The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-11-02
ing gu. into the darkness. WHO is

ing out into the darkness. WHO Is
there?" |
There are large fortunes pom which |
Gods favor comes down. and 1t is just |
as honest and just as Christian to be |
afluent as IL is to be poor. In many q |
house there is a blessing on every pic |
tured wall and on every scroll and on
every traceried window. and the joy |
that flashes in the lights and that show
ers in the music n hat ances in the
quick feet Of the children pattering
through the hall has in 1t the favor OF
God and the approval Of man. AND
there are thousands and tens CT thou
sands of merchants who, from the first
day. they sold a yard Of cloth or firkins
of butter, hav maintained their integ-
rity. They were born honest, they VIII
live honest and they viii die honest
But you and I know that there are in
commercial life those who are guilty Of
great ~dishonesties Of speech. 4 mer-
chant says, II am selling these goods
at less than cost" Is he getting for
those goods a price inferior to that
which he paid for them? Then he has
spoken h truth. Is he getting more?
Then he lies. A merchant says, i
paid SO for this article" Is that the
price he paid for it? All right. But
Suppose he paid for it s23 instead Of S25.
Then he lies.
But there are just as a false
hoods before the counter as there are
behind the counter. n customer comes
in and asks. How much is this arti-
| cle?" 1T is s25." ~ can get that for s4
| somewhere else." Can he get it for 81
somewhere else or did he say that just
| for the purpose of getting it cheap by
depreciating the value Of the goods?
If so, he lied. There are just as many
| falcohnn1c hofnro tho cn11ntpr q G there
are behind the counter.
A man unTolls pon the counter a
| bale Of handerchiefs. The customer
says Are these all silk?" Yes"
mo cotton in them?" Are those
handkerchief all silk? Then the mer-
chant told the truth. Is there any cot
ton in them? Then he lied. Moreover,
he defrauds himself, for this customer
cming in will after awhile find out
that he has been defrauded, and the
next time he comes to town n goes
shopping he will look up at that sign
and say, mo, I won't go there; that's
the place where I got those ndk
chiefs" First, the merchant insulted
God, and, secondly, he picked his w
pocket.
Who would AXE the responsibility
of saying how many f~alsehoods were
yesterday told by hardware men, and
clothiers, and lumbermen, n tobac-
conistS, and jewelers., and importers,
and shippers. and dealers in furniture,
and dealers in coal, and dealers in gro
ceries? Lies about buckles, about sad
dies, about harness, about Shoes, about
hats, about coats, about shoveis. about
tongs, about forks, about chairs, about
sofas, about horses, about lands, about
everything. I arraign commercial
falsehods as one of the crying sins OF
our time.
MECHANICAL LIES.
I pass on to speak Of mechanical
f~alsehoods. Among the artisans are
those upon whom We are dependent fol-
the houses in which We live, the gar
ments we wear, the cars in which WE
ride. The vast majority Of them are. sc
far as I know them, men who speak
the truth, and they are upright, and
many Of them are foremost in Sreat
philanthropies and in churches, bu1
that they all do not belong to that class
every one knows. In times when there
is a great demand for labor it is not Sc
easy for such men to keep their obliSa.
tons, because they may miSca!culat
in regard to the weather or they may
not be able to get the help they anticl
pated in Their enterprise. l am speak
ing now of those who promise to d.
that which they know they will not b
able to do. They say they will conn
on Monday. They say they will com
on Wednesday,. They do not come un
til Saturday. They say they will hav'
the job done in ten days. They do no
set it done before 30. And when a ma,
: becomes irritated and will not stand i
any longer then they go and work TO
him a day or two and keep the jO1
along, and then some one else gets irri
; tated and outraged, and they go am
l work for that man and get him paci
( fled, and then they go somewhere else
, I believe they call that nursing tn
7 job"
All, my friends, how much dishono
such men would save their souls i
they would promise to do only tina
which they know they can do! "Oh.
5 they say, 'it's Of no Importance. Ev
erybody expects to be deceived and di
= appointed" There is a voice Of thun
der sounding among their saws and tn
T hammers and the shears, saying "A
liars shall have their place in the LAX
l that burns with fire and birthstone"
Ipass on to speak Of social lies. HOY
: much society is insincere? You hard
ly know what to believe. They sen
. their regards. You do not eXactl
e know whether it is an expression c
. Railroad ~EnnsnQer