Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1905-07-29


let your brains lie dormant? Because
some have been cobblers for twenty
years. are you still to be a cobbler
now! Are you mentally going to try
to do the work Of the present century
in the way our forefathers did things
and not by the present up to date
methods: Are you going to resist the
Announcements of the times In the way
some nearsighted Pennsylvania farm
ers did many years ago! / may not
be giving these facts exactly right,
but the story l am telling is substan-
tally true. One of the prominent rail-
roads Of the east was extending Its
lines toward Pittsburg. The railroad
officials wanted to run their iron rails
through certain township. The
farmers rose up in protest. They said:
IF we allow this railroad to be built
II will do all the hauling. Our farms
will be broken up. and our horses will
be useless. because then there will be
nothing left for them to carry to mar
ket." These farmers not only protest
ell thus, but i'm the state legislative
halls mt Harrisburg through their rep
resentative, they defeated that railroad
from running through their township.
The result was that that railroad
going into Pittsburg took another
course. The old farmers township is
now sidetracked. 1t is nothing but a
simple country town. On the other
hand. the valley through which that
railroad now runs is prosperous and
wealthy. Land has doubled and
trcblcd in value. There is an inevita-
BILE law of the survival of the fittest
in brains. How are you grasping your
opportunities? Are you trying to make
the world travel in stagecoaches and
canal boats when the shrieking
whistle of the Overland Limited is
calling its passengers to get aboard?
If you do not develop your brains.
then, by the law of man and the law
of God, to the wall you must go. ''The
survival of the fittest" is the mental
demonstration of life. Never let that
one truth out of your mind until you
have developed your intellect to its
highest possibilities.
But the fittest survive in the moral
the mental. The man who is honest
and true and noble will always, in the
long run, win over the man who is de
ceitful and dishonest. There is abso-
lutcly no doubt about ii. All other
things being equal, there Is a survival
In, I'm Mt
to hear some people talk you would
suppose that ii never pays to be hon
est or truthful in business life.
Sell where you can sell the dearest.
Buy where YOU can buy the cheapest.
Get all of the money out of the people
you can without landing In JAIL" Is
their motto. Look at =. T. Barnum's
success" they say. I'm one Of his
books the great Snowman says. The
American people love to be hum
buggcd'" Then he had the unlimited
impudence To write book entitled
1.-The Humbugs of the World In that
book he showed how he had humbugged
the American people. 'Oh. yes" they
say, lit never pays to be honest. The
man who can cheat and deceive and
lie and steal the most in business Is
the man who makes the greatest sue
cess in mercantile life" Is that your
opinion of mercantile life? Well, my
friend, want to tell YOU that YOU are
wrong. and wrong in toto. There is
survival of the fittest in the moral
world. AL other things being equal.
the man who is true and honest and
upright and just is the man who will
win in business life. and not the scoun-
drel.
Fair Dealing.
The merchant who is successful In
the true sense of the word is not the
man who cheats his customers, but the
man who will give his customers more
for their money than any one else will
give. A great merchant builds up his
business by winning the confidence and
selling them shoddy goods. The story
Is told that many years ago new
trader went out to live among the In
dams. No sooner had he landed and
opened his store than the Indian chief
came to him and bought some goods.
The chief said, Il pay YOU tomorrow"
The next day the Indian Vbief returned
with many members of his tribe. Then
he commenced to pay the trader for
his goods. He gave him one otter
skin, then another skin, then another
skin and then another skin until he
had given to him four skins. The
goods We're worth just about four
skins. Then the chief drew out beau
tiful otter skin and offered it also. He
offered this fifth skin to test the trad
er's honesty. Chief" said the trader,
II do not want that fifth skin. You
have paid me enough" The Indian
chief said: No. no. White man, take
this skin also" Again and again the
white trader refused. NO. chief" said
he. you have paid me enough. l do
not want any more" With that the
Indian chief gave a grunt of satisfac-
ton. He turned TO his warriors and
said: Come, trade with paleface. He
honest man." Then turning to the
white trader he said: "Palcface, sup
pose you take that last skin. Indian no