New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-11-04

cial catastrophe recalls the refrain OF that aush-
able lyric: And everybody cried, Twas pity thaS
he lied, He was such nice young man" Ii c5 hio
wishes to be amused, let him read what everybody
Is saying of Cashier Baldwin, who mas 80 mag
niGcently wrecked the Mechanics National Dam. ol
Newark There never was anybody hall so good VI
clever as this paragon of manager was suPPoSot
TO be: and yet IT would be better for him to'iay IL
he did not know so much of arithmetic as that TWO
and two make four; if he could not tell nan dol"i
from a hole in the ground. II is enough to drive
one into the depths of desparing misanthropy TO
find that so much virtue could not save its posses
sor from perpetrating grand larceny. The cata-
logue of his exceences is rather dreary
reading now. The people who have known
Baldwin from his budding bOyhOod up to the 3lst
of October 1881, greatly puzzled 10 comprehend
how so honest man should turn out TO be knave'
lie was " one of the most respected men IN New
ark He was n vestTyman OF Trinity Church.
He was regarded as Z" a model of uprightness and
business integrity H moved in the highest
circles of Newark society" He - resided In Drown
stone house" lie was regardedas one Oh the most
honest and respectable members of the community
He had no vices or bad habits" lie was gen.
tleman of the highest charac err" He was =" acash-
Ter Of extraor mary financial ability" and above
rcproach" He was hig-toned man," etc. etc.,
etc.
II is hardly necessary TO 90 on with the emu
mcration of his virtues. What we want to know
is whether ANYBODY is to be trusted In TINS
world or must we go on indefinitely in the old way
believing every man honest until he is found out
Nobody likes to accept the doctrine of total and uni
versal depravity We would fain think that some
men are what they seem to be; ana
so undoubtedly they are. 1t would be absu'd
to aban on all confidence III human nature
IN consequence of the little allah in New
ark There are honest men, but to find them, hc
tabor. hoe 0pus est Whoever puts money In a bank,
no matter how high may be its standing runs GER
tain risk but then life is made up of risks and we
who are mortal must them. These astonish-
ments. surprises. developments, catastrophes, eX-
posons, detectiOns, promise to go on to the end OF
the chapter Just as they marked its beginning luis
all because we are not made with windows in our
bosoms; but if we were, people would wear a cur
tain, or have the glass of the window ground.
Some rub along better than others, to be sure. even
upon the path of fatal, tlowery and fascinating TEL
ony Here is William L. Gibson, formerly cashier oil
the Citizens National Bank of Flint, Michigan
He isn't in luck, isn't Gibson. Two years ago De
sole from the bank the ridiculous and insignificant
sum % 81 l. OO0 and now he is actually indicted lor
that rregHllrty. Not one single certificate of his
previous good character, amenty, church member
shi, admiration by his fellow creatures and general
moral sesqIipedaIty has thus far been given to the
world. only Seventeen Thousand Dollars!
Doubtless. if Gibson had been the exposure
of society, like Baldwin, he might have brought up
his picavune picking to Seven Hundred Thousand
if the Flint bank or its correspondents had pos
81 sscd that amount of money to make on with. ii
is the moral men who have the best chances. Who
wouldn't be moral. or who would