Daily globe., 1883-05-13
TIE WEEKLY GLOBE.
sF. PAUL, SUNDAY, MAY 1S. 1883.
DEBT.

need of cultivating the capacity for doing
them. whether the sphere Of action be the
management of household, the conduct
of trade or profession, or the govern
ment of a nation" That is, every one In
this world must do work of ssme sort, and
therefore needs to learn how to do it. The
world is full of men and women who, for
want of knowing how to work are pau
pers. Such persons are not necessarily
inmates of poorhouses or asylums, but
every able bodied man or woman who sub
sists upon the charity or credit of others
is pauper. To live in another's house
and pay no rent; to wear clothes belonging
to another: to eat and drink at another's
expense is to be a pauper in the fullest
sense of the term. When man
voluntarily contracts a debt which he
knows will never be paid, he is not only
dishonest but he also betrays the trust re-
posed in him, and he becomes pauper
dependent upon his unwilling creditor.
When woman is indebted to merchants
for her wardrobe, and to her milliner for her
bonnets, is she not a pauper to that extent?
The only difference between them
and public Paupers is that the
latter are recognized as such,
and receive their support in a
public manner, while the former pass as
honorable men and women, and obtain
their credit through false pretenses.
A wholesome fear of debt or obligation
is trait of every honorable character.
The collar worn by Wanda the Witless was
light compared to the burden borne by an
honorable person in debt and unable to
pay. There are few more important les
sons for the young to learn than this: "0we
nc man anything" The youth must
be taught both by precept and
example that to voluntarily contract debts
is to put his neck under the yoke of servi-
tude. Indifference to the obligations of
debt is one of the growing evils of this
age. The question is not "Can pay, if L
buy" but "Can 1 buy on credit?" OF
course the relations of creditor and
debtor are legitimate business relations,
but careless buying without thought of
paying is wrong and pernicious. When one
man trusts another with goods or money,
he relies upon his honor for an equitable
return, and if his debtor be a man Of
honor, he will do his utmost to repay the
trust.
A man who had been freed by the bank
rupt law from an enormous load of debt,
remarked, 81 am all right now. I have
got rid of my debts" What idea dad
did that man have of honor or truth ?
Those debts, he cast from him so lightly,
had never been incurred, had not men
trusted him, had his creditors known the
kind of man he was. They trusted him,
and he betrayed their trust.
A man died in this city few weeks ago,
whose example of integrity to obligations,
and fidelity to the trusts reposed in him,
should not be forgotten. When depres-
sion in the values of real estate crippled
his resources, and made it impossible for
him to meet his obligations, his creditors
offered to compromise with him, but he
replied, "No, gentlemen; shall pay every
cent if live" For years he toiled, but he
fulfilled his promise, and he died
owing no man anything. No person
could say Il lost by him. Such examples
are very rare.
San empty bag cannot stand upright,
is an old proverb, neither can man in
debt. He loses his self respect and his in
tegrity, and must resort to subterfuges and
deception. They form foundation more
unstable than shifting sand, and when a
person begins to make bills regardless of
payment, he has already begun to sink in
the quicksand. Some persons think dis
regard of debt is clever and an indication
of whole-souled. generous fellow. An old
gentleman meeting young man attired
IN the most expensive manner asked what
he was doing. 30, nothing" he replied,
Il am looking about" ''How do you man
age to live? You live WELL" he asked. Il
am head over ears in debt" he answered,
''but fellow must dress we'll, you know"
What is the difference between such high
toned young fellow, and a begging tramp
except the dress? One is a public pauper,
the other private dependent
of some tailor or restaurantet
Like the man in the Bible without sitda-
tion, he cannot dig, to beg he is ashamed,
oO hO AA'OS OAA VIC SIOOul1tI OF LruSC Oh MS
fellow-citizens. Any honest laborer, how
ever poorly dressed, is far superior to these
exquisites in the livery of debt. With
health and strength, and common business
capacity, there is no excuse for debt.
If agreeable work cannot be found, do
something, trundle a wheel-barrow or
carry hod, anything rather than idleness
and dependence. Useful work never de-
grades man, but genteeI pauperism is
fatal to honor and all the fine instincts of
gentleman. DR.. johnson thus counseIs
young men: "Do not accustom yourselves
to consider debt only as an veni
you will find it calamity. Let it be your
first care then, not to be in any mans
debt. Frugality is not only the basis of
quiet, but of benefcence. No man can
help others who wants help himself; we
must have enough before we have to
spare"
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Il SCANDALOUS PRESS.
1T is quite entertainining to observe