Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1883-03-29

~ The Era of Dishonesty.
t. Tie Saturday Express.
T. The New York Times discusses a
p some length what it calls "thc diSeas,
N of dishonesty" 1t has discovered tha
'e there is no longer any trust or conf
Is dence cton In the employees Of the mos
substantial business horses, and tha
e all SubordinateS who handle money are
II expected to steal if the scycrcst cheek,
u guards and inquiSitlonS are not put up.
y on them. The Times says:
t. business men often say that they
IS do not know whom to trust. Clerks
It and cashiers steal. Errand boys and
n messengers steal. And the disease OF
: dishonesty (for such it seems to be)
5 has so infected every branch of bust
II ness that employees who handle moEey
= must be surrounded by innumerable
detective devices, and the handling Of
Il money be taken from them as far as
c possible. OF course, this excessive
F, vigilance reacts upon naturally dis
i honest natures, until some men spend
= much time in making plans to beat
the bell punch, which phrase may be
taken as mealing all Of the contriv-
anceS to cludc the vigilance of employ
ers. Small pay and the consciousness
OF being constantly under suspicion
may help to make thieves Of weak men.
But even this will not account for the
alarming prevalence OF the petty THEY
ing and peculation which are sure TO
end in large crimes. Fast living. evil
associates, and loose morals arc large
y responsible fur the first lapses from
honesty. But these do not furnish the
root Of bitterness which has poisoned
the life OF so many promising young
men. There is something radically
wrong in u condition Of society which
fosters thievery, and in which sturdy, !
old-fashioncd honesty seems in fair
way to become one Of the lost traits Of
character"
The Times is right in assuming that
"rhere is something radically wrong in .
n condition Of society which fosters .
thicycry.n This is due to the fact that .
stealing on large scale having been
made respectable stealing on a smal,
scale can only be held in check by the
! dangers Of detection. 1t is the same
condition that made thieves of the
children of bondage in the south be-
fore the war The slaves knew That they
produced what their master possessed,
md they were not backward in help
ing themsciT"a 70 the contents Of his
chicken CoOps and "pO,ato banks"
From the original wrong Of unpaid
toll comes the loose notions of the sa-
credncSs of property which the ne
groCg Of the south are rcputcd to pos.
seSs. so, mean wages, the civilized
form of slavery, makes thieves of men.
The corporations which opprrss and
rob the public cannot trust an employe !
unless he is handcuilrd with guards
and checks, This spirit of demorali- :
zaiOn has entered into al our affairs. !
Public life is polluted by fraud and |
private fe by greed. There Is scarce q
ly railroad in the country that is not
n monument of dishOnesty-the rob- d
Der, uGdrr the cover OF law. of the pub +,
lie and of its employees. Every cross /,
tie represents a swindle, and every rall =,
a theft. The lawyers sell their services f.
to the highest bidder. The best clo- /
qucncG, logic and thought is in the Il
market. The warnings and penalties i
Of the law ara only for the poor and p
friendlcss. Clergymen pre think =
ing more Of salaries than nf
the salvation of souls. Editors N
pander TO the cOmmoncst and mcancst n
thoughts of their time. To succeed in "
politics requires the audacity, reckless pi
ness, and irrespOnsibiity Of the com 81
nonest gambler. \ 'ow standard of III
business honor makes trade sort of st
piracy. The cry swclls up III
;0norOuSly from the great marts of hi Hi
commerce, that "national honor re- Ti ro
luircs the government to pay always ir
more than it borrowed Honest men wi
ire at the mercy of legally fortified ra
hicvcS. In the midst Of all is the alb co
cct fuukeyism to riches and power. m
'he few men of wealth decide the Sc
leCliOns, Just as the shareholders wa
ulcN tbs south, and made the many am ",
ght for the perpctuation of property On
n man. So we 90 From the highest wa
o the lowest; from the senator who a''
as grown rich in Office TO the labOrer lvI r,,I
'hO Sights his work: from the hun nm
red lliOnaire who has rObcd every Ka
lan OIL the continent TO the clerk who pn
iferS from his employers from the I"
woman who sells herself for riches in Il
lathsOme marriage to the girl who aG- Lor
epts the poorer wages of sin-it is the
lme sickening story OF dishonesty and wa