, 1880-07-11
THE FOLLY OF DISHONESTY.

purely rs matter Of profit to those engaged
i'll it.
THE FOLLY OF DISHONESTY.
In work recently published. called "Tll'
Egotist,'' showing why some men succeed
and some do not, and trying to explain tht
causes Of failure, the writer takes the hope
less and melancholy view in one chapter tha
honesty does not pay, and that dishonesty
succeeds more frequently than the old-fasl
ioned virtue, though we imagine the virtue
| Of honesty Is no more old-fashioned nov
than itever was, as human nature has beef
about the same thing in all aGes,-the differ
ence being that there are more things to stea
and mole opportunities to steal them than
there used to be. LIE assumes the position
that the dishonest mans conscience does moi
| upbraid him, that all he gets by cheating and
| fraudulent practices is clear gain. that lie has
an easy life, that he stands high in
| the estimation OF his ncighbors if
he obtains wealth, and is sought after in
society as his illGotten. gains insure him
position, and that lie is just as happy and
! more comfortable than the honest but
| poorer man. 4 very honest man, this writer
claims, cannot succeed, because lie Is always
! tlnid. He is afraid to grab boldly and make
ventures or take risks for fear Of injuring
some one financially, and consequently
misses his opportunities. III fine, while he
does not directly recommend men to be dis
honest he argues to show that they do not
lose anything by being dishonest If they are
not detected and are successful in keeping
out Of the clutches of the law. The PROPOSE
tions of this writer are stated SO boldly and
prominently that they invite little Sunday
sermoniziug.
If this proposition we're universally ac-
cepted and acted upon, it would not only be
the greatest possible mistake that could be
committed, but 1t: would be deplorabie
calamity with evil results, the magnitude of
which cannot even be imagined, both to the
individual and to society. Dishonesty is the
basis Of almost every crime iii the calendar,
and if once the theories of this writer should
find general acceptance crime Of every kind
would be increased until existence would be
intolcrable and society curse. There are now
in this country loo, 600 men, and some women,
in prisons, jails, bridewel1s, and various re-
forlnatory institutions, besides numerous
others awaiting trial for offenses the root of
which is dishonesty, since nearly all
crimes are committed gainst person or prop
erty. Even the majority OF murders have
their motive in cupidity. Larcenies, robberies,
burglaries, counterfeiting, forgery. gambling
with cards, at races, On Boards of Trade, tn
merchandise, all arise from dishonesty.
Drunkenness may not spring from it, but al
most always leads to it, because drunkenness
&c which 1%o conEa
to replace by taking money belonging to oth-
ers. Let the proposition, therefore, that
nothing succeeds like dishonesty be estab-
lished AND accepted, and it will at once be
seen that it opens the door to a flood Of
crimes which would speedily sweep society
away.
Even with dishonesty no more prevalent
than at present, the moral evils flowing from
it are Of the most disastrous kind. 1t de-
stroys confidence among men. dries up all
the springs OF sympathy, and arouses con-
stant suspicion, not only between man and
man, but between class and class and nation
and nation. The natural tendency of man is
to believe in men, to accept their promises, and
to have that confidence which is so necessary
to mutual assistance and happiness; and
and tricked and imposed upon, at last refuse
to trust any one, and take refuge behind the
broad assumption that all men are scoundrels
and thieves until proved otherwise. The
principal reason why dishonesty thrlves is
that it always has younger and inexpe-
rienced generation to practice upon. The older
ones who have been caught over and over
again in their younger days, know how to
take care of themselves by trusting no one
We take it that the author Of 1.-The Ego
tist" does not altogether believe what he
writes upon this question, but is simply re-
fccting somewhat gloomy and pessinist
view Of the prospects of honesty in this
country. 1t is a hasty view, however. Where
one dishonest man succeeds 4 dozen fail,
md the success of the one is Of a very slip
perry and uncertain kind. Money dishonest
ly obtained is very hard to hold, and almost
always entails disgrace sooneI or later. The
mills Of the gods grind slow, but they grind
exceedingly fine, and no man ever yet was
dishonest but the penalty. came either to him
or to his in some way. Time makes things
even between defrauder and defrauded, and
justice, though sometimes late, at last is al
ways reycnged. II the Egotist writes from
sad experiences he has the consolation Of
knowing that some day his wrongs will be
rightcd.
CONSOLIDATED CHARITIES.