The Irish standard., 1905-11-18

Pay what thou owest." That Dis the
text upon which Cardinal Gibbons
based his sermon in the Cathedral ct
Baltimore, Sunday morning November
s.. His Eminence said:
This subject is most opportune and
is invested With vital interest ut this
time, when colossal frauds and defalca-
lions are revealed to us in rapid sue
ccssion.
Justice is a cardinal virtue. prompt
ing us to pay what we owe our neigh
Dor. Justice is the foundation of so
cal order and of business intercourse.
For IL we did not believe that men had
n sense of justice we would have no
confidence in their integrity, and with
out this confidence commercial life
would be paralyzed. Dishonesty is
diamctrically opposed TO Justice.
j purpose this morning to aot.rbefcre
you some of the principal ways in
which dishonesty is practiced in mer-
camille and in private life. l think
that this subject should be treated
more frequently in our churches, for
there would be fewer occasions for the
exercise of charity IL every man came
by his own.
In the first place, that man has n
loose conception OF business integrity
who does not keep a strict account of
his Indebtedness For if he has no
record of his obligations he is liable TO
overlook and forget them. II he forgcts
them he may be tempted to increase
his liabilities. He goes on augmenting
his debts he may be startled by their
magnitude, and may be unable to meet
them when the day of reckoning
comes.
Second. BE punctual in the payment
IF your bills. There are some men who
arc crminaly negligent and dilntory in
discharging their honest debts. They
will allow weeks ana months, and
sometimes even years, to pass without
meeting their just obligations. Their
remiSsnrSs does not arise from their
inability to discharge this duty, but
rather from Il bluntcd conscience and
II morbid attachment to wealth. They
regard the creditor as II ShylOck, and
complain of his opportunities, though
he Is demanding only what is justly
his due. They make no account of the
annoyance, Inconvenience and pecuni-
AIRY loss which the creditor sustains
from their perverse procrastination.
Some years ago / met Il citizen in
Il distant city who had a formidable
title prcfixed to his name. He regard
ed himself as q man of honor and
integrity. He would deem 1t Il dis
grace not to pay promptly a gambling
debt, but had lax notions about his
groccrs, his butchers or his tailor's
bill. He thus accosted me: IA GER
tain man had the assurance to ask
me today, in the street, to pay n bill
which ] owe him. felt insulted, sir,
and ! did not fail to tell him So"
If l had had any spiritual jurisdic-
ton over the person referred to would
have replied to him: Sir, it is not
you, but your creditor who ought to
feel offended. Pay your debts. The
money you have in bank or in your
purse is not yours so long as your
creditors just demands remain I'M
paid"
Third. Don't make promise to re-
fund loan unless you have the ability
to do so. Dishonesty in another form
is committed by those who borrow
money without having any we'll
grounded hopes of being able to re-
fund it. Yet they will give you the
positive assurance that the loan will
he restored at a stated time. When
you press them for information re-
gartling their ability to make good this
assurance, they will acknowledge that
for some time they have been out of
employment, that they have no visible
means of support and that the pros
poets before them are far from being