This will never be a civilized country until we expend more money for books than we do for chewing gum.

Summary

This quote implies that a country cannot be considered civilized until it values and invests more in intellectual growth and knowledge-building pursuits, like buying books, rather than frivolous and superficial items, like chewing gum. It suggests that the measure of civilization should be based on the commitment to education and the prioritization of resources towards intellectual development, rather than on materialistic and trivial indulgences.