The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1869-08-17
ON GOING SURETY,
Ely HENRY WARD BEECHER.

other? Why not? 1t is most friend
lily act. If prudentially done, it may b,
of the most emincAt benefit to neigh
Dor. 1t gives him the benefit of your
good reputation when he is not known
1t lends him your credit when his own i,
not sufficient. 1t puts him in fund;
which otherwise he could not command
Such service to friend is generous, and
sometimes even noble. No better use
can be made of ones money than tc
help true friend We are commanded
to "remember those in bonds as bound
with them To be sure, this was orig
inally applied to bonds of different
kind. but with not a whit more propriety
than to pecIniary bonds. A man who,
by few thousand dollars, can save his
friend, and perhaps his family, from
bankruptcy and want ,could hardly spend
his money in manner which, all his life
long, he would remember with more sat.
isfaction
| But, there are certain moral and pru
Dental considerations which should al
ways be borne in mind in going surety
for friend. You should make up your
mind how much property you have, and
how much you are willing to give away,
absolutely, for that friend whom you
indorse. For no blunder can be worse
than to indorse on the supposition that
you will not have to pay. Never indorse
without saying to Yourself, "This may
come around upon me. may have to
pay 1t; and if it comes to that, l am able
and willing" Nine out of ten of the
fatal mistakes made by bondsmen arise
from taking the opposite course to this
They consider the act of indorsing a
friends paper as mere commercial
form. "There is no risk. shall not
have it to pay. He is abundantly able
to take care of his paper. / shall help
him without Earming myself, and he is a
stingy man who will not do that" This
is the calculation on which a man binds
himself to pay friends debts in case
the friend cannot pay them himself But
how do these things turn out? One
need not GO far to ascertain Every
village has an illustration. The borrower
was more involved than you supposed,
or, perhaps, than he himself knew, and
his creditors closed on him and wound
him up, and were overjoyed to find such
a good name as yours on his paper. Or,
the sanguine scheme on which he had
ventured, which seemed sure of success,
almost without possibility of failure,
suddenly, like loaded wagon, slipped
off wheel and upset into the dirt!
Or, just as every thing was at the point
of success, our friend sickened, and
could not look after his affairs; some
critical matter was neglected, or some
dishonest person stepped in and crooked
matters your friend died the estate went
into executors hands for settlement, was
badly managed warped, and crooked, ,and
finally turned out insolvent.
And what became of you? Why,you
wers surety for the full amount of what
you We're worth! In an hour you find
yourself confronted with debt that
sweeps away your house your farm,your
littl. sum in bank, and leaves you just
where you began twenty-five years ago,
with the difference, that then you had
only yourself to'provide for, and now
YOU have wife and eight children
Then you were twenty five years DID, and
life vas all before you, and now you are
fifty wears old, and life pretty much all
behind you! You have given away your
children's bread. You have not saved
your friend, but ruined yourself! Per
Ihaps your friend had settled on his wife
a, small property. So much the better
for her, if he mad. Of course she will
divide with you, since it was to save her
husband yoa were ruined. But, if she
will not, land human nature is made up
of shaky stuff, and her children go to
school, while yours stay at home; and
if they live in comfortable house, pleas
antly furnished, while you are hiring a
few rooms in the cheapest quarter OF the
town, then ! suspect that you will chew
the end of great many bitter reiec
tions.
| When it is too late, you will be very
wise. You will say to yourself, it ma,
be, GA man is fool who signs for any
larger sum than he can conveniently
pay" Amen, say l!
"Before man puts his name down OF
another mans paper, lie should ask him
self, am willing togive this person a:
much money as l sign for'" Amen
say 1 /!
"To sign bond on the suppositiol
that it is a mere form, and that you vii
have nothing to pay, is to put ones hea'
Into fools moose" Amen, again, sa.
I!
There is no harm in signing for
neighbor if you have got the property
if you are able to pay the amount with
out harmins your own household; and
YOU love the man for whom you sig
enough to be willing to give him outrigh
the sum covered by your endorsement
Otherwise to 60 surety for neighbor