Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1889-11-06
Lying For a Living.
Ernrn thn Roston Transorint

Lying For a Living.
From the Boston Transcript.
The Russians are said to Lave an in
vincible hatred against the truth, &C
cording to an English critic, who in
stances several of their maxims as proof
of the statement:
Lying began with the world" says
one of their proverbs, land with the
world it will die" What force OF ex-
preston. luciditv, eloquence is to our
speech, lying is to theirs. "Rye beauti-
fes the field" says another Russian
proverb, land lie beauties speech"
And again, ga paatable lie is better
than bitter truth" But even had
mendacity been foreign to their nature,
the practical experience of generation
or two of veracious men acquired under
the government and in the church of
any of the past nine centuries of Rus
sian history would have amply sufficed
to teach this docile people that unblush-
ing ialsehood is the only coin that pas
ses current in their native country. The
accuracy OF this statement is vouched
for by history; it Is confirmed by the
evidence of the people themselves en-
bodied in their countless proverbs,
which constitute nearly three-fourths of
the spoken language of the uneducated.
"DO not mourn for truth; make terms
with falsehood. Or, at is by falsehood
that men live; it is not meet that we
should de-" Not only have they every
thing to gain by deceiving and cheating
their fellowmen and those unprincipled
slavemasters whom they looked upon as
malefcent deities, but they have no
penalty to undergo in the shape of
remorse here or hell-6re hereafter. If
detection is not followed by physical
punishment, there is no cause for APP
prehension. Lying" according to
another proverb, sis not like chewing
dough; it won't choke you" It is not
that they do not honor and revere truth
for itself, whenever they hear of it;
but they look upon it as sort of noun
enon ar too precious for this sinful phe-
nOmenal world of ours-a holiday gar
ment for the soul to be worn in the
Elysian Fields prepared Tor them by an
indulgent Creator after they have
thoroughly cleansed themselves in the
bath of death. Truth is sacred" says
a Russian proverb, "but we mort lis are
sinful" Or In variant which is also
explanatory, Sacred truth is good,
but not for mortals." What it is good
for is made clear in another proverb:
Truth is not e cd for being put in ac-
ton; but should be put in an lcon-glass
case and prayed to-"
But here is an illustration of practical
mendacity which takes the palm in the
business. Russian Journalists can evil
IDENTIFY give some Washington cores
pondents odds in getting up news dis
patches when there is no news curl ent
in tue community. The story as told is
as follows:
A well-known journalist of Odessa
(Dulsky by name), who himself some
time since occupied al editors arm
Listok, published a very curious letter
some months ago in which he laughs to
scorn the editor of another journal (the
New Russian Telegraph whom ne had
been deliberately and systematically
deceiving for several years. "As had
complete control ofthe depot for intelli-
gence OF all kinds" this high priest of
modern journalism frankly writes, sin
the government of Bessarabia, most of
the items of news published in the
New Telegraph were forged in my lodg
ings and at my dictation." Yet this
gentleman is still an active member of
the staff of the most widely circulated
daily newspaper in all South Russia, and
is. highly respected-as respect goes in
those parts-in the social circles in
treatment the result of repentance
and a firm resolve to amend in
future; for not only does this pro-
phet and guide publicly avow acts
which in Western chimes would be
branded as infamous by the least
pharisaical of journalists. but be positi-
vely glories in them as if he could pos
sess no better titles to public esteem.
Nay, he does not hesitate humbly to
implore the assistance of God to enable
HIM to lie and m1slead with as much
8 access in the future as in the past.
$50 matters have gone on" he writes,
'tor the space of four or five years, and
| shall not hide from you that with
Gods help I shall continue this harm
less occupation until [ grow tired of
it, E. B. LANIN.
Oscar Wilde recently wrote one Of
his most agreeable assays OF satirical
character on the larnentable decay in
the art of lying. Russian possibilities
in that domain must have been Wig
orously excluded from his calcula-
tons.