Page:Discipline and the Derelict (1921).pdf/57

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up, and he finds it difficult to save enough money beyond his living expenses to meet any considerable debt. The man who does not begin to borrow before his junior or his senior year can usually see the end not far away, and he struggles on to the finish. If he does not immediately marry he stands a good chance of shortly paying up his obligation.

I believe in a young man's marrying early, but ordinarily I think he should not do so while he is in debt. It is not so cheap for two to live as one and never has been, and the young fellow who takes a wife faces the probability of doctor bills, of increasing family, and of irregular employment, and these conditions are not conducive to the payment of old debts. For this reason, just stated, I have usually hesitated to recommend a loan to any applicant when it seemed likely that he would marry before his debt was fully paid.

The loan most easily obtained is usually the one least appreciated and least likely to be repaid. I believe it is a good thing for the student who wishes to avail himself of the privileges of a college fund to be required to offer some security. Life insurance is a protection in case of the borrower's death, but any one who has lived twenty years or more should not find it impossible to secure an endorser of his note, a member of his family or a friend, who at least has the reputation for honesty even if he is not to any large exten a property holder. The fact that two names are on a note shows that there is some one who is willing to vouch for the borrower's honesty. There is a certain responsibility upon the student, also, to make good, to meet his obligation, and to justify himself