Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-04-17


against certain dilapidated mercantile
establishments that are about to fail,
and for such kindness and magnanimity
of caution against the dishonesty of other
business houses, of course it is expected
they willard so they do
THEY TAKE DRINK.
Other merchants, lodging in adjoining
rooms, find it hard to sleep, for the
clatter of decanters and the coarse ca
rousal of these 60 hail fellows well met
wakes louder. But they sit not all night
at the wine cup. They must see the
sights. They stagger forth with cheeks
flushed and eyes bloodshot. The outer
gates of he'll 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 in some
vision of that night, catch q glimpse
of the ruin wrought, they would
rend out their hair by the roots and bite
the tongue till the blood spurted, Shrek
ing out: "God save him!'
HudIJ SuppOs6 yOu, Will upOu
such business establishments? And there
are hundreds of them in the cities. They
may boast of fabulous sales, and they
may have an unprecedented run of buy
ers, and the name of the house may be
terror TO all rivals, ana from this thrifty
root there 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 maguif1cence ever
achieved. But curse is gathering
somewhere for those men, and If 1t does
not seize hold of the pillars, and in one
wild ruin bring down the temple of COM
mercial glory, 1t will break up their
peace, and they will tremble with sick
nesses and bloat with designations, and,
pushed to the pTecipice Of this life, they
will try to hold back and cry
for help, but no help will come; and they
VIII 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 spirIt!'' And the judg
ment will come and they will stand
aghast before 1t, and all the business in
them, saying, ''Do you remember
this?' and, "Do you remember that?
And clerks that they compelled to dis
honesty, and runners aud draymen and
bookkeepers 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, "Alas
this is all that is left of that great firm
that occupied q block with their mer-
chandise and overshadowed the city with
their influence, and made righteousness
and truth and purity fall under the gall
ing 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 winch
a fabric or product is represented as pos
sessing value which 1t really does not
have. Nothing but sheer falsehood can
represent as perfection BOOTS that rip,
silks that speedily lose their lustre, cali
Goes that Immediately wash out, stoves
that crack under the first hot fire, books
insuficiently bound, carpets that I'M
ravel, old furniture rejuvenated with
putty and glue, and sold as having been
RECENTLY MANUFACTURED,
gold watches made out of brass, barrels
of fruit, the biggest apples on the top,
wine adulterated with stryohnine, hosiery
poorly woven, cloths of domestic manu-
faoture shining with foreign labels, i'm
ported goods represented as rare and
hard to get, because foreign exchange is
SO high, rolled out on the coun-
ter with matches display.
Imported indeed but from the
factory in the next street. A pattern
already questionable and unstable
paImed off as q new print upon some
country merchant who has come to town
to make his first purchase of dry goods
and going home with a 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 rectitude. There
are commercial usages which will not
stand the test of the last day. Yet men
in business are apt to do as their neigh
bors do. If the majority of the traders
in any locality are lax IN principle, the
commercial code in that community will
be spurious and dishonest. 1t is 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 ana decoy your
customers. OF course you who promptly
meet all your business engagements,
paying when you promise to pay, will
find it hard to compete with that mer-
chant who is hopelessly in debt to the
importer for the goods purchased, and to
the landlord whose store he occupies,
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 men.
Their wrong does not make you right.
Sin never becomes virtue by being null
tIplied and admitted at brokers' board or
merchants exchange. Because others
smuggle few things in passenger
trunks, because others take usury when
men are IN tight places, because others
deal in fancy stocks, because others
palm off worthless endorsements, be-
cause others do nothing but blow bub-
bles, do not, therefore, be overcome Of
temptation. Hollow fpretension and tic-
titious credit, and commercial gambling
may awhile prosper, but the day of
reckoning cemeth, and in addition TO the
horror and condemnation of outraged
communities the curse of God will come,
blow after blow. God s will forever and