San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-02-23
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY %, 1S9
PUT YOURSELF IN HIS PLACE.


transformation, was considered
one week ago. This morning we
are to discourse of the practical
application of the truth. 1t is
more than q truth. 1t is a moral
medicine. 1t is panacea for the
ills of social injustices in judg-
ment. 1t is a putting ourselves
In the dock in place Of the prison
er before the bar. 1t is making
his or her case our own, and in
that reversal judging, not accord
ing to the appearance, but in
righteousness. 1t is enlisting our
personal sympathy and excuses for
ourselves, in behalf of the other
party. It is putting our own in
depreciation on those extenusting
circumstance we would plead for
ourselves, and urging them on be-
half of the other party. 1t is actu-
ally transposing the cases and
putting ourselves in their place.
So long as opinions are to be
formed it is of the first Importance
that they are correct. So long as
judgments are to be rendered it is
of the first Importance that they
be Just. OF the first Importance,
because all our actions toward
others are nodded by our opinions
of them, our judgments Of them.
1t is necessary to do this because
it is our duty. This word duty
has been kicked around the door
yard of language until it is bat
tered and unsightly. All the
same, 1t is a good, honest word.
1t is not the first honest thing
that has been kicked out Of shape.
TT will not be the last. 1t is the
proper word here. Duty is that
which it is right to do. You are
to put yourself in the place of an
other in forming opinions of them
or judging them, because this is
the right thing to do.
1t is right for you as a business
man in judging Of your business as
soacites; in determining the quail
ty of their business transactions lin
forming opinions as to their bust
ness capacities; in judging as to
their integrity, capability, tact,
shrewdness, dishonesty, reliabili-
ty or unreliability, or anything
else that may come up in review.
Until you do this you are not COM
petent to form correct judgment
upon any Of these things. Until
you put yourself in their place
you cannot see things as they see
them, and the light that falls on
the page Of their transactions will
not be the light in which you will
see them. That is, you will see
them in false light and Judge &C
cordingly, that is falsely. Just so,
you must put yourself, in your
thought, in their circumstances,
their environment, study their
mental and moral attitude, know
their motives as far as motives
can be known, before you are COM
pstent to judge.
A business Judgment is serious
thing, when the results Of such a
judgment are considered. Upon
it may depend the business life or
death of another. Your conclu-
sions as to almost any one of those
great qualities that underlie bust
ness character, will turn the scale
of your judgment either up OF
down. The credit and reputation
OF that other are in the scales
What right have you to put the
weight of opinion there until you
know that 1t is correct. You
would not put light weight in
the scales with which you weigh
beef and pork and wheat and cot
ton, but you put without a mo
mont's consideration ligh
opinion in the scales with which
business character is to b'
weighed and render verdict up
on that character thus weighed
You do it every day and do not con
slider that the light scale Of mat
ereial transactions is honesty itsel