The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-06-12
SMALL OBLIGATIONS.
From Harper's Bazaar.

Few women. let us hope. are inten-
rionally dishonest. The majority of
women are fastidious in the conduct Of
their finances, shrinking from debt rs
from disgrace, and preferring to pay
fully and honorably as they go. Yet,
now and then one hears a wall of COM
plant from people who suffer needless
iy because of the needless manner in
which other people keep them waiting
for money which they have earned. A
dressmaker said, recently. to one of her
patrons: 81 am nearly frantic when 1
think how hard worked and how late
| sat up to finish Miss IS graduation
gown, and now l am afraid / will never
be paid. / have waited six months for
that bill, and I can not get one cent,
though I have almost begged for it.
even offering to take it in installments-
am distressed in these hard times,
when everybody is retrenching, be-
cause people do not have so many new
things, and others who have had them
put offUpaying me-"
On her way home the sympathetic
Customer thought about it, happening
to know that there were no indications
of want or straitened means in the
family of the delinquent debtor, in
ferring that the thing was due to an
ingrained Indifference to paying for
work when done. Probably there was
at first a temporary inconvenience in
settling the bill, and it was postponed
for day or two, and then the period
heightened insensibly. other creditors
brought their bills. larger amounts
were paid, and still the poor dress
maker waited and wondered, and grew
frantic with worry, poor thing!
To defer>even for one day the paying
of the laundress who has acceptably
finished her days work in youfNkitchen
is, it may be, to force her to ask credit,
grudgingly given to such as she. at the
grocer's shop where she deals, or else
to send her children meagerly fed to
their beds. People who have COM
Portable balance in bank do not COM
prehend the straitened circumstances
of the people who live from hand to
mouth.
Coal-bins filled to the overflow are
very different thing from coal pur-
chased in the dearest way, by the pail
full at time, yet thousand of poor
women can buy their coal only in
very small quantities or go without.
Think of being calmly told to wait till
tomorrow for ones wages, when
neither stick of wood nor ounce of coal
was on hand for the family fire!
Apart from the inconve nience, en-
barrassment, and misery entailed by
laXity in paying what one owes, es-
pecially when the creditors are the
poor, and the debts are small, there is
evident serious lack of principle in
persons who can comfortable continue
in debt.
Any lapse in the rigid honor which
insists on meeting each demand and
paying it in full at the moment of its
maturity involves loss of self-respect,
and brings in its train warped NOR
atty.
There are few things more important
in the education of children than the
fostering in them the right estimate of
personal obligation. The child should
be enjoined against borrowing or beg
gipg in his small transactions. Let
him be held to strict account and re-
sponsibility as to his management of
his allowance. Fidelity here will tell
In years to come, when his dealings
are no longer small, but effect great
commercial interestl-