Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-09-05
The Rage for Being Gulled-

There are few things more d;sco,.
ing to the friend of humanity aud !.
progress than the apparent fondn a la
. large section of the human fam;1ss.t
being '.gulled." There is hardly fot
body, with wit enough to go in who any, J:
rains. but knows that nothing is ootta u
in this commercial world without , ns'
ing for it. Yet the promise to pay,
something for nothing is an irresistsshn1ee
and nev~er-failing attraction. No n,o .e
fer in what form the offer is maa as'
thousands com blindly up at the baa,''
of the promiser: and even when ,ScSA
have been swindled over and o oney
again, are quite as ready to give 'i u
allegiance to the last new humh,oo1 ~
they were to the first. Ii the yictiaa a.
came only from among the ipnoraass
there would be nothing surprisins
about the matter; but they do not. Thss
wheel of fortune at the a%gricultnrs11
show takes in, perhaps, NOBODY but tba
weak and simple minded. But tho
policy shops, the patent right swindlnS
and The ''hippodrome'' horse races anS
wrestling matched reach classes that
are certainly we'll taught and ara
ordinarily looked upon as sharp and
shrewd. And the biggest charlatan ~
all, the quack, does his most thriyinr
trade with people of intelligence.
Let q long-haired individual with .
broad-brimmed hat, an Indian name. =
brass band and a peddler's wagon SGT
himself up at the street corner and pros
claim himself a wonderful physician
with a panacea for all the ills that fIpsh
is heir to, and he will attract hundreds
of intelligent persons, who will pav
their money to nan they never saw
before for a compound concernins
which they know nothing beyond his
boastful assertions. The same persons
who put no trust in the advice of =
physician whom they have known
for years, and whose interest If il
to advise them fairly and for the best
will swallow with avidity the advice
and the nostrum OF any loud-voiced
quack who forces himself upon their
attention. In some cases, no doubt. II
is because the quack promises, HAVING
no responsibility, what the educated
physician with a reputation at stake
does not promise. But in the vast ma.
ior.ty OF cases it seems as if the impell.
ing ruling passion on which
the quack plays so successfuily--is the
desire to be gulled.
How far society can Drought to goin
protecting its members from the evil
consequences of this craze is an open
question. So long as people insist
upon being swindled and resent
any invasion Of their inherent right to
be swindled, the swindler will undoubt.
edly be on hand to crafty them; and as
they are free agents, the law is probably
powerless to protect them against their
will. But it does seem as though there
should be better projection than there
is for the weaker members of society,
When al infamous charlatan plies his
wretched trade and jeopardizes the
health and life Of his victims, there
ought to he some means OF reaching
him promptly and effectually, not
merely with fine OF imprisonment after
the otfense has been committed, but
with sure prevention of the otfense.
The liberty Of the individual is .
sacred thing, even when it is the liber-
ty to be swindled. But in securing tho
welfare of the whole even that may DO
curtailed with propriety.-Detroit Free
Press. |