The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1890-04-30

ness and magnanimity of cautionaaainst
the dishonesty of other business Tuses,
of course it is expected they willard
so they do-they take drink.
Other merchants lodging in adjoin-
ing rooms find it hard 10 sleep for the
clatter of decanters, and the coarse
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 stagger forth with
checks flushed and eyes bloodshot. The
outer gates of hell open to let in the VIC
Tins The wings of lost souls fit among
the lights, and the steps of the carous-
ers sound with the rumbling thundcrs
OF the damned. Farewell to all the
sancities of home Could mother, sister,
father, slumbering in the inland home,
in some vision Of that night catch a
glimpse of the ruin wrought they would
rcnd out their hair by the roots
and bite the tongue till the blood squirt
ed shricking out: God save him."
What, suppose you, will come upon
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 a
terror to all rivals, and from this thrifty
root 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 streets with the
most elegant apparel that human art
ever wove or earthly magnificence ever
achieved; but curse is gathering
somewhere for those men, and If it does
not seize hold Of the pillars and in one
wild ruin bring down the temple Of COM
mercial glory, it will break up their
peace, and they will tremble with sick
nesses 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; and they will clutch
their gold to take it along with them,
but it will be snatched from their grasp
and a voice will sound through their
SOul, NV D. iul oHiHS, uhOu poSS "iSo
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 draymcn and booS-keepers who saw
behind the scenes, will bear testimony
to their nefarious deeds, and some vir-
tuous soul that once stood aghast at the
splendor and power of these business
men will say: alas. this is all that Is
left of this great firm that occupied a
block with their merchandise and over
Swallowed 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 amy process W WHICH
fabric or product is represented az
possessing value which it really does
not have. Nothing but sheer falsehood
can represent as perfection boots that
rip, silks that speedily lose their luster,
calicoes that Immediately wash out
stoves that crack under the first hot fire,
books insutticiently bound, carpets that
unravel, old furniture rejuvenated with
putty and glue and sold as having been
recently manufactured; gold watches
made out of brass, barrels of fruit, the big
gest apples on the top; wine adulterated
with strychnine, hosiery poorly woven.
cloths of domestic manufacture shining
with foreign labels, imported goods rep
resented as rare and hard to get, because
foreign exchange is so high, rolled out
on the counter with matchless display.
Imported. indeed! but from the factory
in the next street. A pattern already
questionable and unstable palmed OF
as new print upon some country mer-
chant, who has come TO town to make
his first purchase of dry goods, and going
home with large stock of goods war
ranted to keep.
Again, business men are often tempted
to make the habits and customs of other
traders their law of rectiude. 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 thatcommunity 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 a cheaper rate and 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 hopeiessly 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 prevail.
ent in the world of traffic which ought
never to become the rule for honest
men. Their wrong does not make yours
right. Sin never becomes virtue by be-
ing multiplied and admitted at brokers'
board or merchants exchange. Because
others smuggle few things in passen-
ger trunks, because others take usury
when men are in tight places, because
Others deal in fancy stocks, because
| others palm off worthless Endorsements,
because Others do nothing but blow bub-
bles, do not therefore, be overcome of
temptation. Hollow pretension and
| fictitious credit, and commercial gam
bling may awhile prosper, but the day
! of reckoning cometh, and in addition to
the horror and condemnation of outrag-
| ed communities, the curse of God will