The wilful debtor is, first of all, a thief and a robber, because he retains unjustly the lawful possessions of another.  There is no difference between taking and keeping what belongs to the neighbor.  The loss is the same to a man whether he is robbed of a certain amount or sells goods for which he gets nothing in return.  The injustice is the same in both cases, the malice identical.  He therefore who can pay his debts, and will not, must be branded as a thief and an enemy to the rights of property.

The debtor is guilty of a second crime, of dishonesty and fraud against his fellow-man, by reason of his breaking a contract, entered upon with a party in good faith, and binding in conscience until cancelled by fulfilment.  When a man borrows or buys or runs an account on credit, he agrees to return a quid pro quo, an equivalent for value received.  When he fails to do so, he violates his contract, breaks his pledge of honor, obtains goods under false pretense.  Even if he is sincere at the time of the making of the contract, the crime is perpetrated the moment he becomes a guilty debtor by repudiating, in one way or another, his just debts.  Now, to injure a person is wrong; to break faith with him at one and the same time is to incur guilt of a double dye.

There is likewise an element of contumely and outrage in such dishonest operations; the affront offered the victim is contemptible.  Men have often been heard to say, after being victimized by imposture of this sort:  “I do not mind the loss so much, but I do object to being treated like a fool and a monkey.”  One’s feelings suffer more than one’s purse.  Especially is this the case when the credit is given or a loan made as a favor or service, intended or requested, only to be requited by the blackest kind of ingratitude.

And let us not forget the extent of damage wrought unto worthy people in hard circumstances who are shut out from the advantages of borrowing and buying on credit by the nefarious practices of dishonest borrowers and buyers.  A burnt child keeps away from the fire.  A man, after being defrauded palpably a few times, acquires the habit of refusing all credit; and he turns down many who deserve better, because of the persecution to which he is subjected by rogues and scoundrels.  Every criminal debtor contributes to that state of affairs and shares the responsibility of causing honest people to suffer want through inability to get credit.

And who are the persons thus guilty of a manifold guilt?  They are those who borrow and buy knowing full well they will not pay, pile debt upon debt knowing full well they cannot pay.  Others, who do not repudiate openly their obligations, put off paying indefinitely for futile reasons:  hard times, that last forever; ships coming in, whose fate is yet unlearned; windfalls from rich relatives that are not yet born, etc.; and from delay to delay they become not only less able, but less willing, to settle their accounts.  Sometimes you meet a fellow anxious to square himself for the total amount; half his assets is negotiable, the other half is gall.  He threatens you with the alternative of half or none; he wants you to accept his impudence at the same figures at which he himself values it.  And this schemer usually succeeds in his endeavor.