The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1905-03-28

! that setteth snares. They set a trap
They catch men."
Indorsers are innocently caught in q
trap. How? The merchant is sitting
in his office, and a friend enters He
says: Hello, Mr.. So-and-So. I am
glad to find you in. l am in finan
cial hole and want you to help me out
You know spring Is here, and ! must
lay in my goods now for the winter
ly business was never better than
now or prospects brighter. However
in order to compete with my rivals
must branch out and get more stock
The wholesale firms say if you will in
dorse my note they will let me have
the goods. OF course there is abso-
lutely no danger Of your ever being
called upon to pay. Will you indOrse
for old friendships sake?" You pin
the man down. By long argument he
seems to prove that there is no posi-
bic danger Of your being compelled to
pay. Then, for friendships sake, you
sign the fatal note
Or perhaps the man wants a respon-
sible position. He is about to be APP
pointed cashier Of some institution He
says he must have certain indorsers,
and down goes your name. Now, my
brother, it would be all right for you to
sign your name there If you felt you
could afford to make good that pledge
if it ever came back to you. But the
trouble is that most Of us, with our
present financial struggles, cannot af-
ford to pay. Aye, l 60 further than
this-nine men out Of ten, ninety-n nine
men out of hundred, nine hundred
and ninety-nine men out Of thousand,
never can pay or intend to pay the
notes they indorse for the benefit Of
their friends. AS soon as the notes
fall due and come back upon the in
dorsers they begin to sQuirm and twist
and try to wriggle out Of their diff
culties. Sometimes by fair, but, alas,
often by foul, means they try to shirk
and repudiate their debts of indorse
ment, even as some dishonest men
clear off their debts by putting their
money in their wives names and then,
going into bankruptcy court, ask for
a clean financial sheet.
A True Picture.
Is not the picture true? What would
you do if you were asked to pay the
dishonest debts Of your friends which
you Endorsed? Would you do it.?
Would you do it even If you had in
dorsed their notes and could find a
10 a.
it, as did Sir Walter Scott? Would you
do it even though it cost you your life
to die an honest man? Would you
pay those indorsed notes, as William
Mckinley paid the ones he Endorsed for
a friend? In order to pay those notes
he literally gave up all his own money
and all his wife's money. A short time
before his death he was talking to Il
ministerial friend Of mine, and he said ::
Mr.. Campbell, people sometimes Won
der why I am so devoted to my wife.
Could any husband but an migrate be
otherwise when his wife willingly gave
up all she had to save his honor?'
William Mckinley never expected to
be called upon to pay those Endorsed
notes, but he paid them. Would you
pay, if necessary, those notes you are
about to indorse, as William Mckinley
paid? Or would you repudiate or at
least try to repudiate those debts, as
hundreds and thousands have done?
Dare you, with your present financial
burdens, risk the sinful temptation
of reputation which you may have to
face if you become a financial surety
for a friend?
But as l see the old mother bear
struggling to get her paw out Of the
fatal trap do not pity her, even with
all her sufferings, nearly as much as
do the little cubs who. are dependent
upon her for their lives. As see
man struggling in the indorser's trap,
with all his misfortunes, I do not feel
nearly so sorry for him as do for his
wife and especially for his children,
who are dependent upon him for finan-
cial support Yet to hear some people
talk you would suppose that in order
to be kind, loving, big hearted, gener-
GUS, a man should be ready to help all
LIS 1IlcuuS anu WHICH, IACJ ASCu IL "
sign all their notes, no matter what
might be the financial danger that man
may run in reference to his own chill
dren. Now, my friends, I believe one
of the best tests Of true, big hearted
man is not how he looks after his
friends notes so much as how he first
looks after his own flesh and blood.
Too Big q Price.
Do you mean to tell me there is any
honor, any justice, any big heartedness,
in a man going upon friends note
when in order to do it he may have to
take the very bread out Of his chill
dren's mouths and the clothing off their
backs and the old homestead away
from their Inheritance? This is Just
what many men have done in order to
win the name Of being big hearted. !
recall to mind one Of this type whom
the world eulogized as kind man,
but who purchased that eulogy at a
fearful price. The man Of whom l
speak was for years the president Of a
New York company. His income was at
least $4,000 per year; but, though he
made much, he spent much. Every
person In distress could go to him for