mount before you. You sign it almost mechanically. Being
firmly convinced that your friend is responsible and trustworthy; you
indorse his notes as a "matter of course."
Unfortunately the speculation does not come to a head quite so soon as
was expected, and another $10,000 note must be discounted to take up the
last one when due. Before this note matures the speculation has proved
an utter failure and all the money is lost. Does the loser tell his
friend, the endorser, that he has lost half of his fortune? Not at all.
He don't even mention that he has speculated at all. But he has got
excited; the spirit of speculation has seized him; he sees others making
large sums in this way (we seldom hear of the losers), and, like other
speculators, he "looks for his money where he loses it." He tries again.
endorsing notes has become chronic with you, and at every loss he gets
your signature for whatever amount he wants. Finally you discover
your friend has lost all of his property and all of yours. You are
overwhelmed with astonishment and grief, and you say "it is a hard
thing; my friend here has ruined me," but, you should add, "I have also
ruined him." If you had said in the first place, "I will accommodate
you, but I never indorse without taking ample security," he could not
have gone beyond the length of his tether, and he would never have been
tempted away from his legitimate business. It is a very dangerous
thing, therefore, at any time, to let people get possession of money
too easily; it tempts them to hazardous speculations, if nothing more.
Solomon truly said "he that hateth suretiship is sure."
So with the young man starting in business; let him understand the value
of money by earning it. When he does understand its value, then grease
the wheels a little in helping him to start business, but remember, men
who get money with too great facility cannot usually succeed. You must
get the first dollars by hard knocks, and at some sacrifice, in order to
appreciate the value of those dollars.
ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS
We all depend, more or less, upon the public for our support. We
all trade with the public--lawyers, doctors, shoemakers, artists,
blacksmiths, showmen, opera stagers, railroad presidents, and college
professors. Those who deal with the public must be careful that their
goods are valuable; that they are genuine, and will give satisfaction.
When you get an article which you know is going to please y
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