Connecticut western news., 1897-10-28


 sold yard of cloth or firkin of butter, have maintained their integrity. They were born honest, they will live honest and they will die honest, but you and l know that there are in commercial life those who are guilty of great dishon- esties of speech. A merchant 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 the truth. Is he getting more? Then he lies. A merchant says, II paid $25 for this article. Is that the price he paid for it? All right But suppose he paid for it $2S instead of $25? Then he lies.
 But there are just as many falsehoods before the counter as there are behind the counter A customer comes in and asks, "How much is this article?" "It is $5." "I can get that for $4 some- where else" Can he get it for $4 some- where else, or did he say that just for the purpose of getting it cheap by de- preciating the value of the goods? If so he lied There are just as many false hoods before the counter as there are behind the counter
 A man unrolls upon the counter a bale of handkerchiefs. The customer says, "Are these all silk?' "Yes !" "No cotton 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 customer coming in will after awhile find out that he has been defrauded, and the next time he comes to town and goes shopping he will look up at that sign and say: "No, 1 won't go there. That's the place where I got those handkerchiefs. First, the mer- chant insulted God, and, secondly, he picked his own pocket.
 Who would take the responsibility of saying how many falsehoods were yesterday told by hardware men and clothiers and lumbermen and tobacco nists and jewellers and importers and shippers and dealers in furniture and dealers in coal and dealers in groceries? Lies about buckles, about saddles, about harness, about shoes, about hats, about coats, about shoyels, about tongs, about forks, about chairs, about sofas, about horses, about lands, about everything arraign commercial falsehood as one of the crying sins of our time.
 The Lying Mechanic.
 pass on to speak of mechanical falsehooda Among the artisans are those upon whom we are dependent for the houses in which we live, the gar ments we wear, the cars in which we ride The vast majority of them are, so far as I know them, men who speak the truth, and they are upright, and many of them are foremost in great philan- thropies and in churches, but that they all do not belong to that class every one knows In times when there is great demand for labor it is not so easy for such men to keep their obligations, be- cause they may miscalculate in regard to the weather. or they may not be able to get the help they anticipated in their enterprise. 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 will come on Wednesday; they do not come until Saturday. They say they will have the job done in 10 days;, they do not get it done before 80 And when a man becomes irritated and will not stand it 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 outraged and they go and work for that man and get him pacifed, and then they go somewhere else. I believe they call that nursing the job.
 An. 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. tits of no importance; everybody expects to be deceived and disappoint- ed" There is voice of thunder sound ing 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
 The Society Lie.
 1 pass on to speak of social lies How much of society is insincere? You hard ly know what to believe. They send their regards. You do not exactly know whether it is an expression of the heart or an external 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 dis count of what we hear. Not at home" very often means too lazy to dress 1 was reading of lady who said she had told her last fashionable lie There was 8 knock at her door and she sent word down. Mot at home '' That night her husband said to her, "Mrs. So-and- so is dead " ''Is it possible?" she said. "Yes, and she died in great anguish of mind She wanted to see you so very much. She had something very impor- tant to disclose to you in her last hour, and she sent three times today, but found you absent every time" Then this woman bethought herself that she had had 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 se- cret that was to be disclosed And she had said she was mot at home."
 Social life is struck through with insincerity They apologize for the fact that the furnace is out; they have not had any fire in it all winter They apol- ogize for the fare on their table; they never live any better. Theyhdecry their most luxuriant entertainment to win a shower of approval from you They point at a picture on the wall as a work of one of the old masters. They say it is an heirloom in the family It hung on the wall of castle. A duke gave it to their grandfatherl People that will lie about nothing else will lie about picture. On small income we want the world to believe we are affiu- ent, and society today is struck through with cheat and counterfeit and sham
 How few people are naturali Frigid- ity sails around, iceberg grinding against iceberg. You mst not laugh outright; that is vulgar. You must gmila You must pot dash uuicklu