The Columbus commercial. (Columbus, Miss.) 1893-1922, 1896-05-03

world.
From the highest circles to the lowest
we have dealings and doings that
ought to bring a blush Of shame
TO the cheeks Of honest men. An hon
est man IS one who viii not be party
to dishonesty in anything. Full
weights, full measures, fair dealings,
scrupulous integrity characterize his
thoughts and words and acts. If We
20 into the wholesale trade we win find
spurious articles Of diet, dilutedarticles.
shoddy articles, articles Of underweight
articles that are manufactured as cheats
and known to be cheats. II we 60 into
the clothing line we find garments
wrung from the bleeding fingers of
over-worlSed, under-paid women, gar
ments that are shoddy in colors, shoddy
IN material. shoddy in quality. In the
dry goods world we find the same evil
dence Of cheat and swindle. I have
found out that a cheat is a cheat, and
he will cheat you every chance he gets
An honest man is an honest man, and
It paws to deal with him. If know a
merchant to be an honest man, whose
word is as sacred as his soul, can
deal with him with satisfaction and
ease. They labor under this disadvan-
tage-their goods are always higher
priced than at the places where frauds
and cheats are practiced on the people.
A good article with a reasonable profit
is the cheapest article one can buy.
Then we go into the world of manu-
facturies. We find in pianos, in organs,
In wagons and buggies, in cutlery and
plows, cheats on every hand, fraud at
every turn. Why all this when it has
been demonstrated a thousand times
that honesty is the best policy? George
Westenholm and Rogers have grown
rich by dealing honestly with the pub
lie in cutlery. The Columbia Buggy
company has fiourished for a score of
years because they do honest work
Some merchants whom I could name
have prospered and win continue to
prosper because they deal fairly with
their customers.
Honesty is not only q principle gov
erning our dealings, but is q means Of
success If faithfully persisted in. Have
no dealings with rascal We have
got that from the lips of others a thou
sand times, yet every day and every
where men are being defrauded and
wrong has been perpetrated because of
dishonest dealing between man and
man. A man who win tell lie to make
n deal or hide a truth to accomplish a
trade is dishonest at heart. The Old
horse jockey who tells 100 lies and
covers up 100 truths in order to beat his
neighbor in a trade is as decent and
honest as the rnanufaeturer or mer.
chant who practices deception and de-
frauds his neighbor in the DEALS he
makes with him.
Honesty is very unpretentious. Dis
honesty struts and regales. Sometimes
in flaming advertisements, sometimes
in protestations of integrity it seeks to
lead others to believe that their real in
terest lies in trading with them. If
men We're sensible and knew it was wise
to trade only with the honest men,
then honesty would have a fair show
and men would get value received in all
the marts of trade. And yet believe in
proportion. There are more dishonest
buyers than there are dishonest sellers,
more dishonest customers than there
are dishonest merchants, more dis
honest consumers than there are dis
honest manufacturers. I can see how
an honest man can suffer himself to be
defrauded by the tricks of trade in buy
ing and selling the commodities of life
but all stock gambling and future deal
ing seems to be honeyeombed with d
want of honesty and integrity that will
swamp any man who INDUCES in it.
have no patience with the dealer or Gus.
toner in bucket shops or future deal
ing. I believe the sweat of the face
is the honesty Of the life manifested
within. He who gets something fol-
nothing or gets something easier than
laboring for it must either inherit it o.
defraud another out of it.
/ believe the best road to permanent
prosperity lies in national, commercial
and individual honesty. There can be
no permanent prosperity when the in
tegrity Of a nation is questioned or the
honesty Of an indisidual is doubted
Not only in the marts Of trade do w'
see dishonesty displayed and tricks
manifested, but thousands Of men II
their dishonesty when it comes to pay
ing their debts present a picture tina
gives one almost a contempt for the ma
jority of men. Some men will pile n
behind the petticoats Of their wives
competency and then act as agents 70
their wives in future life. have yer.
little respect for an insolvent husban'
living in holy wedlock with solyen
wife. 1 have no respect for tn
members Of the church or the preacher
who do not scrupulously look to tn
paying Of their debts. I have no II
spect for even a negro who win not pa
his debts. Sooner or later we mus
find out this fact; That he who honest
" pays his debts win avoid a thousan
errors and difficulties which overtake
non-debt payer. have some respec
for a man who would but can't pa!
but no respect for the man who can an
won't. A man who is in debt must b
economical, industrious and pay ever
dollar he can. or lose the consciousness
that he IS an honest man. lhad as 500
III -. a.. liza. 1flra enrar men live