The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-12-19

NNtlCEG ~ nan ONcB bOn1GtItnK He |
Wants to Pay Out-Doctors aud
Preachers Have BiiIs sympathy.
Atlanta Constitution.
lowe no man anything" | reckon
lat Is good doctrine, but il st. Paul
had been a Gentle and q family man
and had lived in our day he would
have qualified the Injunction. We
are just obliged to owe somebody. A
right square up pay as you gc" bust
ness might suit an old bachelor like
Paul, but 1t don't suit us. This Is an
government is in debt millions OF dol
lars, and SO are the states and counties
and most of the churches. Banks are
chartered to lend money, and every
body Is invited to come and borrow.
With all these examples before us the
people have got in q way of going in
debt n they can't get out of it. It is
said that the nation owes more than it
Is worth and is really bankrupt, but
folks who W about as much as they
own, but as long us they pay the in
terest 1T don't matter. Interest is of
more Importance than the principal to
a money lender. A bond for thirty
years Is worth more han one for ten
years. Debt is a hard master, but
credit is a kind friend and there is
lots of fun in catching up. I've been
trying to catch up ever since the war,
but almost everybody is about u year
behind and they stay 80. With the
average family man it is almost impos-
sible to catch up, and so he gets used
to the credit system and generally dies
with q debt on his estate. That's
what is the matter with politics right
now.
The late panic interrupted the credit
system and the people are mad about
1t. They want to borrow moro money
just like the government or some
body owed every man, woman and
child that much and wouldn't Il it.
There is some good in every misfor-
tune, and L know that tho panic has
had some good results. 1t has put the
brakes on the train of extravaganza.
The way to get out of debt is to buy
nothing that you are not obliged to
have, and we are doing it at my house
merchants sell for cash only and we
haven't got the cash that stops the
t~rain-even rich folks have had to
slow up for town lots and bonds and
stocks are not cash. Merchants are
not selling as many luxuries as they
did a year ago. A jeweler told me he
was no selling one-third as much.
1t is curious how a man will uncon-
%sciOusly graduate his debts. If he
cant pay all and has a little money and
wants to do right, he will pay tho
butcher and his grocery merchant in
preference to the dry goods merchant.
Food is more important than clothing.
o can patch up last,ycar's garments,
but victuuls must come fresh every
day. Food and fire come first and have
the first lien on Il slim purse. And the
gas bill and water bill has to be paid
by town folks or these comforts will be
cutoff. They belong to corporations and
corporations have no souls. Servants
hire ranks pretty high, especially the
COOK and wash woman. They are
always paid. A man is ashamed for his
cook to think he has no money. Her
respect for him is based upon the idea
that he Is a gentleman and doesn't be-
long to the poor white trash" us the
negroes call them. So to keep up the
delusion he always pays the colored
servants.
But after these comes the dry goods
men and they get Il slice now and then
and take a note for the balance. Lately
they have got to drawing on you and
they write you u love letter asking
you to protect the draft. Or they send
you u statement about twice Il month
and say please remit" That is all
right and 1T is business, but if q man
hasn't got the money he can't protect
tn +, draft, nor remit either. The draft
Z wasn't in any particular danger nohow,
and as the protection was for revenue
only, it goes back dishonored. Ipaid a
little bill the othcrday to an old friend
and hen remember That | hoped we
would now have Il more limited COR
~respondence, he said he didn't know
anything about it, that he supposed
his bookkeepers was the guilty party.
-o'ncreafter shall pay less attention
to these ~biliydoos from bookkecpers.
But last OF all the preacher
and the doctor. | am sorry for them.
The lawyer can take care of himself,
but the doctor seems like one of the
family and he will wait and wait
= before he sends in his bill, and then
wait and Ia again before any serious
attention is paid to it. The family
think too much of him to treat him
like he was a creditor and he thinks
too much of them to importune. 1t
is such an atfectionate, condential
relation that it must not be disturbed
by u little matter of money, and so, in
the meantime, the poor family doctor
, is in danger of perishing to death. |
paid N the other day Il little bill of
Sll that was two years old and his
surprise and gratitude were distress
ing. But the preacher is the most
helpless of all creditors. He can't
make out any bills nor send any duns.
He has to deal with a corporation and
church corporations are pretty much
like all others. No one individual
acknowledges the debt. If he acknow-
Lodges his part he is doing pretty well.
hi officers meet once IL year and fix
the salary and another set of officers
call around once a month and ask for
the money, but they do not get more
than hall Of it. The good humble
preacher goes to the treasurer oc-
c~asiohally and timidly asks if there is
any money on hand for him. He gets
aoout half his dues and thanks the
Lord in his heart and invokes a bles-
sing upon his people. | wonder if
there is town church in the land that
keeps right square up With the
preacher. One time | was present
with the officers when the preacher
ventured to tell them that he was very
much embarrassed, that he owed
money and couldn't pay it. Tho
church had promised him $500, and
were behind 5000, aud the year only
half gone. One Of the officers sug-
gcsted that he call the attention of the
congregation to it next Sunday. No,
he said, he hated to do that for the