Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1903-09-03

on my nanuS. l would get rid OF ii II | |
could. Put 1t down, say, for $1,000"
The assessor departs. About six months
later a railroad corporation wishes to
have the right of way through your
property. The representative Of that
road comes to you. How much is
your property WORTH oh you an
swer, II do not want to sell under any
conditions. This is the finest farm
land in all this region. Besides, the
place has for me sentimental as well
as an intrinsic value. My father was
born here. My children were born
here. Well, If I must, I must. That
farm and that old homestead are worth
Mt least $4,000. They are cheap at
that" There are your two answers.
Why the discrepanciesl why did you
make one statement to the assessor
and another to the railroad corpora
ton? Did you lie first? Did you lie
last? Did you lie both times:
God Abhors Lying.
Fire insurance adjusters meet with
the same kind Of lying. The man who
has solemnly declared to the county
commissioners that his personal hold
ings are Of little value discovers after
they have been burned that they were
worth a fortune and demands that the
fire insurance company compensate
him on that basis. False estimates and
fraudulent Misrepresentation, whether
made In the assessors office or TO fire
insurance adjuster or by the merchant
to the customer or the customer to the
merchant, all belong to the same cate
CORY. They are lies They are the ut
terances of false tongues. and God
has recorded his adherence and his
condemnation of all intentional verbal
Misrepresentation. Whether behind
store counter or over church pulpit let
your answers be yea, yea, and nay,
nay" A lie is just as black and fatal
tossed as a shuttlecock between the
two battledoors of buyer and seller as
! though it were the dcathknell Of an
Aranias and a Sapphira falling at the
feet of an apostolic denunciatOr.
Falsehoods in the political world:
Oh, how many! Like the seventeen
year locusts, they never entirely depart
from a region. They, however, swarm
most at certain seasons of the year.
They are especially numerous and
virulent at a municipal or state or
presidential election. The ballot box
is their footstool. \ national convcn-
ton to nominate a president is their
glorification. Political falSehood will
take the record of the purest and best
| IN hnt nd oh
lutely bedaub it over with scandals
and false accusations. They lied about
Washington and jefferson and John
Quincy Adams and Lincoln and Hayes
and Garfield and Mckinley. But,
though the concocters and utterers of
political falsehoods may never tire of
Safeguarding and misrepresenting our
public men, the acme of meanness Is
only reached when, without just cause,
they drag into the political mire the
wives and the children Of the men
whom they would indirectly attack. In
this generation the family Of any pub
lie man is never able, like Caesars
wife, to live above suspicion. All, then,
| wonder not that some Of our public
men become bitter and lose their faith
in mankind. 1 wonder not that many
a public man is tempted to carry his
political hatreds down to the grave
When Andrew Jackson was a very old
man he wished 10 join the church and
be baptized at her affairs. When he ap-
peared before the church officers the
minister asked him this question, Gen
cral, before you come into our fellow
ship will you forgive all your political
enemies as you would have Christ for
give your" Yes" answered Jackson
What. An?" The old ex-president
thought a moment Then the aged
conqueror who once defended New Or
. leans raised his head, and. with flash
ing eye and scornful lip, replied, Yes
all except the merciless scoundrels who
have lied about my dead wife Coo
pity the honest man who in public life
IL having his heart gashed open by tht
attacks made upon the characters Of
his loved ones. Truly, then, ms at tn,
cross an ungrateful people are Offering
him a crown of thorns instead of ,
, crown of treasured gold.
, Untruth Is COward1y.
A lie is a lie, against whomsoeve
told. A lie is especially cowardly whel
it is told against public men. especiall
cowardly because for the most part tn
victims must writhe and twist unde
the insinuating and poisonous attac
and suffer In silence. The nature of
2 lie is not changed by Harvesting 1T to
t qualifying adjective, nor is politica
/. lie less heinous than other lies. A II
! told to besmrch political candidat
= or to benefit political party is an OF
? fense in the sight of God which wi
g have TO be accounted for in the day q
\ ;f.tL, Snent "All liars"-there are n
e exceptions TO this rule--"all liars sha
e have their part in the lake which burr
a eth with fire and birthstone, which
= the second DEATH
) Falsehoods In the social worlt
: Why? Because, ms David in his hast
grossly declared, IAN men are liars
Oh. no. Because most people would II
!; tentionally and deliberately rob an IL
u nocent man of his character rs a snea
y thief might snatch a woman's poke
: book and run? Oh, no; but bocaus
:, most people would rather hear III {
y their neighbors than good. Therefor
neighbor 1t travels on with seve
', league boots, and instead of havin
" one emissary IL gradually enlists TEL