Hattiesburg daily news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1907-1908, 1907-06-18
A NEW
RIP VAN WRINKLE


awoke in the Catskills. The only diff |
ference between the first and the last |
Van Wrinkle was that the first slept |
twenty years, the last forty. Walter
had gone to the mountains one summer
with party of young New York bank
clerks, had got separated from the 9TH
ers and had taken four decade nap.
Descending the mountain, he footed
| it to Catskill and was surprised to
come upon railway station. A train
was pulling out, and he jumped aboard.
The conductor ON collecting his fare
punched a printed slip and handed 1t
to him.
whats thisy' asked Van Wrinkle.
Excess fare"
"What'll do with it?'
| The conductor passed on without re-
ply, and a passenger explained that
the slip was a check on the conductor
to guard against his stealing the fare
| collected. Van Wrinkle looked at his
informant aghast.
"And the management makes spies
Of its conductors? And they submit
to such SYSTEM"
Conductors and passenge3 are both
the company's spies now"
Van Wrinkle gave a low whistle.
sis this want of trusting to individ-
ual honor confined to railroads.
by no means. No one is trusted ex-
cept the managers. and they are trying
to beat one another"
els there no standard of honor"
mo. Once a merchant who failed
felt disgraced; now merchants fail in
order to make money"
When Van Wrinkle reached New York
he went to the banking house where he
had been employed. 1t was now on
the ground floor of a thirty story sky
scraper. OF course he knew no one
there, or, rather, no one knew him.
So he wrote a note, to the president
Richard Trimble, who had been clerk
with him forty years before and on the
camping trip at which he had disap-
peared Van Wrinkle was shown into
the presidents private Office and re-
ceived with suspicion. Not daring t.
give the Rip Van Wrinkle story, he said
he had gone to see the world. BE
asked for position, and there being
vacancy in department where large
sums were handled he was appointed.
The salary was $500 year.
Eight hundred year for guarding
! Millions exclaimed Van Wrinkle.
"All that's changed, Walter We
don't need to rely on our employees
honesty now; we insure it,
: "Insdre it?'
+ 'syes A company for a premium
+ takes the risk"
"And do you mean, friend of my boy
hood, to insure meY'
LAS president of the bank l can't
q help doing so. It's rule made by the
S directors"
: "Then If | come In here to work fol
:, you am at liberty to beat the bank II
! cam
n Certainly"
do you refrain from beating 1t be
cause of your integrityg
: I'D be fool to beat it-illegally."
/ 81 see"
s "Sorry can't do any better for you
d Walter. You should have stuck (
business as / have instead of roamin.
all over the world"
LET me ask you one question, Dick
go ahead"
"Are you an honest manT'
81 Trimble put his lips to Van Wrinkle
t. ear and whispered: "Only in small
y, things, not in big ones; no petty lar
ID ceny for me. This is between me and
friend of nv bOyhOod"
n Its taken you years to learn to b
dishonest. I've learned it in one day
see it's become the fashion"
% "You might as well wear plug ha
lie made OF beaver as to be honest-tha
is, what we used to call honest"
81 see. When shall go to workr
/. Tomorrow. if you like"
to When Van Wrinkle appeared at th
h bank the next day he found phot'
!. grapher there. President Trlmble cam
- out of his private Office and said:
g "You'll have to be photographer
as Walter"
Vn "What for?"
&c "Oh, the rule is to have photograp
lis of all our employees. They're easi'
IS caught If they light out with the funt
!
nj of the bank"
- "a sort Of rogues' galleryY''
- ''It's for those who become rogue
a' Most concerns get their clerks togeth'
We occasionally and photograph them
lrs groups. Makes the boys feel their IL
portance, and the concern has the ga
nd lery. But we don't stoop to that. v
m take a picture of every employee b
fore he begins work"
rs there any more of this sort
thing to learnt"
hs Yes; one. You'll have two weel
vacation during the year--two vac
It'll tons Of one week each at six month
es, Interval"
lck Il don't want any vacation. ! lc
forty years by my last vacation"
DRtft Won must take yoJlr vacation.