Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1890-04-18

SlonS and drive their full bOOded spau and
| the families may sweep the street with the
most elegant apparel that human art ever
| wove or earthly magnihcence ever achieved.
! But curse 1, gathering somewhere for nose
| men, and If it does not seize hold of the pil.
lars and in one wild PUN bring down the tenn
| pie of commercial glory, it will break up their
| peace, and they Will tremble with sickness
and bloat with designations, and, pushed to
the precipice Of this life, they will try to hold
back and cry for help, but no help will come;
! ana they will clutch their gold to take il
| along with them, but it will be snatched from
their grasp, and voice will sound through
| their soul, Not farthing, thou beggared
spirit" And the judgment will come and
they will stand aghast before it, and all the
| business iniqutics Of a lifetime will gather
/ around them, saying, "Do YOU remember
! thiS" and "Do you remember that" And
clerks that they compelled to dishonesty, and
runners and draymcn and bookkcepers who
saw behind the scenes, will bear testimony to
their nefarious deeds, and some virtuous soul
that once stood aghast at the splendor and
power of these business men will say, "A las!
this is all that is left of that great firm that
occupied a block with t!leir merchandise and
overshadowed the city with their influence
and made righteousness and truth and purity
fall under the calling fire of avarice and
crime"
Nhilo we admire and approve of all acute
ness aud tact in the sale If goods we must
condemn any process by which a fabric or
product Is represented rs possessing a value
which it really does not have. Nothing but
sheer falsehood can represent as perfection
boots that rip, silks that speedily lose their
luster, cnlicoe, that Immediately wash out,
stoves that crack under the first hot fire
books insutceutiy bound. carpets that un-
ravcl, old furniture reiuvenated with putty
and glue and sold as having been recently
manufactured, gold wi~srhes made out of
brass barrels of fruit tie biggest apples on
the top, wine aduterated with strvchnine,
hosiery poorly woven cloths of domestic
manufacture shining with foreign labels, inn
ported goods represented us rare and hard ~
get. because foreign exchange is so high,
rolled out on the counter with matchless dis
play. Imported, indeed but from the fac
tory in the noXt street. A pattern already
questionable and unstable palmcl off as Il
new print upon some country merchant who
has come to town 70 make his first purchase
OF dry goods and going home with large
stock of goods warranted to keep.
Again business men are often tempted TO
make the habits and customs Of other traders
their law of rectitudc. There are commercial
usages which will not stand the test of the
last day. Vet men in business are apt to do
as their neighbors do If the ma jorftv of the
traders in any locality are lax in principle,
the commercial code in that community will
he spurious and dishonest. It is a hard thing
to stand close by the law of right when your
next door neighbor by his looseness of dealing
Is enabled to sell goods at cheaper rate and
dc"oy your customers. OF course YOU who
Aly-, ,..11
paving when you promise to pay, will find it
hard to compete with that merchant who is
Eopeessly in debt to the importer for the
goods purchased, and to the landlord whose
store he occupies and to the clerks who serve
linn.
There are Il hundred practices prevalent in
tho world Of traffic which ought never to be-
come IL" rule for honest men Their wrong
does not make your right. Sin never be-
comes virtue by being multiplied and adj
mlt.nI at brokers board, or merchants ex-
chanGe Because others snuggle few things
in passenger trunks, because others take usury
wnen men are in tight places because others
deal IL iGHCy stocks, because others palm off
worthless Endorsements. because others do
nothing bat blow bubbles, do not. therefore.
be overcome Of tompjction. Hollow preten-
sion and fictitious credit and commercial
gambling may awhile prosper, but the day of
reckoning cometh, and in addition to tho
horror and condemnation Of outraged com
munitieS the curse of God will come blow
after blow. Gods viii forever and forever
is the only standard of right and wrong, and
not commercial ethics.
Young business man, avoid the first bust
ness dlsnonor, and you Will avoid all the rest
The captain Of Il vessel was walking near the
mouth Of a river when the tide was low, and
thcre was long, stout anchor chain, into one
OF the great links of which his foot slipped
and it began to swell and he could not with
draw 1t. The tide began to rise. The chain
could not be loOsened nor filed off in time,
and a surgeon was called to amputate the
Limb, but before the work could be done the
tide rolled over the victim and his life was
gone
And | have to tell you, young man, that
just one wrong into which you slip may he a
link Of "A long chain of circumstances from
which you cannot be extricated by any in
genuity Of your own or any help from others
and the tides will roll over you AS they have
over many. When Pompey, the warrior,
wanted to take possession of city, and they
would not open the gates, he persuaded them
to admit sick soldier. But the sick soldier
after while got well and strong, and he
threw open the gates and let the devastat-
ing army come in. One wrong admitted
into the soul may gain in strength until,
after awhile, it filings open all the avenues of
the immoral nature, and the surrender is
complete
Again, business men are sometimes tempted
to throw off personal responsibility upon the
moneyed institution to which they belong
Directors in banks and railroad and insurance
companies sometimes shirk personal respon-
slbility underneath the action of the corpora
ton. And how often, when some banking
house or financial institution explodes through
fraud, respectable men in the board of direc-
tors say: why, thought all was going on
in an honest way, and ] am utterly con
founded with this misdemeanor!" The banks
and the fire and life and marine insurance
companies, and the railroad companies, will
not stand up for judgment in the last day,
but those who in them acted righteously will
receive each for himself, "A reward and
those who acted the part Of neglect or trick
cry will, each for himself, receive a con
demnatIon.
Unlawful dividends are not clean before
God because there are those associated with