The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-12-17

be easy enough to shop If we had plen
ty of money but we haven't, and the
clothing must be bought, and how to
buy it is the question. Well, | will try
again tomorrow and see what | can
do" Then your father said: Too bad,
Mary; too bad. | hate TO see you look
so tired. But perhaps when we pay off
the mortgage you will have a little
money to spend, and then you can hire
a girl for the kitchen and for the
securing" Do you not remember such
a discussion in the old home? Well,
there are thousands and tens of thou
sands of homes in the city like your
fathers home. There are plenty of
babies in those homes and but little
money to provide for them. Buying
for such families is no joke. The eX-
penses must be cut down, and that is
one reason the bargain counters have
the struggling multitudes about them.
The Bargain co., :. @son.
But the bargain colnte, !>aches US
another lesson. Though most people
are having hard time financially,
there are a great number who fatten
themselves upon the misfortunes of
others. These modern vandals or
ghouls Of the night are not producers
or developers. They are human beasts
Of prey whose business in life is to
find some victims in distress and then
to pounce upon them and make profit
out Of their misfortunes. They are
like the wreckers of old who used to
patrol the western coast Of England.
When a merchant ship was approach
ing the coast they would, with false
lights, decoy it upon the rocks. Then
they would gather up the wreckage
and take the plumber to their homes
and sell it. So from time immemorial
men have increased their own for
tunes by living upon the wreckages
and the shipwrecks of other lives. The
tragedy of our last national panic
proves that what 1 say is true.
During the financial stringency in
October there were certain men in
New York city who had ready money.
Some of these men began to run up
their premiums 20 and so and rs and
even 100 per cent In other words, in
order to borrow SO from you l would
have to give $50 in return. Because
these men had cornered the money
market they attempted to take from
their fellow men every dollar they
possessed These plunderers were fat
tening their purses upon the misfor-
tunes of their fellow men. And had
not the secretary of the treasury and
men like ]. p. Morgan and others Of
that ilk brought millions upon millions
Of dollars into Wall street this coun-
try would have seen the darkest days
in its financial history. Alas, Wall
street is no different from every other
street! In every country there are a
lot Of human vultures Like haunting
specters, they are lowering around
ready to banquet upon the carcasses of
the financially slain. AS soon as any
man gets into trouble they pounce up
on him and rip and tear him to little
pieces. Like the ghouls Of the night,
they live by desecrating the grave
yards. Like the robbers of stranded
ships, their incomes are derived from
the wreckages of their fellow men.
Be Just to Others.
Now. my brother, if you have a good
income and are not in abject want be
morally and spiritually honest. AS you
expect men to pay you just price for
your labor, you should be willing to
pay others a just price for their labor
Because a poor seamstress is unfortu-
nate and cannot get work do not give
her Is cents day for her services when
you ought to pay her $3.50. If you have
an Industrious boy in your employ who
Is doing the work Of a full grown man
do not pay him simply the wages Of
boy. Pay him the wages Of a man
Because you have a merchant in a
financial "hole'' do not squeeze the
life out Of him. Be honest. Be fair
Pay a Just price for all labor-that Is
pay as you expect others to pay you.
The tragedy Of the bargain counter
teaches us another great lesson. When
an article has to be sold below cost
the unseen sufferers are those who are
hurt the worst by the financial sacri
fee. The clerk who sells you the goods
over the counter may not be the suf
ferer Neither is the man who is al
the head Of the great dry goods EN-
| porium the one who ought to be the
most pitied. But the unseen sufferers
are the men and women whose names
you never know and whose faces yor
never saw. These are the people wht
should be commiserated.
A Civil War Tragedy.
The tragedy Of the bargain counter
| Is like the tragedy of the late civi
war. I have been over many of the
great battlefelds of our country. Per
haps you have also been to some Of
them. Then, like me, you have stood
before the plain white tombstones II
our national cemeteries and said
"Poor fellows! Poor fellows! Mos
Of these martyred soldiers were onl!
boys. Think of the long marches ant
the days of hunger and cold. Thinl
Of those soldiers falling in the awful
charges and the despair that must have