The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-03-23


themselves for deviation from truthtulnes:
because of what they call com uercial Gus
tom. In other words, the multiplication
and uni ersallty Of a sin turns lt into VII
tue. There have beel large fortunes gain
cred where there was not one drop OF unf e,
Quilted toll in the wine; not one spark OF bad
temper flashing from the bronze bracket
NOT one drop of need !e-wJma s
heart blood in the crimson plush; while
there are other great establishments
in which there is not one door
knob, not one brick, not one trinket, not one
thread of lace, but has upon 1t toe mark OF
dishonor. What wonder IL some day hand
OF toll that mad been wrung, and worn out,
and blistered until the skin came of, should
be placed against the elegant wallpaper,
leaving its mark Of b!ood-four fingers and
a thumb; or that, some day, walking the
halls. there should be q voice accostlng the
occupant, saying, "Six cents for making a
shirt" and, flying the room, another voice
should say, Twelve cents for an army
blanket" and the man should try TO sleep al
night, hut ever and anon be ar 1usei, until,
getting up n one elbow. he should shrek
out, who's therep
One Sabbath night, in the vestibule Of my
churcI after service, woman fell IN con-
vulsions. The doctor said she needed medi-
cine not 50 much as something 20 eat. As
she began to revive in her delirium, she
said gaspingly: Eight centsl Eight cents
Eight ce 4tsl / wish | could get IL done; l
am so tired I wish could get some sleep,
but must get it donel Eight cents! Eight
cenosln We found atterward she was max
ing garments for eight cents apiece, and
that she uld make but three of them in
q dayl Three times eight are twenty-fourl
Hear it, men and women who have COM
Portable honest
Some of the worst villains of the city are
the employers of these women. They beat
them down TO the last penny. and try 20
cheat them out of that. The woman must
deposit a dollar or two before she gets the
garments to work on. When the work is
done it is sharply inspected, the most in-
significant flaws picked out, I'd the wages
refused, and sometimes the dollar deposited
not given back. The Womsn's Protective
Union reports case where one of these
poor souls, finding place where she could
get more wages, resolved to change en-
ployers, and went to get her pay for work
done. The employer said: 81 hear you are
going to leave me.n ''Yes,n she said, land
/ am come to get what you owe me-" He
made no .answer. She said, Are you not
going to pay men YES" be said, Il will
pay you;n and he kicked her down the
stairs.
There are thousands of fortunes male in
commercial spheres that are throughout
righteous. God will let his favor rest upon
every scroll, every pictured wall, every
traceried window, and the JOY that flashes
from the lights and showers from the mu-
sic and dances in the children's quick feet,
pattering through the ball, will utter the
generalization of men and the approval of
God.
A merchant can, to the last item, be
thoroughly honest There is never any need
of falsehood. Yet how many will, day by
day, hour by hour, utter what they know
to g wrong. You say that you are selling
at less shan cost. If so, then it is right to
say it. But did that cost you less than what
you ask or it'll II not then you have falsi-
fed. You say that the article cost you
twenty-five dollars. Did it, If so, then all
right. If it did not, then you have falsi-
fed. Suppose you are a purch ser. You
are "beating down" the goods. You
say that that article for which five
dollars is charged, is not worth
more than four. Is it worth no more than
s4l Then ali right If it be worth more,
and for the sake of getting it for less than
its value, you willfully depreciate it, you
have falsihed. You may call it a sharp
trade. The recording angel writes it down
on the ponderous tones of eternity, "Mr. So
and So, merchant on Water street, or in
Eighth street., or in State street; or Mrs. So
and So, keeping house on Beacon street, or
in Madison avenue, or Rittenhouse square,
one falsehood." You may consider it insig-
nificant, because relating to an insignificant
purchase. You would despise the man who
would falsity in regard TO some great mat
ter, in which the city or the whole country
was concerned; but this is only box Of
buttons, or a row of pins. or a case Of
needles. Be not deceived. The article pur>
chased may be SO small you can put it in
your vest pocket, but the sin was bigger
than the Pyramids, aud the echo of the dis
honor will reverberate through all the noun
tain Of eternity.
You throw on your counter some speci-
mems of handkerchief Your customer
asks, SIS that all silks no cotton in itP'
You answer, at is all silkg" Was it all
silkl If so, all right But was it partly
cottonl Then you have falsified. More
over. you lost by the falsehood. The GUS
toner, though he may live at Lynn, or
, Doylestown. or Poughkeepsie, will find out
that you have defrauded him, and next
spring when he again comes shopping, he
will look at your sign and say: II will not
try there. That is the place where got
that handkerchief" So that by that one
dishonest bargain you picked your own
pocket and irsulted the Almighty.
Would on dai Q to make an estimate Of
how many 1alSehuous in trade were yester-
day told by hardware men, and clothiers,
and fruit-dealers, and dry-goods establish
ments, and importers, and jewellers, and
lumbermen, and coal-merohants. and sta
TONERS, and tobacconists! Lies about sad
dies. about buckles. about ribbons, about
carpets, about gloves, about coats, about
shoes, about hats, about watches, about
carriages, about books-about everything.
In the name Of the Lord Almighty, l ar.
raign commercial falsehoods as one of the
greatest plaques in city and town.
In the next place, / notice mechanical
lies. There is no class of men who admin
lister more to the welfare of the city than
artisans. To their hand we must look for
the building that shelters us, for the gar
ments that cloLhe US, for the car that oar
ries us. They WELD widespread influence.
There is much derision of what is called
Muscular christianity" put in the latter
day of the worlds prosperity, think that
the christian will be muscular. We have
right to expect Of those stalwart men Of
toll the highest possible integrity. Many of
them answer all our expectations, and stand
at the front Of religious and philanthropic
enterprises. But this class, like the Others
that have named, has in it those who
lack in the element Of veracity. They
cannot all be trusted. In times when the
demand for labor is great, it is impossible
to meet the demands of the public,
or do work with that promptness aud per-
lection that would at other times be posi-
BILE But there are mechanics whose wore
cannot be trusted at any time. No mar
has a right TO prOmige more work than n.