St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1886-07-03
THE DEMON DEBT.
Running Accounts and the Troubles and
Worry Caused by Them.

| Running Accounts and the Troubles ono
Worry Caused by Them.
One of the most serious and insidious
obstacles in the way of thrift, of ease OF
mind and of true household comfort, is
the running account" Doubtless the
credit system originated in benevo-
lent intention to do good. and. in its
wider application, it is necessary to
carry on the great commercial, social
and financial undertakings of the
world. but it is great enemy to home
economy. 1t is the foundation for
debt and all the distressing formula OF
Indebtedness, duns, notes of hand.
liens, mortgages and thousand-and-
one of the miseries and membranes
known to legal phraseology and prac-
tice which are the bane of life.
Jack Fallstaff. who got all the good
out of the credit system there was in it.
declared: If had thousand sons
the first human principle | would teach
them should be to foreswear their po-
tations and addict themselves to sack. u
But Jack was the prince of scape-
graces, and only remembered one-haif
of the meum ct tuum division of prop
erty. His debts never bothered him,
except he had difficulty in making
them. If the writer had thousand
sons and daughters the first human
principle she would teach them would
be never to establish running ac-
count. No one can live within his or
her income who spends money in adj
vance of earning it. Persons who live
in this way, in fact, never have any in
come; they have an outgo that eats
up income before it gets inside the
door.
The s.running account however, is
more dangerous for the housewife. be-
cause she is not usually either the wage
Garner or the paymaster in the house.
hold. She gets what she wants on
credit because there is no particular
trouble in getting it and without the
appreciation of the trouble of paving
for it. which grows out of the necessity
for scraping the dollars together in
whatever way the husband comes by
his money, whether it be in swinging a
blacksmith hammer, in throwing a
weaver shuttle. in measuring tape and
molasses or in guiding the handles of
his plow. She does the multifarious
and never-ending work of her house,
hold, keeps the table well spread, the
house tidy, the beds aired and the bread
well-baked and nutritious. and it is not
at all to be wondered at that she thinks
this is enough. The mistake is in the
beginning in having things that are not
paid for. The housekeeper who spends
only what money she has to spend is
not only relieved of the worry of debt
for what worries the husband will
worry the good wife--but she is made
a conscious power in the pay and prov
ender department of her establish
ment Instead of being drag upon
her husbands energies she is male To
understand for herself the limitations
of the fund which she draws upon and
how much may be paid out and how
much laid up for emergencies.
Young couples who start out by run
ming in debt should remember that they
can not, in the long run. get an inch
the start of the world in that way.
They can only live up to their earnings
after all is said and done. By running
an account with the butcher. the baker
and candlestick maker, they give these
several dealers an opportunity to
charge them high prices for their pur-
chases. The store keeper who sells his
wares on credit is always obliged to
make good the accounts of his bad Gus
toners by taking larger profits from
those who get credit and pay. Besides.
it is rule, which acute business men
thoroughly understand, that money is
worth and will usually fetch some rate
of interest, or an equivalent sum, by
being frequently turned over. It's not
fair to suppose that the shop-keeper
looks to his credit-custonier to make
good the deficit in his bank accounts
brought about by the system of ''run-
ming accounts" On the contrary. the
buyer who buys for cash can choose
where she will buy. which isa great
advantage. and she can buy for lower
prices. The cash price is always the
low st, and the cash customer is always
the preferred customer.
1t too often happens that no check is
kept upon the running account. Set
Ting day is always a day of surprise
for the debtor, and big store-birs are a
perpetual source of family broils and
discomfort. People who pay ''some
other day. nine times out of ten carry
the improvidence of their getting into
an improvidence of use. Those who
are accustomed to get without care use
without stint.
There is no rule in the world for large
affairs or small ones like the rule of
"pay as you GO 1t is the foundation
not only of good finance, but of good
temper and good fortune as well. And
especially the housewife who is wise
enough to give the matter a little
serious thought. and determination
enough to stand by her convictions. will
need no monitor to warn her of the
folly and danger of running ac-
counts. s.'-Phiiadeiphia Record.
"A Chicago correspondent of the