The Portland daily press., 1878-04-25
Tke Eau River Lesson.

The Fall River defalcations create decided
shock both to business people and the COM
munity at large. Here were men of the
highest standing in church and society, who
for six years have been appropriating to their
own use money intrusted to their care as
treasurers of manufacturing corporations. 1t
shows the great strictness which ought to be
exercised in inspecting the accounts and con-
duct Of all persons holding property or man
aging business for others, no matter how
high and unsullied is the reputation of such
custodians. The conduct of the directors OF
these Fall River corporations is scarcely less
cIlpable than that of the defaulting treas
urers. 1t is almost inconceivable that they
should have beeen so careless or stupid as
to let this bad business go on under their
very noses for six years and never to suspect
any wrong until it is too late to repair it.
Really it seems but just retribution that
these slothful stewards should lose largely by
the breaches of trust which they permitted
and but little pity will be excited by the an
nouncement that all but one of the directors
OF these corporations are utterly ruined by
the collapse. And yet their ruin will do
nothing to recompense the poor, innocent
sufferers who lose their little all by the knav-
cry of some and the stupidity of the rest of
the men whom they trusted.
These disasters have their uses if men will
but observe them. Even here in Portland the
lesson may not be entirely amiss and direct
ors may do we'll to learn by the experience Of
others that profuse orotestations of piety
and superior virtue on the part of their em-
ployes are not safe guarantees of good be-
havior; nay, rather, that they are often used
to cloak bad practices. At all events it is
well to make sure that their institutions
have all the property which they purport to
have. Credulous stupidity is very bad
quality for bank director. 1t is better for
him to be fussy than careless; he cannot
make too searching inquisition into the ex-
act condition of the institution whose inter-
ests he is bound to protect.
These breaches OF trust are a legacy from
the financial arrangement created by the
war. The lavish expenditure ard vast waste of
that period begat habits of extravaganza
among the people which were aggravated by
the subsequent spirit of speculation engen-
dered by redundant and irredeemable cur
rency. To crafty these habits and to carry
on these speculations men were under i'm
mense temptation to use funds entrusted to
their care, generally with the full hope and
expectation of replacing them and without the
intention Of wrong doing. These bad prac-
tices are not wonderful; they have followed
great wars since the beginning of organized
society. On the whole, it is rather remark
able that they have been so few. In our
government service they have hardly oc-
Cured at all, which shows that the nation is
more fortunate in choosing its servants than
are individuals and corporations. Now that
we have about got back to stable financial
condition, the spirit of speculation, which
affords the greatest temptation to wrong do
ing in this direction, will rapidly disappear
and men will be better content to earn the
money they spend and to spend only what
they can earn. Meantime if managers Of
business enterprises are stimulated to greater
watchfulness of their servants, the suffering
aud woe of the Fall River disasters will not
have been in vain.