El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-08-29
Debt Is An Ugly Monster
Every Parent Should Teach n Child
That Debt Is a Phase
of shame.
by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
MAN who has made a great fl

-By Ella Wheeler Wilcox
| = MAN who has made great fl
n nancial success, somewhat sud
- denly. is doing much charitable
and helpful work fer humanity. but he
is marring his own character and max
ing trouble for himself and others in
the future by one unfortunate habit.
He never pays a debt until forced
to do so at the 18th hour.
Every one who knows the man knows
that he is honest and generous. He is
sure to pay all he owes and to lqui-
date every debt eventually. But
meantime, he causes untold discOm-
fort to his creditors frequently by his
delays.
often, while some man to whom he
is owing a large bill is needing the
money to push along his own affairs
his wealthy debtor is giving liberal
sums to aid others or to help some
But there is leak in the lifeboat
of this man which, unless mended will
eventually either sink his craft or dam
age all its cargo
No doubt the habit was first formed
when he was struggling to make rs
way; before fortune turned her smiI-
ing face upon him. But his very
struggles and needs IN early life ShoulQ
have made him more consistent in his
dealings with his fellow men after he
obtained his fortune.
An Ugly Monster.
Debt is the Ugliest monster on earth
outside of crime.
Every young man or woman who Is
setting forth upon a self supporting
career should keep his mental guns
charged and ready to fire upon the
ogre the moment it presents its hor-
rid face at the door.
If the habit of debt is once formed.
it is almost as difficult to break as al
cOholism or the drug habit The long
er it is INDUCED in the more difficult
the cure.
Every parent should teach child
that debt is a phase of shame
Tell your boy or girl that it is far
more respectable to wear old garments
and to be unable to present a smart
appearance than to go about in clothes
which are not paid for, or to indulge
in any pleasures or privileges which
have made debt a necessity
Keep n Cash Account.
Ihen train them in the way Of keep
ing a careful cash account each day
and of balancing up their books at the
end of each week Speak often and re-
peatedly of the honor which such hab-
its eventually bring and of the CORE
spending dishonor which follows on the
habit of debt
There are children born into the
world with a tendency TO be borrow
ers and even to be thieves. because
niggardly with their mothers before
their birth. And the children received
the mental mark of their mothers IN
fortunate state of mind.
One such woman lOnged for certain
kinds Of food before the birth of her
child, and was told by her husband
thaI her long1ngS We're eXtravagant and
unreasonable. So persistent We're her
lonSings, however, and so small was
the expense they entailed that the IN
happy, eNpectant mother purloined pen
MES from the pockets of her sleeping
husband. and when she had obtained
the petty sum needed purchased the
dainty she desired.
But her child was born with a mania
for taking things which did not belong
TO her; even when she could have them
by asking or possessed money to pur-
chase them. she preferred to steal
Men of that niggardly type often
force their wives and children into the
debt habit.
Allowances Are Helpful
It is astonishing TO find how many
men Of Independent means hold tight
the purse strings, and compel their
wives to go empty handed, while given