The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1858-03-06
FIRST Lessons or Cheating.

Does it ever strike the minds of ouI mer
chants. bank directors, and other men o
business, that the forgeries, false entries
and the whole variety of deceptions which
mark the history Of our day, are the natural
offspring of the training of many eSpecta-
! BILE mercantile establishments 1t is noto-
rious that in net a few stores which have a
| good Standing in public estimation, the ap-
| prentices and clerks are instructed TO ma Ike
the whole system OF selling deceit. Sc
/ cret marks are used to guide the salesman
| ip the scale by which he may graduate the
| price to suit the sagacity or ignorance OF
! the customer. Counterfeit labels are attach
| ed to merchandise, so ae 20 make American
manufacture pass fo- foreign; or the fabrics
/ of an unknown house for the standard one
whose name is falsely pasted upon it.
Gid goods are subjected to mechanical
process, tied up and labelled anew, and pass
Cd for fresh importatiOns. An initiated ar
ticle is mixed up in package, with the ge-
nuine so placed outside, as to give the i'm
preston that the inside is of the same de-
scripton. Stamps, boxes, wrappers are
closely initiated, to make the inferior and
the cheaper bring the price of the best.
False names, false descriptions Of the quail
ty and materials, are given by the titles Of
goods. Secrecy is enjoined on the subordi-
mates as to all these matters, and many col
lateral devices belonging to the system, SO
that their is a mercantile craft and tTee-ma-
sonny.
] do not allege that this system is pursued
10 the lull extent Of deliberate scheme in
eve~y establishment but if sucG things are
douG il many large and reputable houses,
where, In the agsr egate, hundreds and thou
sands are trained for business, | ask, wheth-
er those who permit or require them, have
anything but reason TO admire the prof.
cheney in their pupils, when their clerks
practice these arts upon their own sigma
trres and account books. In every other
particular connected with apprenticeship,
young men 20 up the principle that they
are preparing for business on 4 larger scale,
and for their own interests why should it
b. thought strange thing by employers,
ia having conducted their underlings
through years Of deceit in the petty details
of the counter. the" should find them
branching out in the larger viliainy Of false
entries, aud abstraeted funds, and breach of
trust:
IL iS the habit Of little frauds, daily pur-
sued, that bluntS the moral sense, and pre-
psres i. to submit 10 higher temptations. Ii
Is the constant allowance of plausible ex-
cuses for deception, that gradually mboid-
chs one 10 increase the scale Of his false
hoods. | knew a manufacturer of hats TO
justify his putting Paris and London marks
on the work Of his own establishment, be-
cause some men are weak enough to believe
that an American hat is not good enough
Tor their heads, while he was sure they
could not tell the difference, and only judg-
ed by the stamp on tAe lining. This may
be perfectly true; the American bat may
he the best. but the lie is none the less he
niols
Docs not the high state TO which frauds
have risen, and the high places in which
they have been detected, and the high names
christians, alas, some 0; them with which
they have become associated, ca / Cpon miil
is;srs TO inquire more into the existing hab-
its af trade, and expose them IN detail:-
Pses5yteTiIG. URBAN.