Jawbone Credit Western Slang Devotional by Stephen Bly
On February 15th, 1894, Milton Porter, without a penny to his name, walked into the White Pine County Bank in Ely, Nevada, and carried out $12,000 cash. He used jawbone credit.
He didn’t have a mask over his face or a six-gun in his hand. The tellers didn’t send for the marshal. No one suffered an injury. What he left with was a loan.
No lengthy delay for a credit check. No complex papers signing over his ranch (he didn’t own any property) or fine print to read. Milton gave his word to repay the loan by a prescribed date. That was good enough for bank president, Herbert McCoy, Jr.
Just Like That
Milton boarded a train to Denver, purchased 500 head of cattle, shipped
them to White Pine County. They grazed on land leased from the government. He sold them in November and paid back his loan.
That’s called jawbone credit, when a man’s value can be measured by how he keeps his word.
But how did a lending institution stay in business operating like that? Yet, more businesses have gone under in our day than ever did back then. Money lending is based more on people’s integrity on both sides of the equation than on contracts or business practices. But we spend more effort passing tougher laws than we do in training ourselves to be reliable.
“Judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High” (Psalm 7:8).
A Man & His Word
Anyone can be deceitful. You or I could present a fine, upstanding facade in order to trick others into trusting us. Those most blatant at this stance are called con men. Those most subtle and wear expensive three-piece suits. We call them financiers.
Doesn’t matter what you wear, how you look, where you live, or your family heritage. None of it means anything if you don’t pay back what you owe. No matter what century you live in, it’s still a matter of jawbone credit.
An excellent test of anyone’s character.
Stephen Bly
Copyright 1994
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Jawbone credit, a western slang expression, “He gave me jawbone” means advanced credit.
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