Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1867-09-23
THIEVES.

zatsIHrom the Baltimore Episcopal Meth odist.]
There is no imputation that a man resents so
7fercey as the charge Of dishonesty Scarcely
anybody will admit that he is thief; and sin
,pularly enough there is strong indisposltion
to use that word except towards the depreda-
i tors upon the portmonnaies and pocket hand
kerchiefs and other small portahes Of the COM
mupity. For great breaches of the Command
ment, palliative terms only are used by polite
society,". A man who appropriates to his own
purposes the funds of confding parties, is not
said to steal, but to commit a breach Of trust.
J He is rarely indicted and sent to prison; and it
he happens to be-, heis the subject of public
sympathy, benevolent petition and Executive
clemency. Yet the man. has done much worse
than steal he has committed crime much
greater. In addition to stealing, he has abused
!. confidence he has defrauded the heart he
has mortified the selt-opinion OF those who
/. trusted him; and has done a great deal to shake
the confidence of man in man, upon which all
the comfort of society depends. j.. The merchant
who compounds with his creditors for less than
he owes them and who afterwards becoming
4 we'll able to pay-does not pay--is not called a
thief. He passes we'll along the way OF COM
mercia and social life, and few concern them
selves about his lax morality. A rascal who
robs the nation is not called thief, but de-
faulter. 1t would be monstrous to cOntound
him with the ragamuHin who has no more re-
gard for property than to sleal'a handkerchief
or a pair of shoes The open robber, who
breaks into house and carries OFT cotfeepot
and spoons, is denounced by everybody
Watchmen ogle him; dogs areikept for him !;
reyolyers are loaded for him criminal courts
meet daily to sentence him and great jails are
made strong to hold him. But the cum
ming stock operator, whose brain is ever
busy with plans to frighten you into sell
ling him your property for less than 1t is worth,
orfor deluding you to buy his for more thar it
is worth; the sharp fellow who uses his CAPT
tai, and credit, and shrewdness, and knowl-
edge, to. iconjure the. little properties OF the
many into his own great swollen tortune-the
Operator" who scorns to twitch away your few
pocket dollars or rob you of your traditional
teapot, but aims at your fortune, your means
of bread the. Bull or the "Bear,' who
enters into conspiracy with other terrible
beasts to get you down and trample you to
dust the honest gentleman who hires a news
paper to lie to you, or telegram to deceive
you-this man is not robber. No, indeed; !;
he is an Operator - millionaire; hero of
a Wall Street; a man to be wondered at, and
begged from, and honored in the Churches,
whose deacons are glad to sit under his table,
and gather into the Church-baskets the fragg-
ments Of the human prey upon which the
bloated monster feeds himself and his progeny
There must be something wrong in public
sentiment upon these subjects. There is GER
tainly something very wrong in the public con-
science. We have come to feel as if we are
living among Bedouins-as if all we have
is to be kept day by day, through fear and
universal distrust Only the other day. a great
custodian of the public money, published a
declaration that he had been in Office for six
months, and had great pride in saying, he had
stolen nothing! So that bare honesty of only
six months standing is monumental virtue
among some Government officials And who
that: knows the history of the times, can deny
that the honest man has something to be
proud Of? s1' - ...@ s..@5... s.