Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-07-21
LYING AND LIARS.

New York Tribune: The word "liars''
dropped like a spark into the inf1amma-
pie material of the professional Woman's
eaSue at It's last meeting, and it was like
a match falling into a barrel of tirecrack-
ers. Men usually assume that women
nave a right to be liars if they want to,
and do not expect them to object much
to being called so. but some women have
a notion that the term is uncomplimen-
tary. "A man cares more for his own rep
utation in this respect than for that of
mankind in general. A woman cares
more for the reputation of womankird
for truthfulness than for her own. Say
to a man, IAN men are liars and he
does not think the subjact worth talking
about. Say to him, You are a liar" and
he thinks that the time for talk has
passed and the time for action has ar
rived. On the contrary, almost any hon.
est woman will tell you that she is herself
a liar, but say to her, All women are
liars and she at once gets angry. Prob
ably the distinction is this: She is not
unwilling to have it known hat lying is
with her a personal trait, but she resents
the implication that she is a woman and
therefore necessarily a liar.
There is obviously enough dynamic
force in these propositions. ven after all
the years that have passed, since The
Two Orphans" dropped the same bomb
shell, to rend the Professional Woman's
league from pinnacle to foundation. But
the Professional Woman's league is most
itself when it is most rent a%sunder, and
it is not afraidit is lot afraid of any such
questions. So it discussed them, and if
it did nat get any conclusion it at least
got several statements on the subject.
none of them new and none final, but all
emphatic. Here are some of the sage de-
cisions reached, not necessarily by more
than one person each:
Men average up as many liars to the
billion as women do.
a liar need not be a malicious liar in
order to be a liar.
1t is unfortunate that the state of
business makes lying necessary, as it UNI
questionably does.
A lie is justifable only when it rescues
one on the brink of destruction. wide
''The Two Orphans.")
To be absolutely truthful one should
never lie. Of this is not an inspiration,
what do you call an inspirationD
There are some women and even men
who never lie. Cribs was the declaration
of a member who said that she was
something of a liar h~erself.)
A little lie may be eXcusable. but not a
big, deliberate lie, because it is sure to
be found out. and it doesn't pay. (This
is surely pure ethics run mad)
The percentage of liars in the human
race, male and female, is about 80. CThis
is an average of opinions eXpressedD
One of the members cited Mark Twain's
! maxim, ''When in doubt tell the TRUTH"
but nobody thought to cite another of
Mark Twain's maxims, Truth is the
most valuable thing we have: let lis
economic it," This is here quoted from
memory and is subject to slight error,
but it is correct in substance. 1t is suifi-
cient to neutraliZe Mark Twain as an au-
thority.
The noticeable thing about this dis
cussion to all true philosophers is the
scarcity of the light which it throws on
any subject at all. 1t is not a question
that a high school debating society would
get excited over. That is left to the Pro-
fessional Woman's league.
Once there was a clergyman who went
around delivering a lecture entitled, "AI
Men Are Liars" and he had printed on
his tickets, "All Men Are Liars. Admit
, one" This ticket was regarded as Of
fonsive, and that fact seems to sum up
the whole matter. You may say that all
people are liars, and everybody will agree
with you. and no harm is done. but you
must not be more explicit than that.
You mus! not say, "YOu are a liar" and
you must not even say, All women are
liars" If you want to say, Il am a liar"
! that is your own affair, and nobody will
be surprised to hear it.