Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1910-03-09
PAYING DEBTS.
Another Interesting Article Which Gives an
Insight Into Conditions Just After The War.

l
The following article is ans
other which we take from The
Union Banner Of July, 1865.
1t not only gives us an insight
into financial conditions
4 existing just at the close
of the war, but it points
out the Injustice and un>
righteousness of failure to pay
an honest debt when it is pos>
'sible to do so. There are a
whole lot of people to-day
who need just such a reminds
er of their duty to a creditor
Some folks would swell up,
fume and fuss IKE a poisoned
pup if accused II being dis
honest, yet they cannot right
ly claim to be honest if they
have willfulIy failed to pay
their honest debts, no matter
| how small nor how old, and,
another point that should be
remembered, is: a3ar~ sins Of
| omission are as baIt as those
OF commission.
about a year after the
commencementof the war and
when Confederate money had
become rather abundant,
many of the people who had
notes and other debts Of .
standing against th5m, con-
ceived the happy idea thai
then was a good time to pay
them off. Money was SO plen>
ty and so easily obtained
cheap in other words-that
some Of them fairly rubbed
their hands together with JOY
tC think how easily they could
discharge their old debts: and
speedily avail themselves Of
the then most lropitious op-
portanity to relieve them~
selves from what, under orr
dinary circumstances of the
monetary affairs Of the coun~
try, would not have been near
so easy or so cheap. The hold
el of these notes were obliged
to accept the preferred Cons
fed. Or incur the reproach Of
discrediting the Government,
which was interpreted as an
injury inflicted upon the cause
of the South.
Nov that this is all past
and gone, there are few, we
presume, who will for a mos
ment dissent to the proposi~
ton that it was more sharp
than honest in debtors to take
advantage of that time to pay
their debts; because the debts
they were thus discharging
we're made in reference to a
widely different state of mons
etary affairs, and the payment
of them in a cheap currency
was simply defrauding the
creditor by the amount of the
difference between the cur~
rency employed and that in
reference to which the debt
was originally made
But it was not in relation
to this point alone we wish to
speak at present. 1t is in ref
erence to the payments OF
debts now: the same spirit Of
wrong~doing We know to have
been recently manifested, as,
where a man owes a debt and
has the money and could pay
his creditors, but will not do
so because he wants to go in~
to business again aud put in
all the capital he can muster
TO set him up. 1t is a very
obtuse intellect, not to men
tion moral darkness Of sense,
that units a man t. perceive
that his first duty is to his
creditor. That creditor may
be in a much worse condition
than himself: he may be ac>
tually suffering FOR the want
Of the money due him, and
yet his debtor blandly tells
him, my friend ] will certain
ty pay you; will pay you as
soon as [ can; but | am very
anxious to put myself in a po>
sition to make money now,
and therefore cannot settle
your claim at-this time.
''Surely, surely, this is q
little worse than unadultereC
selfshness. 1t is dishonest
A man had just as we'll thrus1
his hand in his neighbor's
pocket and haul out his purse
and holding it up before hi'
astonished eyes inform hin
that it is the very thing ht
needs, that he wanted to q
into h1lsinncS To W q ka 1nnnpu