New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-08
THE MORALS OF TRADE.
WITH SOME FURTHER DISCLOSURES OF
THE CUSTOMS NOW PREVAIL
ING IN LONDON
London. November ~.

Dai1v telegraph
q short weight in Goals question, apon when
!, entered with zeal. Not, imagine, because the
snpply of correspondence gave out lhere were
l.,,ers from coal merchants and coal-agents ana
ooa, merchants victms-I need not add coal
consumers. for that would he the same thing.
Some of these promised further revelations, put
there have been none Nor, when shalt is thus
sunk through different social strata, does the
,unn,v ever fail quickly This journal, which
daily prints at the head Of its editorial columns
the wholly erroneous assertion that 1t has the
largest circulation in the world has, at any rate,
very considerable circulation among the SHOP
keeping and coalsellng class, and very con-
siderable advertising patronage from both Can
it be that this patronage and the abrupt sup
preston of these exposures of coal-dcalng frauds
stand to each other in the relation of cause ana
effect?
Other journals have however, found room TO
publish letters one or two of which contain m
tcrnal evidence that they were meant TOT the
d. T., as our friend with nothing like the hrges.
circulation in the world is commonly called
London Coal Merchant computed the yearly loss
to Londoners by the cheating OF street coal her'
chants at $500, 900. But now comes LONDON
Coal Factor with fresh calculation that 'ne
robberies in other branches OF the uaue
amount to the still more, or still less, respec'aoe
sum of 81 500 900. Do " other branches OF the
trade mean the biz coal merchants, or some OIL
them? ] suppose we shall never know Inns -
not the first agitation of the kind, nor VIII u DC
the last. but who will venture to say that uay
will come when there shall be no more cne"''Hs
in Goals?
The tonic has widened, and explanations of par
ticular forms of cheating by particular SORTS Oh
London tradesmen are now succeeded py gen
oral discussion of the Morals of Trade. ii is no'
n descriptiye title Those who know most aoouV
II sum up the Morals Of Trade in the remark 'l"'
there are none 1t is not the morality, nut 'he
immortality. of trade which calls forth all 'hese
letters and leading articles. The coa[uea"rs Wv
not stand alone in fraudulent dealing fr"u" 10
the rule the admitted rule, and II there oe
question il is whether to this rule there pe any
executions As YOU look through the comn'ento
Of the most judicial and conservative oil Journals
YOU see constantly such phrases as dshones'y VI
the vendor" immortality of the dealer' '"i'
particular form of plumber" ana rldhy iio''
They are general phrases, and of general If not
;o.al onnlcahi1itv The accusations are
sweeping the evidence is abundant the demonstra,
ton convincing in the absence OF either denlal
or counter-evidence And that is what Is so re-
marlxabIe: there is neither cOunter-cvldence nor
denial A whole body of dealers are put III
the dock: the whole corporation of London trades
mon Of all sorts and descriptions in every depart
mont Of business and not one of them ventures
10 say that the indictment is llldrawn, OF UNIV
the witnesses who support II are untrustwor'ny'
or that he himself ought to be excepted from 'he
general verdict of guilty. IL was, l imagine 'nc
moor xvrctch of a carman in the police court who
said all that could be said, when he PLEADED
"Tbcv all do it.. The London Tradesman has, IN
fact set up code Of his own, and the com
mandment. Thou Shalt Not Steal no longer
avai1s AGAINST the Custom of the Trade. That
is a phrase which the Publisher taught us. lie
robbed the Author, but, then, other Publishers
robbed him. too robbery was the custom OF the
trade and how could it be wrong TO render false
accounts or 10 keep back money due TO another
when everybody did it? 1t is the custom OIL the
trade which accounts for the enormous profits Oh
trade.
The disclosures about the building of the school
houses of the London School Board come at con-
yenent moment: of themselves they constitute an
eloouent chapter of the history OF the morals
of trade Builders are engaged in form OF
trade which has given rise TO scandals before
now and the Jerry Builder earned an evil
name for himself soon as London began
"a stretch into the fields and men, some of them
now living ceased to shoot snipe over the swamp
now known as Belgravia. When the London
contracts, it must be presumed, 10 firms of repute
What is the result? Mr.. Lobb, at tha last meet
ing of the Board asked the chairman OF the
Works Committee this question:
us il not fact that grave irregularities have
taken place. and inferior materials been used IN
the construction of schools by some OF the
thirteen firms who have received upward OF
$4,000. 900 in payment OF their contracts; ana
that some Of the firms have sublet some OF
their contracts and paid wages below the minimum
rate ?7
The chairman of the Works Committee said {:
My answer 10 both questions must be IN the
affirmative The dialogue went on, ana ~
came out that one school had had TO be shored up
TO prevent its falling, and that another eX-
seedingly well designed school has been thoroughly
ruined in the course of erection The builders
had not chosen TO follow the terms of the
specifications the whole of the brickwork had
been done with inferior mortar. burnt and half
burnt clay had been used instead of sand, there
we're hollow joints in the walls, cement had been
uscd for the parapets or fable walls, the chimneys
all needed repointing, the Portland stone was
full Of sandholos, fractures and broken edges,
the roofs were not covered according 10 contract,
the cutters and slIylights leaked, the plumbing
was detective in every particular the painting
defective wet rot had SET in from want OF proper
foundation for the flooring, the plaster was fallng
Off, and the wall paper hanging from the walls.
These but samples of the rascalities revealed,
and inquiry by the public press has since brought
to light others not merely scandalous. but dis
tressing. We are only upon the fringe of the
discoveries said Mr. John Lobb, whose share in
pushing these sagreeable Investigations is one
very creditable TO him.
The danger to the lives of school children from
the tumbling down of camped schoolhouses is
possibly remote. The danger TO life and health
from bad plumbing and drainage is near and is
pressing enough to induce " The Daily Telegraph"
10 run the risk OF actions for libel in order 10
meet it. Not the last curious part Of the
business is the fact that the existence of grave
Cd fun IL.