Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-07-17

| rknt ana bulidose him intn sanity. bu,
we schems doesn't appear 70 have beer
SUCCESSFUL Mr.. Jones accompanied ths
sp'ri,aaist when he went TO see tbs
iuhauo, and introduced himself under 4
name dinersnt from his own--shat IL "a
say ne USED bis middle name, instead OF
MS surname. This was done 10 reassur-
the prisoner and ultimately 10 convinc,
MN o. Mr.. Jones's harmlessness. The
oemsnted man failed 10 recognize the
evangelist, although he hourly imagined
suing him. '''
al ihIe. however, Is more or less irrsle-
want, The real question at issue. which
mas been raised by newspaper men and
others Is whether the evangelist was
Justlned IN telling falsehood-to wit. in
"Siouucing himself TO the lunatic Under
false name.
a good many fin-de-seicle George WASH
.ns'ous nave expressed themselves on
understand how the question can for a
moment be regarded rs debatable. II ia
presumed, however. that the gist of the
Whoie matter is the question: us living
ever pardonableY'
prantng that this peculiar instance Of
prsVsricstion would come within the cate
sofy OF lying. / cannot see what harm
mas been done. Mr.. Jones concealed the
ruin Tor the best of reasons, and then.
NO. IL must have been a relief to him to
ENJOY, even for a few moments. the use
~ apotner name, which wasn't quite as
battered and shopworn as the good ella
appehation TO which he responds. A man
VINO imagines. whether sanely or insanely,
mat Mr. Jones Is down on him, may
wen nave occasion TO be uneasy, These
1oheses are bad people, and when they
stand together they can carry every
voting precinct In the United States. i
WOULDN'T be surprised. either. II they
dldnt have few black-sheep relatives 10
Cuoa, who have been trying to wool
our foIk on barb-wire fences.
but even supposing Mr.. Sam Jones
hadn't been named Jones' / don't perceive
where he did any harm in fooling that
mnauc with different name In the
nrst place, If the man was crazy, the truth
would have been wasted on him, and in
the second place. II he had been sane,
ne would have enjoyed being fooled.
Everybody wants to be bluffed nowadays,
and the bigger the bluff the better salts
fed the victim.
And then. again. there are so many diff
ferent kinds of lies There are white lies
and black lies, and lies with an awful
word before them, They vary in degrees
OF wickedness, hut the worst lie of all is
the one in which you get caught.
Remember that Mr.. Jones did not get
caught. That is point in his favor
which has hitherto escaped observation
So. TO briefly sum up the arguments In
hts behalf, and 70 defend the clergy from
an tmputation upon one of its most prom
inent members. l submit the following
brief: Oh Any man named Jones Is justi-
fled in occasionally lodging the RESPONSE
bility OF answering 10 this shop-worn vo-
catiVe; p TO lie TO a crazy man, who
don't know good thing q. e., the TRUTH
when no hears II is to avoid casting pearls
before swine: CD to prevaricate when you
can do good is to give the strongest posi-
BILE endorsement to mendacity; 90 10 use
your middle name for your surname Is
mathematically speaking but the third of
a lie at the worst; (5) simply to tell one
lie when you've got a chance to run IN
several is TO exhibit the fortitude of an
old-time martyr; 60 TO have a record
which is so good that one lie against II
will attract attention Is to be one man
picked out of 100c0; % TO lie and not get
caught is better than clean record for
truth--it shows more ingenuity.
In tender consideration whereof l sub
nit that Mr.. Jones is absolutely exoner-
ated. and that this investigation proclaims
to the world his utter incapacity 10 ever
become an efficient lawyer. journalist,
warrior, fisherman, or everyday citizen.
THE IDLE REPORTER.