Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1899-08-09
COMMERCIAL DISHONESTY.

Moralists who have studied the
paths chosen by national decline have
OF late years called attention to the
disturbed sense of values that poll
tics and enterprise have created. We
are 90 in the habit of associsting NOR
nj delinquency in the community
with violence and passion, and rest
ing in the conviction that the police
court will hold it in check that we
have overlooked the subtle demoral-.
ization Of the public in legislation
and trade. Dishonesty is no longer
a Captain Kidd, and even if it we're it
would not be half as dangerous as a
Talleyrand. 1t both redeoms and
dieguises itself with smartness. It
cannot take your individual spoons
without running the risk OF police
man, but it can take your communal
rights and get diploma for doing it.
1t no longer sells you wooden nut
mege, but it puts plated spoons in
your package Of coffee and achieves
the brilliant success Of making you
drink chicory IN hopes of a prize.
The astounding fact has come to
light that man who acts conscien-
tlously and almost piously with re-
gard to his neighbor will act like
a thief with regard to his party and
not know it. He would rather die than
rob the widow or the orphan directly
but he will NOW down whole ranks of
them legislatively and not ruffle q
feather Of his conscience. Not long
ago the London chamber of CON-
merce in a sudden ethical mood open
ed an inquiry into the payment of
secret commissions for corrupt pur-
poses in the course Of trade. The re-
suit of tho investigation rather as
founded the committee of old gentle
men who conducted it. They we're
amazed at the moral code that gov
erned to great extent the Compel
tive commercial men. Enterprising
bribery turned up in all directions
wearing a SNUG and innocent face.
1t was found that druggists paid &C.
cret commissions to physicians on
their prescriptions, amounting in
some cases from % to so per cent of
the price paid by the consumer. It
was found that architects engineers,
contractors and bosses expected and
generally got fee from the builders
and investors and workers in addi-
ton to their professional fees. It was
found that in the one case of lubri
eating oils used on the railroads the
trainmen were bribed to declare that
one kind Of oil was full of grit and
worthless. 1t was found that the
bishop who represented morality in
an institutional way, winked at dis
honesty i'll commercial way by let
ting his butler receive all kinds of
considerations from tradesmen whose
gouds he admitted into the bishops
palace. With this astounding view
before the eye one sees that there is
only one way out Of the mess, and it
Is not a new way but very old way
and consists of nothing moro than a
re-establishment of the ancient sense
OF rectitude and fair dealing in every
pursuit OF life and which insists that
a man shall be just as honorable in
the market place as in the family
circle. After all, Emerson put his
finger on the remedy when he said in
effect: every man takes care that
his brother does not rob him. But
there comes time when he takes
care that he does not rob his brother.
Then all goes well. He has turned
his apple cart into chariot of the