The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-25


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tanned their integrity. 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. A
merchant says; I am selling these goods
al less than cost" Is he getting for
those goods a price inferior TO that which
he paid for them? Then he has spoken
the truth. Is he getting more? Then he
lies. A merchant says: Il paid 50 for
This article" Is that the price he paid
for it2 All right. But suppose he paid
for &c S23. instead OF $25? Then he lies.
But there are just as many falsehoods
t%fore the counter as there are behind,
the counter. \ customer comes in and
asks: How much is this article?' 1t
IS five dollars" 4 can get that for four
somewhere else" Can he get it for four
somewhere else. or did ne say that just
for the purpose Of getting it cheap by
depreciating the value of the goOds2 II
so, he lied. There are just as many false
hoods before the counter as there are be
hind the counter
a man unrolls upon the counter a bale
of handkerchiefs. The customer says:
Are these all silk?" yes" NO cot
ton in them NO cotton in them"
Are those .handkerchiefs all silk? Then
the merchant told the truth. Is there any
cotton in them? Then he lied. Moreover,
he defrauds himself, for this custom
er coming in viii after while find out
that he has been defrauded and the next
time he comes to town and goes shop
ping, he viii look up at that sign and say:
NO I won't go there; that's the place
where I got those handkerchiefs." First.
the merchant insulted God, and secondly,
he picked his own pocket
Who would take the responsibility Of
saying how many falsehoods were yester-
day told by hardware men. and clothiers
and lumbermen, and tobacconists, and
jewelers. and importers. and shippers,
and dealers in furniture and dealers in
coal and dealers in groceries? Lies
about buckles, about saddles, about har-
ness, about shoes. about hats. about coats,
about shovels, about tongs, about forks,
about chairs, about sofas. about horses,
about lands. about everything. I arraign
commercial falsehOod as one of the cry
ing sins Of our time.
l pass on to speak Of the mechanical
falsehoods. Among the artisans are those
upon whom we are dependent for the
houses in which we live, the garments we
wear, the cars in which we ride. The vast
majority Of them are, so far as 1 know
them, men who speak the truth and they
are upright and many of them are fore
most in great philanthorpies and in
churches; but that they all do not belong
to that class every one knows III times
when there is a great demand for labor, it
IS not so easy for such men to keep their
obligations, because they may miscalcu-
late in regard to the weather or they may
not be able to get the help they anticipat-
ed IN their enterprise. l am speaking now
Of those who promise to do that which
they know they will not be able to do.
They say they will come on Monday; they
do not come until Wednesday. They say
they viii come on Wednesday; they do not
come until Saturday. They say they will
have the job done in ten DAYS; they do not
get it done before thirty. And when a man
becomes irritated and win not stand 1t
any longer, then they go and work for him
day or two and keep the job along: and
then some one else gets irritated, and out
ragged, and they go and work for that man
and get him pacified, and then they go
somewhere else I believe they call that
nursing the jobp'
All, my friends, how much dishonor such
men would save their souls if they would
promise to do only that which they know
they can do "Oh," they say. dts of no
Importance; everybody expects to be de-
ceived and disappointed" There is a voice
OF thunder sounding among the saws and
the hammers, and the shears saying; "All
liars shall have their place in the lake that
burns with fire and birthstone"
pass on to speak of social lies. How
much of society is insincere2 You hardly
know what to believe. They send their
regards; you do not exactly know whether
1t is an expression of the heart, or an ex-
ternal civility. They ask you to come to
their house; you hardly know whether
they really want you to come. We are all
accustomed to take a discount off what
we hear. Not al home" very often means
too lazy to dress. was reading of a lady
who said she had told her last fashionable
lie, There was knock at her door and
she sent word down. Not at home" That
night her husband said to her: Mrs So
and-So is dead" us 1t possibler' she
said. Yes, and she died in great anguish
of mind; she wanted to see you so very
much; she had something very important
to disclose to you in her last hour, and
she sent three times to-day, but found
you absent every time" Then this wo-
man bethought herself that she had had
a bargain with her neighbor that when
the long-protracted sickness was about to
come to an end, she would appear at her
bedside and take the secret that was to
be disclosed. And she had said she was
mot at home"
Social life is struck through with insn-
certify. They apologize for the fact that
the furnace Is out; they have not had any
fire in 1t all winter They apologize for
the fare on their table; they never live
| any better. They decry their most luxu-
RANT entertainment to win a shower OF
approval from you. They point at q pic
ture on the wall as a work of one of the
old masters. They say it is an heirloom
in the family. 1t hung on the wall of a
castle. A duke gave it to their grand
| father! People that will lie about nothing
| else will lie about a picture. On small IN
| come we want the world TO believe we are
| affiuent, and society to-day Is struck
| through with cheat ard counterfeit and
| sham. How few people are natural Frg-
| idity sails around iceberg grinding against
| iceberg. You must not laugh outright;
| that is vulgar. You must smile. You
| must not dash quickly across the room;
| that is vulgar You must glide Much of
| society is a round of bows and grins and
! grlmaces and obs and abs and he he,
! he's and simperings and Mandy pambyism,
! a whole world of which is not worth one
| good honest round of laughter. From such
| a hollow scene the tortured guest retires
| at the close of the evening assuring the
host that he has enjoyed himself. Society
is become so contorted and deformed in
! this respect that a mountain cabin where
the rustics gather at a quilting or an APP
al, has n hal n