THE DEMON DEBT.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 159, 3 July 1886, Page 3

THE DEMON DEBT.

Oxe of the most serious and insidious obstacles in the way of thrilfc, of case of mind, and of true household comfort, is the " running account." Doubtless the credit system originated in a benevolent intention to do good, and, in its wider application, it is necessary to carry on the great commercial, social, and financial undertakings of tlio vorld, but it is a great enemy to home economy, It is the foundation for debt and all the distressing formula of indebtedness, duns, notes of hand, liens, mortgages, and a thousand an-J one of the miseries and incumbrancs known to legal phraseology and practice which arc the bane of life. If the writer had 1000 sons and daughters the first human principle she would teach them would be never to establish a running account. No one can live within his or her income who spends money in advance of earning it. Persons who live in this" way, in fact, never have any income : they have an outgo that eats up income before it gets inside the door. The " running account," however, is more dangerous for the housewife, because she is not usually either the wageearner or the paymaster in the household. She gels what she wants on credit, because there is no particular trouble in getting it, and without the appreciation of the ttoublc of paying for it, which grows out of the necessity for scraping the dollars together in whatever way the husbaud comes by his money, whether it be iu swinging a blacksmith's hammer, in throwing a weaver's shuttle, in measuring tape and molasses, or in guiding the handles of his plough.. She does the multifarious and never ending work of her household} keeps the table well spread, the house tidy, the beds aired, and the bread well baked and nutritious, and il is not at all to be wondered at that she thinks this is enough. The mistake is in the beginning in having things that are not paid for. The housekeeper who spends only what money she has to spend is not only relieved of the wcrry of debt — for what worries the husband will worry the good wife, for she i<j made a conscious power in the pay and provender department of her establishment. Instead of being a drag upon her husband's energies, bhe is made to nnderstand ior herself the limitations of the fund which she draws upon, and how much may be paid out, and how much laid tip for emergencies.

i Young coupler who start out, by running in" debt should remember that they ennnot, in the long- run, «et an inch the btart of the world in that way. They cm) only livo up to thcii earnings after all is faaid and done. By running an account wiih the butcher, the baker!" and candlestick niukor, they give those several dcalcis an opportunity to charge them high prices for their purchases. 7 he storekeeper who sells his wares on credit is always obliged to make good the accounts of his bad customers by taking larger profits from those who get credit and pay. Besides, it is a rule which acute business men thoroughly understand, that money is worth and will usually fetch some rate of interest, or an equivalent sum, by being frequently turned orer. la it not fair to suppose that the shopkeeper looks to his credit customer to make good the deficit in his bank accounts brought about by the system of " running accounts ?" On the contrary, the buyers who buy for cash can choose where they will buy, which is a great advantage, and they cun buy follower, prices. The cash price is always the loweat, and the- cash cuslonioi is aJUvayo the pieferrud customer. lfc too often happens Hi at no check is kept on the miming accounc Settling day is always a day of surprise for the debtor, and big store bills are a peiputual source of family broils and discomfort. People who pay " some other day " nine ihne* out o'i ten cany the impunidence of their getting into an improvidence of inc. Those who are accustomed to get without care use without stint. There is no rule in the world for large affairs or small ones like the rule of " P'W «' s joa go." Jt is the foundation not only of gooJ finance, but of good temper and ?>ood foitun" a a well. And especially the hoisto-wilo who is wise enough to give the matter a liLtlo sonous thought, and tlatorminod enough to stand by her own cowctioiia, will need no monitor to wnvn her of the folly and danger of " running accounts/'