The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1890-04-24


agems by which goods are sometimes
disposed Of A glance at the morn
ing papers shows the arrival at one
of our hotels of q young merchant
from one of the inland cities. He is
n comparative stranger in the great
city, and, of course, he must be
shown around, and it will be the duty
! of some of our enterprising houses to
escort him. He is q large purchaser
and has plenty of time and money,
and it will pay to be very
attentive. The evening is spent at
| place of doubtful amusement. Then
they go back to the hotel. Having
just come to town, they must, Of
course, drink. A friend from the
same mercantile establishments drops
in, and usage and generosity suggest
that they must drink. Business
prospects are talked over, and the
| stranger is warned against certain
dilapidated establishments
that are about to fail, and for such
kindness and magnanimity of eau
ton against the dishonesty Of othor
business houses, of course it il ex-
pected they willard 40 they do
they take q drink. Other merchants
lodging i'll adjoining rooms find it
hard to sleep for the clattcr Of dccan-
tcrs, and the course carousal Of these
''hail fellows well met" wakes louder
But they sit not all night at the wine
cup. They must see the sights.
They staggor forth with cheeks
flushed and eyes bloodshot. The
outer gates of hell open to let in the
victims The wings of lost souls fit
among the lights,and the steps of the
carousers sound with the rumbling
thunders Of the damned. Farewell
to all the sanctities of home! Could
mother, sister, father, slumbering in
the inland home, i'll some vision of
night catch u glimpse of the ruin
wrought they would rcnd out their
hair by roots and bite the tongue till
the blood spurted, shricking out:
"God save him.
What, suppose you, will come upon
such business establishments? and
there m,c hundreds Of them in the
cities. They may boast OF fabulous
sales, md they may have an unprc-
ccdented run of buyers, and the name
of the house may be Il terror to all
rivals, and from this thrifty root thero
may spring up branch houses in other
cities, and all the partners Of the firm
may move into their mansions and
drive their full-blooded span, and the
families may sweep the street with
the most elegant apparel that human
art ever wove, or earthly magniticenco
ever achieved. But curse is gath
oring somewhere for those men, and
if it does not seize hold of the pillars
| and in one wild ruin bring down the
temple of commercial glory, it will
break up their peace, nnd they will
tremble with sickness and bloat with
dissipations, and, pushed to the pre-
cipice Of this life, they will try to hold
back, and cry for help, but no help
will come, and they will clutch their
gold to take it along with them, but
it will be snatched from their grasp,
and voice will sound through their
soul, mot farthing, thou beggared
spirit" And the Judgment will come
and they will stand aghast before it,
and all the business iniquities of life
time will gather around them, saying,
do you remember this?' and do
you remember that?" And clerks
that they compelled to dishonesty,
and runners and draymon and book
keepers who saw behind the scenes,
will bear testimony to their nefariOus
deods, and some virtuous soul that
once stood aghast at the splendor and
power Of these business men will say:
"Alas! this is all that is left of that
great firm that occupied block with
their merchandise and ovcrshadowed
the city with their influence, and made
righteousness and truth and purity
fall under the CALLING fire Of avarice
and crime"
While we admire and approve Of all
acuteness and tact in the sale of
goods, we must condemn any process
by which fabric or product is repre-
sented al possessing O value which
it really does not have. Nothing but
sheer falsehood can represent as per
fection boots that rip, silks that
speedily lose their lustcr, calicoes
that Immediately wash out, stoves
that crack under the first hot fire,
books insuficiently bound, carpets
that unravel, old furniture reju-
venated with putty and glue and sold
as having been recently manufac-
tured, gold watches made out Of brass,
barrels Of fruit, the biggest apples on
top; wine adulterated with strychninc,
hosiery poorly woven, cloths of do
mestic manufacture shining with
| foreign labels, imported goods repre-
sented as rare and hard to get, be
cause foreign exchange is SO high,
rolled out on the counter with match
less display. Imported indeed! but
from the factory in the next street.
A pattern already unfashionablo and
unstable palmcd off as now prin
upon some country merchant who has
come to town to make his first prll-
chase Of dry goods and going home
with n large stock Of goods warranted
to keep.
There are u hundred practices pre-
valent in the world Of traffic which
ought never to become the rule for
honest men. Their wrong does not
make your right. Sin never becomes
virtue by being multiplied and adj
mitted at brokers board or mcr-
chants exchange. Because others
amuggle few things in passenger
tr1pko haoo,1ao cfbOco tolyo ,,,,,,,,