The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1868-03-14

or less of moral culpability in his blind
ness to the coming catastrophe. Fear
ing that prudence would be construed
into timidity, Or impatient of the re-
straints of care and solicitude he goes
on with a false courage, brave only by
the weak trick of eluding the sight and
the thought of danger. The man of
due vigilance and forecast, the man in
whom there is wholesome play of the
anticipative faculty, can never be thus
surprised but will ever be forewarned, land
as far as the case will admit, be torearmed
against disaster. The most brilliant
charlatans and criminals have invariably,
in the end, been found fatally wanting
in respect to the antici pative faculty.
We can only explain Cagliostro and
a John Law, Dick Turpin and Mon
roe Edwards, by referring them to a
rare combination of talent, audaclty and
unanticipative stupidity. In certain
sense, fraud and meaness, all deviations
from moral rectitude in matters of trade,
are possible simply because some men
are too much stepped in stupid SELFISH
ness to anticipate prudently the conse-
quences OF their actions. With them a
habit of prudent anticipation would be
the equivalent Of moral integrity. To
teach them the value of such habit,
and how to practice it, would be to re-
form them. The difficulty is to get the
shrewd and clever, the so-called worll-
ly wise, to comprehend that they can
not afford to be crooked, tricky, and
dishonest in their nurses. Mr.. A. Il.
Stewart, Of New however, an ex-
ception apparently toAis class, seems to
have discovered this golden truth and
to have turned it to infpense account.
The great secret of his Mseantile sue
cess, according to him, is that he has no
secret, but has trusted implicitlXe the re-
suits of open and fair dealing. Jus
the case is stated in his words:
People come to me and ask me foflV i
secret of success; why, | have no secred5
tell them. My business HIS been matter
of principle from the start. That's all there
is about it. If the golden rule can be in
corporated into purely mencantile affairs, |
it has been done in this establishment, and |
you aust have noticed, ifyou have observed
close that the costope,SSss treated pre-
cisely be seller hiFpSs ~ Like C. \
treated w. he in tk Bl1at IS to I
say, nothNAis misra vthe price is
fixed once ~ for a4f ~ se{ss5we est possible
figure, and tn circumstances of the buyer
are not suffered to influence the salesman
in his conduct ilthe smallest particular.
| think you will n the same principle of
justice throughout V larger transactions
of the house, and esp elly in ITS dealings
with employers. dd<At speak of itas de-
serving of praise-we fin 6t absolutely ne
cessary. What We cannS ford is viola
ton of principle.
Now, let us illustrate B. Aa different
example the maxim that imh Sality in
trade cannot be justified on soS bust
nRSinciples. One of the leadH Eng
glish9 nels points out an instafA of
the disastrds aneRences which has
ultimately ensusa nspecies of a.
ceptious aaRIIItsasseee MI in Eng
lish manufactures; deNe idered 1
allowable, it seems, as judged -
average Of English trade morals. W.
are told that, for several years the Ian
cashire cotton manufacturers and the
London merchants have been using an
inferior cotton staple, and even using
short quantities of that, in the fabrics sent
to mark ct in other countries and espe-
cially to India. The deficient weight
and quality are concealed by large ad-
ditions Of white clay incorporated into
the cloth at the mills, and this RaaSSes it
heavy and gives it fair appearance
the eye. But when it comes to be worn
and washed, it becomes fimsy and weak.
Sometimes it will hardly endure the ef-
fects Of voyage by sea without turning
rusty and rotten. The East India ma
tives have found this out, and most of
them now refuse to buy even the good
from England. The trade
is in danger of being lost"
The London Times long ago uttered
words of warning on this subject, and,
in consequence of not needing them, the
interest to which they were addressed
is now threatneed with the stupenduous
disaster of the loss of the East India
trade. 1t only needed the timely exc
ercise of the anticipative faculty to place
these manufacturers, now menaced with
ruin, in a position of solid success and
prosperity.
Recurring to American deficiency in
respect to this faculty, we will find the
most conspicuous and the most poten-
:ous proofs of its inadequate exercise in
he politics of the country. If we agresL
With one distinguished English -
hat craftsmanship is the art ds9v6fds :;
ng revolution. or with another that it
s the art Of effecting compromises be-
ween opposite ideas and tendencies, We l.
must conclude that tbantasid3eT of aaHefel9F
'ation is tka6a % ~ supremely neces-
asasaa Statesman. Apply this cri- t
erion to the restless, feverish and per- I
urbed spirits who make the policy of
he now dominant party in this country.
Apply it to the like class of political lea
lers who headed the sectional aggres-
ion which led to war in 1861. And it
Exhibits them as utterly destitute of
since they are utterly in
apable OF efecting compromises or re-
'olution. It is only by a healthy de- '
'elopment of the anticipative faculty on
he part Of the people that such men can
,e disabled from further mischief-N
D. Crescent. s