Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1877-10-10
Financial Traps.

Financial Traps.
Under this head Bishop Clark
makes some capita! hits in tho New
York Ledger, which seem especially
applicable to the present time. Here
in the Office, he says, you see young
man whose business it is to handle o
great deal of other peoples money
All at once he finds himself in tight
place, and he says to himself: "My
salary will be paid me in couple Of
months; what harm will it do for me
just to anticipate the payment? No.
body will be any the worse of for my
taking little of this money to bridge
me over the present emergency. 1
shall be sure to make the accounts all
right before they are looked into
This was the trap in which he was
caught, and there he lies to-day with
the blood all gone out of him.
Another man holds q certain
amount of trust funds in his charge.
They are we'll invested and drawing
a reasonable but not extravagant in
tercst. Suddenly there comes to him
the opportunity OF grand specula-
ton by which minis of money may
be made, if he only had capital
enough to go into it. Then he says to
himself: 'sIf / could use these trust
funds for that purpose, might soon
double their value, and at the same
time make snug fortune for myself
1 am not certain that the owners
would agree with me, and perhaps
had better not consult them in the
matter. l will take the risk on my
own responsibility" In 60 his fee
into the trap, and it closes upon him
with its sharp teeth slow and sure
and fast, and he is ruined.
Another man is an officer in grca
moneyed corporation. 1t is the
source from which many widows and
orphans derive their whole subsis
tcnce hard working men and womel
have invested their little savings there
not because they knew anything Of
the operations Of the institution, bu
because of their confidence in the per.
sons by whom it is manageable,
are mon who stand very high in the
community, and have big titles ap.
pended to their names; they belong
to some Of our most fashionable
churches. They are rich and honor.
able, and would deal very severely
with one who robbed them of thciI
purse, or broke into their house al
night. On a certain day, to the un.
speakable grief and horror of the
thousands whose earnings are depos-
tied there, it is announced that the
company has suspended and gone into
the hands of receiver. What is the
trouble? Why, suffering friends and
innocent victims, that money fol
which you toiled SO hard has gone to
build splendid palaces and open rail
roads through tine lands of this or that
Director, or in some other way to
swell the fortunes of the distinguished
citizens who promised to take care of
your interests and Of your savings
Did these Directors and Presidents
and Treasurers, in the beginning, in
tend to dcfraud the widows and
workingmen who trusted them 30 i'm
plicitly? Probably not-but they
saw lying about the Office divers traps
not very dangerous to look up-chan-
ces to do something for their own pri.
vate benefit, and, starting, perhaps in
a small way, they went on from bad
to worse, from one doubtful thing to
another less doubtful, and then on to
another altogether damnable, when
the trap gave its last fatal snap, and
everything was gone.