The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-04-25
pREvAR1CAToRs CLASSIFIED.

a q
habitually. The word habitually is used |
advisely, A man may take a drink &C
cassionally without being a drunkard |
Il would be hard to class man as liar
who has only occasionally made false |
representation, An eminent merchant
once said no man could carry on large /
dry goods business and get rich at it
without lying some. If he did not lie
some he could have men about him who |
could say enticing things and make the |
worst seem the best. The goods must
be sold at profit to make money.
There are many liars in this world.
The psalmist remarked: 81 said in my |
haste all men are liars" If he could |
have deliberated on this thing during an |
exciting election contest he might have |
changed his mind at leisure. Master |
George Washington said he could not |
tell lie. If he could not tell one then, |
of course his merit for truthfulness was
not so great as that of one who could |
tell lie and would not But it must be
remembered that when George made his
cherry tree remark about his truthful
ness he was small boy, and that was
long before he engaged in politics. When
he was running for office, and before he
thing about not being able to tell lies.
He had promises to make and post
offices to give out, and had to do the
best he could.
Lady Macduff, talking, to her little
son during the troublesome times in Scot
land, when men died "ere the flowers
in their caps withered," told HIM that
traitor is a man who lies and swears, and
that they must all be hung every one.
Who must hang themT asked the boy.
"Why the honest men, said the mother.
Then" said the boy, 1.-THE liars and
swearers are fools; there are liars and
swearers enough to beat the honest men
and hang them up" That is how the
population averaged in those days,
Things have changed since then. Per
haps there are more liars now There are
more people,
Somebody is responsible for this. Satan
is on record as the father of lies. 1t is
written that Satan was once an angel
and stood high among his associates. 1t
is terrible to think that he could have
been an angel in heaven and telling lies
so stoutly that he was called the father
of lies. He must have done something,
for the story goes that he was cast out
L,
angel. But let that pass.
There are numerous kinds of liars. A
few of the little untruths one meets in
society are called white lies. A polite
person says she is glad to see you when
she is not; she SAYS to a servant that she
is not at home when the wrong person
calls; that she will be sure to keep an
engagement-one she regrets having
int
these may be called white lies. Friend
ly lies may be told by friends who are
trying to make the best of bad news and
think they are doing it for the best.
Black and malicious lies are those who
lie to do harm, who perjure themselves
to convict others for crimes, They de-
serve the hottest damDation that can be
laid out for them. A man associated
with Falstaff said: Il do despise liar. y
So do we all. There are Infinite and
endless liars and hourly promise break
ers." They are all despsed.
There are Dragging liars. They have
always something wonderful to say about
themselves that really never happened.
They will tell you what this or that man
said to them when he had said nothing.
They bag about their business when
they are doing nothing to speak o.,
Some of them print newspapers-in New
York-and lie tremendously about their
circution. They are of the Baron Nun
chausen order and make themselves be-
lieve they are believed.
The oldest inhabitant liar is among the
most harmless of all old bores. He will
tell you all about Jacksun's war, and
how the cotton bales were placed for
breastworks. as they have never been
, placed since, and how things looked
when the stars fell, and how he skated
to Algiers when the Mississippi River
> was frozen over; how he talked with
!; Lafayette, and how he actually took in
everything he had ever read about. The
i, oldest inhabitant liar is too old to be des-
posed; and there is no backing down a
!. man who tells you of what he has heard
and seen himself.
The campaign liar is superb. He is SO
grand that his friends have to nail him
> 10 keep him down on the earth. He
works for both and any sides at the same
time, He stops at nothing softer than a
, brick wall. When the campaign is not
= to clean he will undertake to ruin the
: character of any candidate. He is moi
thought much of.
The polite liar is delicious. He always
says you are looking well-that you do
not seem a day older than you did ten
years ago-that he is delighted to see
!, you. He does not bore you, because be
is polite and knows when to stop, and
when to take himself off. The polite
!, liar is among the most tolerable of all
= liars; but he is still liar. He mixes
taffy with his falsehoods and makes it
;, palatable,
The new style of the theatrical adj
vance agent shows genius. He come:
. along ahead of transforming company
that we all know about from reading
- the papers il unfortunate towns where il
> has played. 1t is snide, without an actor
. of merit, and is playing miserable play
y He says the company is great-generally
the original New York caste-and the
: play has had years run. You admire
!, him for his gall, and ask him to sill
- down and exercise it by telling how he
!, worked his column notices in Nashville
,, where paper thinks as much of the
g Ranch King" as il does of Edwin Booth
: The agent tells the local manager thai
7 their business has been something phe
nomenal; that they have been turning
away people all along the route, anC
have consented to play return dates
n Directly after this he tries to work the
4 manager for an advance on railroad faret
. to get the company IN town on.
! Professional liars ale of many kinds
. The commercial drummer who inventc
y yarns to make himself talked about is a
Z professional. The corporation lawyer
l is not exactly liar, but it is his bust
ness to make the worst seem the best
cause, and he is always allowed a mar.
;, gin in stating the case. The man who
wants fifteen cents-always suspicious
sum--to get a cup of coffee with IS pro
:. fessional, Later he will want quarter
A for bed. The horse trade is a profess
sional. The horse is the noblest of
. animals, and yet the man who has him
n to sell or swap must lie about him and
+ give him good qualities he never had
4 and cover up the beasts blemishes, Fa-
kris who sell remedies and tricks on the
street are professionals. Men who say
they will return borrowed money at a
o certain time and do not do it soon be-
come professionals, because they make
n money by it,
q In courts witnesses are sworn to tell
: the truth-all of il, and nothing but the
truth, Any one who has watched court
trials knows some of the tallest and most