The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1872-04-06

OF CECIL COUNTY.
f. E. EWING, Secretary.
Pay Your Debts.-There is wide
spread evil in the chronic disposition to
shirk paying debts, and small debts espe
cially. Aside f-om the great drawback on,
and stumbling block to business, it is
downright dishonesty. Capital at all times
represents interest, as truly as labor repre-
sents wages; and the man who retains
another's capital in the form of debts with
out interest, is perpetrating the same
wrong that he is who withholds the labor
cr's wages. Both are consuming the sub
stance Of others, and committing rs great
Il moral wrong as he who abstracts by
stealth, and appropriates to his own use
the goods of his fellow man. The law
dcsignates the latter a thief and Furnishes
him with Imprisonment, while it deals diff
ierently by the former in compelling him to
make restitution, by Selling on and sell
ing at public vendue his goods. The lat
ter penalty which seizes debtor goods is
considered less severe and less ignominous
than the former, which takes the body of
the offender and deprives him of his liberty
for a season. Formerly debtor was met
ed out the same punishment as the thief,
and confined in jail till he paid his indebt-
edness, or at the option of his CREDITOR
This law has great antiquity in its favor;
for we read in the ancient Book, "Agree
with thine adversary quickly, whites thou
art in the way with him. lest at any time
the adversary deliver thee to the Judge,
and the Judge deliver thee to the officer,
and thou be cast into prison. Verify say
unto thee thou shalt by no means come out
thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost
farthing.'
In those simple days justice stood in the
way with naked sword, and compelled
obedience to her laws. The doctrine that
''the world owes me living" had not
then been invented. The world owes no
man anything; but man is in debt to the
world for all he has. and he owes the world
an honest and persistent effort to obtain
not then corrupted the morals of men by
mawkish sympathy for the "unfortunate
evil doer, but society visited its just re-
sentiment on his head, while reserving all
it's sympathy for the robbed and injured
party. This internal sentiment OF sympa-
thy for rogues, worm-holes the entire social
fabric Of the present day. y plausible
scoundrel has only to be unlucky enough
10 be caught and imprisoned, to draw the
sympathizing eyes of the whole commu-
nifty upon him, while the long avenue of
crime which he has passed through to
reach the unpleasant situation, is entirely
ignored.
This injustice to itself has filled the
world with petty rogues. as well as added
to the list of greater criminals, till you may
count by hundreds people who seem to
study nothing else but how to get in debt,
without the remotest idea OF ever paying.
This thing is practiced among the bon ton,
among trading classes, in the church,
among all classes of society, and is the
leading sin of the day. To this habit may
be traced almost as many crimes as to
intemperaDce. And yet on these and sim
liar immoralities, we never hear Il sermon
preached. The ministers fight the devil
afar off, and never perceive he is busy at
work under their very nose, in the midst
of their congregations, from which centres
is expected to radiate the moral light and
warmth that is to tighten and fructify the
world.
There never WAS an offence committed
without the palliative, ard the excuse for
this professional debt making, is "unfor-
tpnate," ''becomc involved" &c. &c. In
one case, where such reasons can in justice
be claimed, there are at least one hundred
in which they are utterly without foun-
dation. If mans conscience prompts
him to discharge such obligations lie readi-
ly makes arrangements to economize in his
living, so as soon to pay OFF his indebted
ness. Men of this class seldom find any
difficulty in keeping out of debt; while
there are others who never can keep out
because they don't rant to. The sin of
extravaganza and a disposition to shirk
honest labor is the crying evil Of the day.
To swindle your neighbor out of his hon
est earnings is the modern improvement
in gambling. Running in debt by making
fair promises is another child of the same
family; and if these aud similar genteel
practices SO rife in the present day and
generation are traced back they will be
found to spring from q common parent no
less hideous TO refined taste than highway
robbery. BY cultivation this old bush
savage has been improved in manners and
dress till he is thought fit company for. the
best society in church and State, lie is
found i'll the pulpit, on the judges bench
IN the halls of legislation, in the busy
lnarts Of trades, talking and laughing the
loudest, giving tone to society; but if You
examine him closely you will find him a
true offspring Of the old highwayman Of
the middle ages. What he has lost in
courage he has gained i'll diplomacy; what's
lacking in Drawn and muscle, he is more
than compensated for in smooth speech
and fair promise. He is the man who
steals by speculation, cheats by lying, gets
in debt by fair promises, and tells You he
cant" pay, because he don't try, and
never intended to from the beginning He
is without the virtue of self denial, and
conscious guilt of dishonesty which ever
darkens and deiiles his spirit, and yet lie
may be often found protesting piety, teach
ing pure morality, a very pattern of virtue.
No pure stream flows from defiled foun-
tain, and those who drink OF it will be I'M
pregnated with muddy water.
The committee Of conference upon the
ira nsier of the sum Of $5S,000 from tie
Elluon and Massey's to the Elkton and
lIiddietown Railroad reported that they
had fajled to agree, and asked to be dis