The Russellville Democrat., 1890-04-24

that human art ever wove or earthly magnificence ever achieved. But a curso Is gathering somewhere for those mon, and if 1t 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, and they will tremble with siclSnesses and bioat with dissipations, and pushed to the precipice 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: Not farthing, thou beggared spiritp And the judgment will come and they will stand aghast i before it, and all the business iniquities ef 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 dray- men and book keepers who saw behind the scenes, will bear testimony to their nefarious deeds, and some yirtuous soul that once stood aghast at the spiendor and power of these business men will say: 'Alasl this is all that is left of that great firm that occupied block
 with their merchandise and oyer-shad- owed the city with their influence, and
 made righteousness and truth and puri- | ty fall under tho galling fire of avarice | md crime.r
 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 represented as possessing value which it really does not have. Nothing but sheer falsehood
 can represent as perfection boots that rip, silks that speedily loose their lus-
 ter, calicoes that immediately wash l out, stoves that crack under tho first hot fire, books insufficiently bound, carpets that unraved, old furni- | ture rejuvinated with putty and glue, and sold as having been re- gently manufactured; gold watches made out of brass; barrels of fruit; the big gest apples on the top; wine adulterated
 with strychnine, hosiery poorly woven, clothes of domestic manufacture shin ming with foreign labels, imported goods
 represented as rare and hard to get, be- cause foreign exchange is so high, 1 rolled out on the counter with matchless display. Imported indeed! but from the l factories in the next street. A pattern | already unfashionable and unstable palmed off as new print upon some country merchant who has come to town to make his first purchase of dry goods and going home with large stock of | goods warranted to keep.
 Again. business men are often tempt ed to make tho habits and customs of other traders their law of recititude.
 There are commercial usages which win
 not stand the test of the last day. Yet men in business are apt to do as their l neighbors do. If the majority of the I traders in any locality are lax in prin- ciple, the commercial code in that com munity will be spurious and dishonest. ltis hard thing to stand close by the law of right when your nextdoor neighbor by his looseness of dealing is enabled to sell goods at a cheaper rate and decoy your customers. Of course, you who promptly meet all your business en- agreements, paying when you promise to pay, will find 1t hard to compete with that merchant who is hopelessly in debt to the importer for the goods purchased, and to the landlord whose store he oc- cupies, and to the clerks who serve him. There are hundred practices preva- lent in the world of traffic which ought never to become the rule for honest man fThair xyro,,cr doao ,o+ n, lye, xv<.,, = right. Sin never becomes virtue by being multiplied and admitted at bro- kers' board ormerchants' exchange. Be- cause others smuggle few things in passenger trunks, because others take usury when men are in tight places
 because others deal in fancy stoc ks, be cause others palm of worthless in dorsements, because others do nothing but blow bubbles do not therefore be overcome of temptation Hollow pre-
 tensions and fictitious credit, and com
 mercial gambling may awhile prosper. but the day of reckoning cometh, and
 in addition to the horror and condemna-
 tion of outraged communities, the curse of God will come, blow after blow. God's
 will forever and forever is the only standard of right and wrong, and mot commercial ethics.
 Young business man, avoid the first business dishonor, and you will avoid all the rest. The captain of vessel was walking near the mouth of river when the tide was low, and there was long stout anchor chain, into one of the great links of which his foot slipped. and it began to swell and he could moi withdraw it. Tho tide began to rise. The chain could not be loosened nor filed of in time, and surgeon was called to amputate tho limb, but before the work could be done the tide rolled over the victim, and his life was gone. And l have to tell you, young man. that just one wrong into which you slip may be a link of a long chain of circumstances from which you can not be extricated by any ingenuity of your own, or any help from others, and the tides will roll over you as they have over many. When Pompey, the war rior, 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 awhile got well and stong, and he threw open the gates and let the devastating army come in. One wrong admitted into the soul may gain in strength until. after awhile, it filings open all the avenues of the immortal nature, and the sur render is complete.
 Again. business men are sometimes tempted to throw of personal responsi- bility upon the moneyed institution to which they belong, Directors in banks and railroad and insurance companies sometimes shirk personal responsibility underneath the action of the corpora tion. And how often, when some bank ing house or financial institution ex- plodes, through fraud, respectable men in the board of directors say; Why, l thought all was going on in an honest way, and l am utterly confound- ed with this misdemeanorl' The banks, and the fire and life and marine insurance companies, and the railroad companies, will not stand up for iudg-