The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1891-03-31

TO specify the difefentf forms o fcommer-
lelal falsehood. There are merchants
who excuse themselves for deviation
from truthfulness because OF what they
call commercial custom. In other words
the multiplication and universally OF
a sin turns IL into a virtue, Thcre have
been large fortunes gathered where there
was not one dropof unrequited toll i'm
the wine; not a spark of bad temper
flashing rom the bronze bracket not one
drop of needle-woman,s heart blood in
the crimson plush; while there are other
great establishments in which there Is
net one doorknob, not one brick, not one
tripket, not n thread of lace, but has
upon it the mark of dlshoner. What
wonder II, some day, a hand of toll that
had been wrung, aud worn out, and
bllstered until the skin came of, should
be placed against the elegant wallpaper,
leaving its mark of blood-four fingers
and q thumb; or that, some day, walk
ing the halls, there should be q voice
accosting the occupant saying, six
cents Tor making q shirt" and flying in
the room another voice should say,
Twelve cents for an army blanket"
and the man should try to sleep atnigtt,
but ever and anon be aroused, until get
ting Up on one elbow, lie should shrek
out, who's there 2"
One Sabbath night, in the vestibule OF
my church after service, a woman fell
in commissions. The doctor said she
didn't need, medicine so mnch as some
thing to eat. AS she began to revive
ii her deliriam, she said gaspingly
"Eight cents! Eight cents! Eight cents!
L wish l could get 1t done; / am so tired
/ wish i could get soine sleep; BAT /
must get 1t done! Eight cents! Eight
cents!' We found afterwards she was
making garments Tor eight cents APIECE,
and that she could make but thee of
them in a dayl Three times eight are
twenty-four! Hear 1t, men and women,
who have comfortable homes.
Some of the worst villains of the city
are the employers Of these women.
They beat them down to the last PEN
ny. and try to cheat th5m out of that.
The woman must deposit a dollar or
two before she gets the garment to
work on. When the work is done it is
sharply inspected, the most insignia.
cant flaws picked out, and the wages
refused, and sometimes the dollar de-
Protective Union reports a case
where II of these poor souls
finding a place where she could
get more wages, resolved to change
employers, and went to get her
paysTAr work done. The employer said
II hear you are going to leave me-"
"Yes," she said, land l am come to get
what you owe me-" He made no an-
swer. She said: "Are you-not going
to pay mep" "Yes," he said, 81 will
pay you;' and he kicked her. down
stairs.
There are thousands of fortunes
throughout righteous. God will let
his favor rest upon every SCROLL every
pictured wall, every traceried window;
and the joy that flashes from thelights,
and showers from the music, and
showers from the music, and dahces in
the children's quick feet, pattering
through the hall, will utter the con-
graduation 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
niS2y will, day by day, hour by hour,
You say you are selling at less than
cost. If SO, then it is right to say 1t.
But did that cost you less than you ask
for it.? Ii not, then " ?hav6 Idisilied.
You say that that article cost you $25.
If so, then all right. If it did not, then
you have falsiied. Suppose you are a
customer. You are cheating down" the
goods, You say that that article for
which So is charged, is not worth more
than four. Is it worth NJ more than
81? Then, all right. If it be worth
more, and for the sake Of getting it for
less than its value, you wilfully depre-
i Rintn ~ xlnn haun falotRn1 va Nnnx,
call 1t a sharp trade. The recording
angel writes 1t down on the ponderous
tones of eternity -"NIr. So and SO,
merchant in Water street, or in Eighth
street, or in State street; or Mrs. SO and
SO, keeping house on Beacon street, or
on Madison avenue, or Rittenhouse
squa e, or Brooklyn heights of Brook
Ign hill, told one falsehood." You may
consider it insignificant. because relat-
ling to an insignificant purchase. You
would despise the man who would
falsify in regard co some gr- 1T matter,
in which tho city or the whole country
was concerned; but this is only a box
OF buttons, or arrow of pins, or a case
OF needles. BE not deceived. The ar
ticle purchased may be so small you
can put it in your vest pocket, but the
sin was bigger than the Pyramids, and
the echo of the dishonor will reverber-
ate through all the mountains of eter-
nifty.
You throw on your counter some
specimens of handkerchief. Your Gus
toner asks, Us that all silk? no cotton
initp" You answer, at is all silk"
Was it all silkp II so, all right. But
was it partly cotton? Then yol have
falsified. Moreover, you lost by the
falsef God. The customer, 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: 81 will not
got that handkerchief" So that by
one dishonest bargain you picked yonr
own pocket and insulted the Al
mighty.
Would you dare to make an estimate
of how many falsehoods in trade were
yesterday told by hardware men, and
%clothiers. and fruit-dealers, and dry
goods establishments, and importers.
and jewelers., and lumbermen, and coal
merchants, and stationers, and tobac-
conists2 Lies about saddles, about
buckles, about ribbons, about carpets,
about gloves, about coats, about shoes,
about hats, about watches, about car
riages, about ~books-about everything.
In the name of the Lord Almighty, L
arraign commercial falsehoods as one
of the greatest plaques in city and
town.
In the next place, I notice mechanical
lies. There is no class of men who ad-
minister more to the welfare of the