The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1900-01-12
t TIPS AdSsIEl.REtlIlQlUiSd]E EVIL
eFfoRTs2M1 kNGEEHD 70 XsoL.
Observation-Disclosures.
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All Branches Of Trade and the Lear

All Branches Of Trade and the Learn.
II! ed Professions as Wall Reported, to
1 i5l4 lHdays Bean sssndaIIzsd nv ReSsla.
10 s fIISonsTA fc4 ntclsrabs ItdiIistISn!35'T
Evidence multiplies daily Of tie
seriousness of the evil which it is now
sought todconibatr byglegtslItion in the
sht9Stpe offpa hiA, penalizing the giving
or accepting of secret commissions.
I9Not only all IbtAnthes i6f Itrade, But the
lsaFnedt professionals wdllI ha7 Sbeen
bscandalizedIbH the revelations If the
9past feyidays. Z lit dsI shoNevarg onafof
! thpse evils (which yase based upon d.
fective moral sense and are so q ur-
oixsrsal that the, difficulties Of coping
VIII With then thep By legislation are, almost
'fnshperabie. LORD Russell 81 Kflio-
|9&efl,i has introduced III the9H6ds9 Ut
9Iioqds his bilEnakihs it d Ic9iminal Of
tense to give or receive secret con-
missions, rs The. offense is, classed as q
deameahor,, With a. maximum pun
fshmeht Of Two years at 1haff Labor.
hTheG most interesting npart !ofb Lord
Russell's speech! was; that devoted to
recalling the various shifts resorted
to in covering secret commissions
which he had met in, his experience as
commercial lawyer and judge.
number Of witnesses drew atten-
D Jtiondto 9theGprewalenoe of bribery in
the. case Off buyers foFl large houses
and cooperative icompanies;, also in
= the calico trade, the Publishing trade
70 and the printing tradei iLofd Russell
said he had a lettep from the repre-
sentative of a large. firm, off dealers
In ink, color and Varnishes, who, said
that the .mahagers Of a certain news.
p paper in the provinces allowed their
maehineRoyerse6E to, order inks with
the result that yhis firm had to pay this
man IS per drum so as to. get the
/ orders When the price fell so as to
Is make that commission TOD heavy the
overseeri suggested THAI they 9should
send smaller drums. as the drums
were not weighed :, on delivery An
other Machine 64erseer,3 VITO was
I leaving one place to- go to- anotherj de-
manded e2 from his firm, otherwise
he would pot recommend 2 q q their ts4 inks at
his new place. ,n Ia1eJa ad+ "a
In another case Q foreman levied a
commission of one penny a POUND or
about rs per ceHtg-eR the ink supplied
by the firm. From this man COM
munication was received to the effect
that he, tWouldg not be able to use as
/, much ink as formerly, because a, gas
engine had been put in In place of a
4 boiler; and there was no furnace in
which Ines could get rid Of the link
The writer Of, this, letter added that
|, the, acceptance of ink or machinery
depended, except in cases where men
looked after their own business, not
, upon; the excellence of the things nor
|, their price, but upon the amount of
the brides that We're given, He had
\ fl his 'possessiofl9 original demands
from overseerse for Christmas boxes
which, were to be sent tothen private
+ ly,, and lin some Of these cases sums
amounting to a25 had been paid
/ The report also stated that the prac-
ice prevailed in the brewing trade
!, lbrihesg being given to buffers, major
J Id9omos, ee9ae hmqep, gamerAkeePpssrsS lia RPd
even 1g'i gardeners rSa obi 9,eIn lid,
A case had come before the courts
In which a company had been form
ed fol- Gle sale, In part. Of Some kind
lUfcimsdieated, wine in which lit was
4 shoYa that found ers' shares were dis
tributed among doctors upon the
terms that the doctors were to puff
9rhe wines. 15ilJH uoiio1tH3 .1N /
10 Lord nRussell qioted frota fthe last
report of the committee gofRthel Lon
don Chamber of Commerce appointed
tto inquire as to the extent of, secret
,rin mi cd
y 1t proved that engineers received fees
cior payments lfrom builders It WIS al
so proved that chemists paid doctors
on the prices charged for medicine
supplied by prescriptions to patients;
} that doctors handed to the Borrowing
widow Iani fundertaker,s card and re-
3 ceiyed q percentage Of 10 to 20 per
cent. on the funeral charges; though
he should bes sorry to believe that
these practices II were, general among
Il medical men,T ola nj bl9d sGW
Then the report went9on ITO giw61il.
Illustrations 1gelating & .tog the. cutlery
{, trade, in which it was stated this mis-
chfevous practice Had done a great
deal of harm. = The system of 1evyfnR
iblackmail went right through some
houses to, the boy who took oint the
manufacturers card to the buyer and
ciyility and attention had to be paid
for by the unfortunate traveller. ! HOne
witness said 9he 0had4 lost scerhs of
orders through 1refnsing, to ,bribe,i6
It can not be said that the prospects
of Lord Russells bills passing this
5 session OF next are particularly bright.
n a. han Al rr,fyA
al previous bill collapsed because at
appeared that a gentleman who jgaYe
a porter a sixpence on railway plat
form rendered himself liable to two
yearsi Ja5npriso mentiO 1T was a secret
commission, because it was, brihe to-
the q cofhpahyfs servant to lido some
S thing for a. third PARTY. II RossihlY an
)CRct may bring the more Asgrant cases
/, inside the criminal law. and the whole
system, be discouraged by publicity, as
1T Is III the secrecy chat the vice lies.
)GBMrsu CNioturia WOodhull Martini as
an American woman long resident in
England, gives her, experience, OF, the
effect Of secret commissions on, do
nestle iaITahg enents. u she mentions
the case of la woman whooha6 reason
ito DE dissatisfied with ejher lqhef,Iapd
engaged q, country girl for the lost.
For, Some Weeks after the girl Was
. MISTRESS III dthe B4tGAehI The aEe5dnt
,lbouks kept iai.reasdnahle level ii Then
they gradually 9inereRHed 0 pntil9 the
S SgBf fSl { hS5sef oS%BslSS e
; Agdfes. D The gill Burst iHto) eeRrB and
itoad lhbrI STORY Iof 1hoY tthHI butchers
9boN and the grqceris boy and all the
4 tradAsmenS boys, one after another
made # plain that somethidg terrible