Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1869-07-07
On Going Surety.

Ought a man ever go surety for an
other? Why not? 1t is most friend
ly act. If prudently done, it may be
ofthe most eminent benefit to neigh
Dor. 1t gives him the benefit of your
good reputation where he is not
known. 1t lends him your credit
where his own is not sufficient. It
puts him in funds which otherwise
he could not command. Such service
to a friend is generous, and sometimes
even noble. No better use can be
made of ones money than to help n
true friend. We are commanded to
remember those in bonds as though
bound with them. To be sure, this
was originally applied to bonds of
different kind, but with not a whit
more prOpriety than to pecuniaTy
bonds. a man, who, by a few thOus-
and dollars, can save his friends, and
perhaps his family, from bankruptcy
and want, could hardly spend his
money in manner which, all his life
long, ne would remember with more
satisfaction.
But there are certain moral and pru-
Dental considerations which should
always be borne in mind in going
surety for a 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 in
dOrse on the suppOsition that you will
not have to pay. Never indOTse with
out saying TO yourself "This may
come around upon me. I may have
to pay it ; and, if it comes to that, 1
am ready ard wiling Nine out of
ten of the fatal mistakes made by
bOndsmen arise from taking the Op-
pOsite course to this. They consider
the act of indOrsing a friends paper
rs a mere commercial form. "Ihere
is no risk. L shall not have it to pay.
He is abundantly able to take care of
his paper. l shall help him without
| harming myself, and he is a stingy
man who will not do that"
This is the calculation on which
man binds himself to pay his friends
debts in case the friend can not pay
| them himself. ButhOw dot hese things
| turn out? One need not go far to ascer-
tain. Every village has an illustra-
ton. The borrower was more involv-
| 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 sue
cess, almost without possibility of
failure, suddenly, like a loaded wag-
on, slipped off a wheel, and upset in
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 and
the estate went into executors hands
for settlement, was badly managed,
warped 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
find yourself confronted with a debt
that sweeps away your house, your
farm, your little sum in the bank, and
leaves you just where you began
twenty-five years ago, with the differ
ence, that then you had only yourself
to provide for, and now you have
wife and eight children. Then you
were only 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 Civ
en- away your childTen's bread. You
have saved your friend, but have ru-
ined yourselfI Perhaps your friend
had settled on his wife n small prop
erty. OF course she will divide with
you, since it was to save her husband
that you was ruined. But if she will
not, land nature is made up of shally
stuff and her children 20 to school,
while yours stay at home and ifthey
live in a comfortable house. pleasant
ly furnished, while you are hireing a
few rooms in the cheapest quarter Of
town, then l suspect you will chew
the cud of great many bitter reflec-
tions.
When it is too late, you will be very
wise. You will say to yourself, it
may be, "a man is n fool who signs
for any larger sum than he can con-
veniently pay" Amen, say
Before a man puts his name down
on another mans paper, he should
ask himself, am l willing to give this
person as much money as l sign fOr?e"
Amen, say /!
ITO sign a bond on the suppOsitiOn
that it is a mere form, and that you
will have nothing to pay, is to put
ones head into n FOOLS nOOse.h Amen
again, say l
There is no harm in signing for
neighbor if you have got the property;
if you are able to pay the amount
without harming your own hOushOld;
and if you love the man for whom you
sign enough to be whiting to give him
outright the sum covered by your in
dorsement. Otherwise to go surety
for a neighbor is folly, sin and
shame.-HeHry Ward Beecher.