The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1869-07-15
on GOING SURETY.

Ought man ever 60 surety for an
other? Why not? It is . most
friendly act. If prudently done, it
may be Of the most emine ent benefit to
a neighbor. It gives him the benefit
Of your good reputation when he is not
known. 1tlends him your credit whe1o
his own is not sufficient. It puts him
in funds which otherwise he could not
command. ouch service to . friend is
generous, and sometimes even noble.
No better use can be made Of ones
money than 10 help true friend. We
arc commanded to remember those in
bonds as bound with them. To be
sure, this was originally applied to
bonds Of different kind, but with not
whit more propriety than to pecuni
ary bonds. A man who, by fey
thousand dollars, can save his friend
and perhaps his family from bankrupt
cy and want, could hardly spend his
money in manner which, sll bis lite
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 go;ng surety
for a friend. You should make up
your mind how much property you
have, aud 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. l may have to pay it; and, If it
comes to that, 1 am able aud willing"
Nine out Of ten of the fatal mistakes
made by bondsmen arise from taking
the opposite course to this. They con"
slider the act of indorsiug friends pa
per as a mere commercial form
ssThe.e is no risk. I shall not have 1t
to pay. he is abundantly able to take
care Of his paper. I shall help him
without h.rming myself, and he is
stiogy man who will not do that"
This is the calculation on which man
binds himself to pay his friends debts
in case his friend cannot pay them him
self. But how do these things turn
out? One need not 60 far to ascer-
tain. Every village has an illustration.
The borrower was more involved than
you supposed, or perhaps than he him
self knew, and his creditors closed on
him and wound him up, and were over
joyed to 6nd such good name as yours
on his paper. Or, the sanguine scheme
on which he had ventured, which SEEM
ed sure of success, almost without pos
sibility Of failure, suddenly, like a load
ed wagon, slipped off a wheel and up
set into the dirt:
Or, just as everything 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, warp
ed and crippled, and finally turned out
insolvent.
And what became Of you! Why
| you were surety for the full amount of
what you are worth. In an hour you
fnd yourself confronted with 4 debt
that sweeps away yeur house, your
farm, your little sum in the bank, aud
leaves you just where you began twen-
ty-6ve years ago, with the difference,
that then you had only yourself to pro-
vide for, and now you have wife and
eight children. Then you were twen-
ty-fve years old and life was all before
you aud 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, but have ruined yourself! Per-
haps your friend had settled 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 (and nature is made up
Of shaky stuff aud her children 60 "a
school, while yours stay At home and
if they live in a comfortable house,
pleasantly furnished, while you axe
hiring few rooms in the cheapest
, quarter of the town, then l suspect
that you will chew the cud Of = grea
many bitter reflections.
When it is too late, you will be ver]
wise. You will say to yourself, it ma,
be, "a man is fool Who signs for an.
larger sum than he can oonvenientl!!
I pay" Amen, say1!
"Before . man puts his name dow
, on another mans paper, he should asl
himself, am I willing to give this perso'
F.; as much money as sign tori" Amen
. say L!
Il "To sign 4 bond on the supposltio'
u that it is 4 mere form, and that you vi
have nothing to pay, it is to put one
head into = fools noose." Amer
b again, say ]!
Il There is no harm in signing for
'. neighbor if you have got the propert!
= if you are able to pay the amount viii
. out harmiog your own household; an