Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1870-01-19
NEW SERIES--V0L. 10, NO. 26.
The Age of Fraud.

The Age Of Fraud.
The facility, no less than the fire.
qucncy with which the most glaring
swindlcs are practiccd, on all sides. IN
This cminenily numerical country.
amazes the honest aud careful part of
the community We had become 50
accustomed TO assOciatc the most
rigid ideas Of caution. ~ well us Of
integrity, with the higher walks of
trade, that, when day after day brings
US some fresh account of fraud, com
mittcd with such perfect success, and
yet 80 loosely by the operator. we
begin 10 reverse our terms, aud are
tempted to distrust precisely those
outer signs Of substantial prosperity
which once marked the rise and pro
grcss Of great business firms.
The cause OF this alarming state OF
things is TO be traced directly TO the
peculiar complexion that has been
given TO money matters by our dis.
ordered financial system. With the
example of fuctuation and instability
before them, in government manage
ment; with the continual recurrence
of embezzlcment in places of trust
acquired through mere pariisan innu-
encc; with the incentive held out
constantly before the eyes OF weak
men, of huge fortunes acquired BY the
widest speculation, and the homage
that is universally paid to wealth
alone, without regard to the means by
which il is amassed, 1t is not absO.
lutely wonderful, although it may be
lamentablc, that so many are swept
into the vortex Of temptation.
The remedy for all this must arise
in re-awakened public sentiment,
clearly aud firmly expressed in the
walks Of private as well as Of busi
ness life. Rigid accountability is, Of
course, one indispensable requisite, us
applied TO the routine of transactions
inside and outside of the counting.
house, but, even that will fail TO Prove
safe barrier in every rase, unless the
tone of thought in reference TO what
constitutes commercially "good"
man can be rectifed and made more
healthy. The very fact of a man or
firm being engaged chiefly in hazard
Gus speculatiuns, no matter how great
in scope aud primise, was in former
times a reason for caution in this
country, aud still is a source Of reserve,
on the part OF the business world ia
Europe. Enterprise il, indeed, the
soul OF progress and The energy of
free, advancing States, but ruthless
gold and stock gambling is the foe OF
real enterprise, and where il begins,
the flag OF danger should, at once,
be hOistcd.
But there is a more private moral
malady which lies nj the root Of many
and many fIaud-thc rage for dis.
play-thc mad passion for shOw-the
poor and paltry emulation that simply
contends Tor noloricty, no matter how
obtained, seeking Us The old classic
satrist worded il, ''cum digitO mOsirtri,
to be pointed out with The finger, on
the street.
Willingly or unwitlingly, the
inmates OF home arc, alas too often
accountable for this pallry struggle
which, al last, pushes many man
into dishonor, vho else had passed
peacefully, useinlly, and Hppily
through life. Their carvings for
cXtravagaut attire, furniture, aud
equilmgc, are the secret uf many
ruined character. Aud there must Ice
revulSiOn of public sentiment against
this cankervirc OF our social Organiza-
tion, it we would prevent calamilies
still more dire than have already fallen
around us, Thick and fast. 1t must no
longer be deemed good thing TO
make display, unless the sources
whence the means to do so are Oh
tuincd, are known or can be shown To-
be perfectly fair aud respectable. To
live beyond ones income and rightful
expectations must no longer be re-
gurdvd as mark of spirit, aud the
possessor of wealth must be taught,
by the attitude and bearing of his
neighbors, that society will honor him
and his children, not 80 much for the
money he has acquired as for the
industry, prubity, aud manliness tha.
he ,las shown in obtainingit.
Probably, under this system, i'm.
mense fortunes will not be 80 swiftly
won, but they will stand more firmly
and last longer for well doing; there
will be more general prosperity u
better distribution far souuder
basis for steady trade, aud infinitely
grealerhappiness throughout the land /;
fewer families will be broken up in
disgrace, aud fewer felon cells will
receive men once amoug our best and
brightest ornaments OF society, but
ovcrborne 10y the indictments OF iiivol-
ity. the opportunities That negligence
presented aud the decriliul m,ragv oi
fancy speculation.-N y. Mcredatiie
| Journal.