Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1870-04-08
ON GOING SURETY.

Ought man ever to go surty for aHother2
Why not. 1t Is most friendly act IF
prudeutly done, it may be the most eminent
benefit to q neighbor It gives him the
benefit Of your good reputation when be is
not known. II lends him your credit where
bis own IS not sufficient Il puts him in
funds which otherwise be could not CON-
mand. Such surface 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 re
member 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 peeuniary
bonds. 4 man who by few thousand del
lars, 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, be would remember with
more satisfaction.
But, there are certain moral aud pruden-
tial considerations which should always 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 for whom you endorse. For no blum
der can be worse than to endorse on the sup
position that you will not have to pay.
Never endorse without saying to yourself,
This may come round upon me | may
have to pay il; 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 opposite course from this,
They consider the act Of endorsing friend 5
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 paper.
shall help him without harming myself,
aud he is stingy man who viii not do that. -
This is the calculation on which man
binds himself to pay friend debts in case
the friend cannot pay them himself.
But how do these things turn out? One
need not 20 far to aseertrin. Every village
has an Illustration. The borrower was more
ihyolved than you supposed. or perhaps,
than he himself knew, and his creditors
closed on him and wound him up, and were
oyerjoyed to fad such good name on his
paper. Or, the sanguine scheme on which
be has ventured. which seemed sure Of sue
cess, almost without possibility Of failure,
suddenly, Ike loaded wagon, slipped off a
wheel and upset into the dirt. Or, just as
everything was a, the point of success. your
friend siekened aud could not look after his
affairs some critical matter was neglected or
some dishonest person stepped in and croo-
ked matters; your friend died, the estate
went into the execGctor's hards for settle
ueut, was badly managed, warped and eroo
ked, and finally turned ont insolyent
! And what became Of you? Why, you were
surety for the full amount Of what you are
4 worth In aa hour you ipd yourself confron-
ted with debt that sweeps away your house,
your farm, your little sum in the bank, and
Z leaves you just where you began twenty five
years ago, With this difference, that ther
YOU had only yourself to provide for. and
now sou have a wife and eight children
Then you we're twenty Eve years old, ans
life was all before you, and now you are fft.
years, aud life pretty much behind you
You have given away your children 5 bread
You have not ut saved your friend, bu