The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1882-03-01
10 Honesty tho Best Policy Or
Does the World Lie In Pro-.
n~ounoInR q Man On.
SUCCESSFUL" Whom no
Prefers Honesty 70
Success

-
successful" Whom no
Prefers Honesty to
Success
Do you know of any man who has
appropriated public funds to his pri-
ate uses. yet is held in high honor be-
.ause of the very wealth he has stolen?
Do you k, ow Of any man who has
:heate', nd tricked, and ground the
poor, thr gh an ordinary lifetime, yet
i. held IL high personal and social
estate, because of bis ill-gotten gains;
being q urted by the very people who
-neerej Ut l. u when poor and obscure :?
Do you know any man who has cow
cred and dc>cr;ed his people in time Of
difficulty and anger, dieregarding the
most solemn bligations, yet being
shrewd eaough to keep in places of
importance. as had all his i'll conduct
condoned, white washed" and held
iu high honor? Do you know any
politician wto is noted for wire pull
ing and the corrupt manipulation OF
politics for his own personal promotion,
vet is Iaul, d to the skies as a success
i'll and patriotic public leader; bis
success being attributed to his
merits, whereas all the world knows
that he succeeds by tricks and schemes
which nobier mel wouij corn to en-
gage In? Do you know u VI cur
trnest and best people who have die
poor and obscure, because too hones;
10 take that which did not belong l.
them" Do you know any n who was
held IN high honor while rich and
cessfui, but IS now showed aside be
cause poor, ard unable to cut a fisGr,
in public undertakings" ostentatious
charities" ald LOUD mouthed ''liosr-
slity?"
If you know any such examples OF
The ways of the world" in may Ell
courage your dropping faith to read the
following essay on the subject, from
the Charleston Neacs md Courier:-
There Il time when honestl.
was .'the ''best policy" in the bushes,
as we'll as the moral world; when i
mans word was "as good as his bond
and n unredeemed pledge was suff
cient to blast his reputation forever
Has that time passed away2 Else why
is it that the honest man who carries
the business of everyday the prir
of answering integrity learned
at a mothers knee, or from a father
pure example, must go to the wall, tc
make room for the smart or keen
and INSCRIPTIONS man of business,
only aim is to get money. and
who considers the keeping of ''clean
hands and a pure heart a ''meIe waste
Of time"
There was a time when nobIesSe obLge
IN Influenced the lives and actions of the
flower of our manhood; when, with
their more material heritage there came
down to them from their ancestors a
keen, 1ne sense OF honor, that suffered
unclean nor even dubious thing to
come near-whether sin the way OF
business or in any other way-to stain
their fair .escutcheon. What has be-
of that keen, fine sense Of honor,
dearer to the hearts of our fathers than
their lands orthei- money bags? Does
it live only a life of protesting pain in
the hearts Of our ''unsuccessful' men Z
Has it been forever blunted, or will it
some day, with added keenness,
to cut through the fungus growth Of
moral corruption, and flash like a sword
in triumphant success before the eyes
of the world
''There is no sense, however, more
easily blunted. A. by some wonder
fully acute trick doubles his income in
day. Opinions are divided as to the
-: IL ~ bic ra~aooo-. h,,k no
nothing succeeds like success" his
clamorous psrtisans drown the few
voices raised in indignant pro-
test, and he holds his place in the com
munity, and enjoys his ill-gotten gains,
with his head high. B. who is rather
of being pushed to the wall to
room for the triumphal car Of
such as A. takes tote of this success,
and of the mantle of charity thrown
over it's method by a kindly world.
Men must do such things in tie way of
business! be whispers to his troubled
conscience. 1t does not do to be over
and quiXotic! he tells his
dying honor, and one more is added to
worshippers. c., perhaps.
comes Of those who prefer death to
dishonor. He can no more do 3 mean
han he can breathe without air.
Eut all this is % without its injurious
effect upon him as well. He will tell
you c~ynically that, unfortunately" for
him, he has contracted the habit Of
Honesty and that it would be far bet
ter for him if he were not too f~estidiuus
to get into the mire, in which he sees
men ~wallowing in search Of gold.
like despair paralyzes his
efforts and his am billions. He cannot
lie and steal wen in the elegantly dis
gulsed fashion of his contemporaries
Then, all that is left is TO fold his man
rie Of honor about MIN, and starve
it.. For men are material be
The age is past when they could
live entirely OIL faith in better things
to come. They Judge by what they
see. and two often they believe only
what see. When adespicable trickster
rides into pewer, and the man Of inte
gritty sinks beneath a mountain Of mis-
fortunes, the locker On grows sick At
heart, and asks If there be a God,
''wby does he suffer such injusticei
IF there be such things as virtue, OF
''honor, or purity, why are they worth.
less in this world :"
The saying that Virtue is her OWL
reward is rarely used now, even il
copy books. Poor Virtue generally finds
reward to be only her own inner sense O,
integrity, which proves quite made
quate to sustain lite, and but a poo
substitute for all the comfortable appli
G of modern civilization.
"And yet what heritage is better tina,
the heritage of honor7 That herit.
age that enables us to speak the word.
my father" with a noble pride wher
that fathers name is but a memory O,