Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1883-09-06
Shanls.


The world Is full of shams. Long
before P. T. Barnum's time many .
shrewd man had found out that the
world likes to be humbugged. And
they also found that even when it does
not wish to be, its gullibility exposes it
to frequent impositions. People do SO
Ike to take pompous individuals at
their own valuation. There is a GER
tain fascination in their self-conscious
bearing and measure!ess assumption.
The little rogue, selling papers on the
street, invents horrible story of MUIR
der or accident, and many one stops
to buy his papers, not because they do
not detect his little ruse, but because
they admire what very likely they will
speak of as his enterprise. You will
notice that they will invariably give it
a better name. The peddler at the door
has real lace and solid silver to sell to
the good housewife at wonderful low
bargains. And the latter. well pleased
at low prices, nor unaware of the sham.
cheapens his wares and likes to feel that
she has made a bargain and got better
goods than she knows them to be. The
trader at the corner grocery is profuse
in compliments which mean nothing
while he sells half-cotton goods for all
wool, or judiciously sands his sugar and
adjusts his weights to benefit himself.
This principle enters in to all we eat,
all that we wear and all that we do.
One who lives in the city meets shams
everywhere. He never knows when to
depend on his bread, milk, butter, sugar
and coffee as the pure and genuine
articles. The house in which he lives
is a piece of sham work. The public
buildings of the city are always opsn to
the same suspicion. They look solid,
but who knows what defective ma
terial and sham work is in them. II
some who furnished wire for the Brook
lyn Bridge made persistent efforts to
put in bad material, what sham work
may we not expect in less carefully
watched buildings! Sam Slick knows
the people-oh! how he loves the dear
people and his pocket-book-and Sam
Slick goes everywhere and gets his hand
into most everything. And, when he
does, look out for sham goods and sham
work. Men who are least fitted crowd
into high positions and attempt to do
the work for which they have no train
ing and no native gifts. This gives rs
sham officials and sham legislation,
sham preachers and doctors, teachers
and business men. And, as these quacks
crowd into all these important places,
doing botch work and seem to prosper,
great many young men. looking to
them for examples, decide that they can
do as well to act on this sham plan.
But men of real qualities, men who dc
solid work, are specially needed now
the men who will do good, faithful work
anywhere, at any time. There has
been enough of shoddy and shamming.
This miserable habit has taken a great
But it is time that hold was relaxed. 1t
is time we demanded that sham men
give place to true genuine men, and
sham articles to good and wholesome
ones. We ask our readers to take de-
termined stand against all shams. Be
a real man, or a real woman. Learn to
do thoroughly what you do. And do it
in such a thorough manner that no one
will ever be able to accuse you of sham
work.
We can hardly think of anything
more unpleasant than for man to leave
to those who succeed him, after he is
dead. the discovery that the work which
he did and which they would like 10
think of with pardonable pride, is after
all a miserable piece of sham. Don't
leave this kind Of legacy to your chill
dren. And teach the young to do good,
thorough work. For the boy or girl
who is brought up to do thorough work,
and hate shams and despise shamers, is
not likely to change when grown up. 1t
is not from the ranks of such boys and
girls that the human sharks come who
prey upon society, who, for selfish gain,
fill the world with fraud and error and
misery and suffering, yes, and often
with death. Who shall number the
victims of sham; they who die from i'm
pure food, or vile drugs, or accidents
everywhere on sea and land for which
sham is responsible! Friends, let us be
sure that our work and our influence is
not on the side of sham. And so far as
we can, let us keep the next generation
free from any such miserable legacy as
shams entail. Golden Rule.