The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1869-06-11
OOMSBURG, PA, FRIDAY, JUNE II, 1876
On Going surety.
HENRY WARD BEECHER.

HENRY WARD BEEC1IER.
Ought a man ever to go surety for
another Why not? 1t Is q most
friendly act. If prudently done, it may
be Of the most eminent benefit to neigh
Dor. 1t gives him the benefit of your
good reputation when he is not known.
1t lends him your credit where his own
is not sufficient. 1t puts him in funds
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 to
help true friend. We are commanded
to remember those in bonds as bound
with them. To be sure, this was origin
ally applied to bonds Of different
kind, but with not whit more proprlety
than to pecuniary 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 a manner which, ,all
his life long, he would remember with
more satisfaction.
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
ind hoao much property you hare, and
ho,o much you are aoiliing to give a,cay,
absolutely, for that friend whom you
indorse. For no blunder can be worse
than to indorse on the supposition that
you piW not hare TO pay. Never indorse
without without saying to yourself,
"This may come round upon me. 1
may have to pay it; and, if it comes to
that, am able and willing" Nine out
of ten of the fatal mistakes made by
bondsmen arise from taking the oppo-
site course to this. They consider the
act of indorsing friends paper as a
mere commercial form. "There is no
risk. shall not have it to pay. He is
abundantly able to take care Of his pa
per. 1 shall help him without harm.
ing myself, and he is stingy man who
will not do that" This is the ca alcula-
tion on which man binds himself to
pay friends debts in case the friend
can not 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 suppose, or, perhaps,
than he himself knew, and his creditors
closed on him and wound him up, and
were overjoyed to find such 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 a wheel
and upset into the dirt ..,t ..rr
Or, just as every thing was at the
point OF success, your friend sickened
and could not look after his affairs, some
critical matter was neglected, or some
dishonest person stepped in and crook
ed matters; your friend died, the estate
| went to executors hands for settlement,
was badly managed, warped and
crooked, and finally turned out insol-
vent.
And what became of you? Why, you
were surety for the full amount of what
you are worth! In an hour you find
yourself confronted with debt that
sweeps away your house, your farm,
your little sum in band, and leaves you
just where you began twenty-five years
ago, with this differ ence, that then you
had only yourself to provide for, and
now you have wifean eight children.
Then you were twenty-five years old
and life was all before you, and now you
are fifty years old, and life pretty much
all behind you! You have given away
your children's bread. You have not
saved your friend, bat have ruined
yourself! Perhaps your friend had set
tied on his wife small property. So
much the better for her, if he had. OF
course she will divide with you, since it
was to save her husband, that you were
ruined. But, if she will not, land hu-
man nature is made up of shaky stuff
and her children 60 to school, while
yours stay at home; and if they live in
a comfortable house, pleasantly furnish
ed, while you are hiring few rooms in
the cheapest quarter of the town, then
suspect that you will chew the end of a
great many bitter reflections.
When it is too late, you will be very
wise. You will say to yourself, it may
be, "A man is fool who signs for any
larger sum than he can conveniently
pay" Amen, say .f
"Before man puts his name down
on another mans paper, he should ask
himself, Am willing to give this per-
son as much money as 1 sign for ?"
Amen, say l
"To sign bond ON the supposition
that it Is mere form, and that you will
have nothing to pay, is to put ones
head into FOOLS noose." Amen, again,
say 1!
There is no harm in signing for n
neighbor IT. you have got the property
IL you arc able to pay the amount with
out harming your own household and
II you love the man for whom you sign
enough to be willing to GIVE him out
right the sum covered by your indorse-
ment. Otherwise, to go surety for a
ncighbor is folly, sin and a shame.
A MAN OF NERvE.-A Washington