Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1879-08-27
FARM AND flRESIDE'
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Cash VS.. Credit.


1.-THE man who builds and wants wherewith to pay,
Erects house from which to run away"
So says the post, and the experience
Of many a business man, as well as
well as many a farmer has Endorsed this
statement. But 1t is moro especially
applicable to farmers. Merchants. from
the very nature Of their business, must
trust and be trusted in return. To
them a credit system is indispensable.
when a demand for a certain article is
created on short notice, the tradesman
mast be able to supply his customers,
and TO do so it often becomes necessary
for him to 20 in debt for the goods but
if he has foresight, buys with judgment
and understands his business, he will in
a short time have disposed Of the goods
at profit and be ready TO pay off his
debt. Not so in the case Of the far
mer. In his business there are no sud-
den hits to be made. For him TO go
in debt. in ninety-nine cases in n hun
dred hampers his prosperity instead OF
promoting 1t. His income consists ID
what he derives from the sale OF his
products, his.grain, fruit, hay potatoes
stock and dairy produce. These are
slowly produced. Many disasters be-
yond his control, are liable TO interfere
with his plans, OF which the present
condition OF affairs in England furnishes
q striking example, and when quick and
sure returns cannot be had It is, TO say
the least, hazardous policy to go in
debt.
What We desire TO impress upon our
readers is TO keep clear of debts. OF
all rash acts, we believe that TO borrow
money even for permanent improve
ment, unless such Improvement is an
absolute necessity, is most likely 10 be
repented Of. A new house may afford
much cherished comfort, but comfort
bought with borrowed money is borrow
cd comfort, and must in the end, be
dearly paid for. 1t IS not enough that a
certain improvement will pay the inter
est on the money invested. II ii pays
only the interest, what will become Of
the principal: The tendency Of things
il to wear ont, and dimiAish in value.
The drains put into field, or new
barn, cannot last forever, and if i'm
provements that return only that in
terest, are made on borrowed capital,
the condition stated at the outset will
eventually ensue: the owner will be
forced to leave bis home IN the hands
of his creditor. Again, the returns
from the farm are ordinarily so slow
that before a borrowed capital can be
paid of, the interest upon it may often
amount TO once or even twice the prin-
clpal, and the Improvement becomes a
costly undertaking. We do not meal
to say that no improvements should be
made on the farm without improve
ments agriculture would degenerate.
What we mean is that they should not
be made with capital borrowed on loose
and superficial calculations. But few
men have the sagacity to foresee and
judge correctly Of the real value of such
investments, and without such fore
sight it becomes but little better than a
game Of chance IN which no man should
stake his independence.
There Is another class of debts in
which some families thoughtlessly in
yolve themselves. 1t is those little
items from the grocery, the hardware
store, the lumber yard, the shoemaker,
etc., which, though seeming innocent
and Insignificant in themselves, soon
swell in the aggregate into respectable
bills that will be doubly hard to pay af-
ter the goods have all been consumed.
No one should buy on credit if be has
the cash wherewlth to pay, though it be
necessary TO disturb bank account, and
II the money is not at immediate COM
mand,it Is better to contriye to do with
out q thing in some way, than to buy it
on credit. To live within ones means
Is an important lesson to learn. No
man Is rich whose expenditures exceed
his income, though he dabbles in mil
lions, while the one who can save ten
cents day is on the road to fortune.
Young men who are fettered by pOy-
erty and who wish for the use Of few
hundred dollars wherewilh to start in
business, TO finish course Of study, TO
buy a piece OF land, or for any purpose,
shoald hesitate twice before they give
up their independence. and voluntarily
fling themselves into creditors arms.
Wait, work end pay as you go. You
may attain your object more slowly,
but it will be reached just as surely and
with infinitely greater satisfaction. II
your good name-is all you can offer rs
security. rate Of interest will be re-
CURED which. under other circumstances,
would with propriety be termed exOrDi'
tant and usurious.
Hope springs eternal in the human
breast and to the young man who
views life through rosy glas ses, it seems
an easy matter to repay few hundred
dolla.s but when The money is spent,
and the principal is swelling with The
accommodating interest, the mistake is
too late discovered.
Spiced Currants.-Mrs. Whit.
comb, asks for a good recipe tol
spiced currants.