The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1878-12-12
KEEP OUT OFDEBT.

when presses like palsy upon their
minds, is debt: and it more frequent
ly Causes death than is generally
supposed. No one enjoys perfect
liberty as long as he is indebted to
others. From the moment he signs
his maine to any paper promising
to pay. or has Oh account against
him, he loses very much of his inde-
pendencc--:h t is, If he is honest and
intends to meet his obligations. If
rascal and har no intention of
paying, ho ca es little for anything.
We know, as 10 all who have beon
engaged in business for any con-
siderable time, tho great difficulty
of following tho golden rule Of
.pay rs you go" much as we may
desire to do so. The needs of the
hour are sometimes too pressing to
be denied, and confident in our
future ability, we yield to the siren
song of credit, and permit the chain
to be slipped around our necks, and
are no longer free. But debS is q
slow and sure fire. AS long as one
is in it, he is working for others,
and it hangs as the heaviest of
millstonos about his neck. It is
fire above which he is constantly
suspended, and which is ever kept
supplied with fuel. In the distance
looms the execution and the sheriff.
1t robs man of his sleep, and sits a
skeleton at his table, It sticks by
his side every hour of the day, and
is the veriost imp Of nightmare
when darkness rules the hour. A
man beyond the suspicion of debt
stands fair before the world; one
known to be in debt is often sus-
picioned. It robs q man of his fair
name, for, be he ever so honest,
there are many chances against pay
ing-life, health and shrinkage in
values; and many time he cannot
pay when he has promised and ex-
poets to do so. Some one has fail
ed him his failure causes another,
and so on through long line, and
perhaps eve14 to disaster and ruin.
With q weary heart the debtor
tolls. He feels but too deeply that
the proceeds of his work must 20
to pay for others failures, and it is
difficult for the most honest man to
submit cheerfully. Payments may
become due when he is needing the
money for pressing uses. It is
usually hard to pay old debts, anl
the worry consequent upon it is
the slow fire that is the worst
torture to many man.
A man, if blessed with health and
strength, who is out of debt, may
snap his fingers at care and the
world. If the reverse, he is ever
rolling the stone of Sysiphus up
hill and it is constantly rolled back
upon him so heavily that it may
crush him, despite his best endeav-
or. Mlny one has his quietus
made with little moro than bare
bodkin, when driven by debt many
q man has been roasted over the
slow fire, to at last give up the
struggle and perish miserably. It
is the iron collar, the iron mask,
worn by him whose name was never
written upon the pages of history;
it is as q shirt of hair, constantly
calling.
It will be a day of rejoicing when
credit is no moro. Shall we ever
live to see it, It is doubtful, yet
we can do something to hasten the
time, and all should work earnestly
for it's dawning. The sooner it
comes the better. The sooner
account-books are banished, the
sooner will business be established
upon a firm bnsis. Like many
another necessary evils, earth need
not weep over the downfall Of
! credit.
How, as nearly as possible, is this
desirable end to be gained7 The
answer is simple one and contained
in nutshell. We should all pay
up as soon as possible and avoid, as
much as in US lies, debt in the
future. The coming times promise
better opportunities than the past.
: Let us avail ourselves Of the coming
sunshine, keep out of debt, and
: avoid death by its slow fre.--Lsc-
sngton Dispatch.
HIS OBJECTION TO A JURoR.-"Are
you satisfied with the jury, gentle
men 7" asked Judge Noonan this
morning, after the jury had been
impaneled.
awe are," said the lawyers in
chorus.
toll 0a,,nh fonra so1anonlv