torn world and to reorganize the industrial machinery of your own country.

"Save this wealth, not by denying yourself what you need, nor even any reasonable luxury, but by spending wisely, living temperately, eliminating waste from every phase of your life. For waste, in this time when the world is feeling the pinch of want, is simply the selfish destruction by one of things which many need.

"This is the message which the officials of the United States Treasury Department wish to send into every American home."

I called the Treasury Department yesterday to ask what message today's officials want to send. They didn't call back.

My e-mail:kellyj@washpost.com

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