Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1908-08-29
CRIME OF THE
CLOCKS
Man VINO NaIssed o Train Freo0
HE Mind About q Com.
mon Nuisance.

!, Il am firmly convinced" said thu
J.. man who sat swabbing his face in the
! railroad station waiting room, hot ant
indignant because he had missed his
train. that the man maintaining in 9
, public place a clock that does not keeI
time ought to be found guilty of fe
lonious misdemeanor, II not Of some
thing worse. and punished. if that
were possible. with penalty in some
measure commensurate with his crime
Il am not sure that l would hang
him for the first offense-at least
would not make such a punishment
mandatory: l would leave something
to the discretion Of the judge and jury
but l would make the penalty cumu-
lative. For instance. ! would have the
law so read that after a man had been
found four times guilty OF this crime
he must be hanged or electrocuted
four times. with no escape and don't
know but what would both hang and
electrocute him.
! For l can conceive of no higher
crime than that of man who sets up
a clock in a public place and then fails
! to keep 1t going correctly.
Understand me clearly. ] do not
refer now to clocks in church steeples.
, on which I never rely; they may be
right and they may be wrong. Nom
inally they are supposed to be looked
after by the sexton. but really they
represent the congregation. a divided
responsibility: and on anything for
which the responsibility is divided you
can never rely. The church clock goes
its own sweet way through the week
with nobody to look after 1t, and so on
1t never rely.
Nor do permit myself to be misled
by tower clocks. which, like the church
clocks. may be right and may be
wrong. You might think that the
tower clocks would be looked after
scrupulously by those who owned
them, but up so high. so near the sky,
and though looked at daily by many,
they seem sometimes to be quite over
looked and forgotten by those whose
business it should be to keep constant
watch over them: and have learned
by experience not to rely on tower
clocks.
And I have long since ceased to
rely on clocks simply because they
had the word Regulator printed on
their face. l have known such clocks
that were model timekeepers, but put
ting that name on their face didn't |
make them so. Have we not all seen
one story shacks with sign up read
ing Grand Palace HOtel?' But that |
sign didn't make the shack palace /
any more than printing the word Reg !
ulator' on the face of a two-dollar
So have long since ceased to be mis-
lead by the word Regulator.
For that matter. may We not hnd IN |
jewelers. windows. where Of all places
YOU would expect to find clocks show
ing the ccrrect time. clocks that are
minutes of? never rely on clock
simply because see 1t In jewelers.
window.
Nor do I rely on the barber shop
clock. nor on any Of the many CLOCKS
tina. I find in many semtpublic places
and least of all do I rely on clocks
found in homes: for clocks are az vaTl-
ous and as irresponsible as men.
And now am coming to the real
point Of what want to say There Is
one sort Of clock set up IN puons
places upon which We should be able
70 RELY with absolute security. and that
IA the clock that is set up by ous,-
ness man In front Of his place OF ousl-
ness.
NOV there Is a clock that really
ought always to be kept IN perfect
order and keeping perfect time. For
does not this man place 1t there to At
tract attention to himself and his
goods for his own profit? Does he not
thereby expect to derive dement's from
the nublic. and should not the public
be able to rely upon receiving recip-
| rocal benefit from him? Does ne not
thereby substantially say that what he
has To cfYer Is good and worthy OF At
ten,,on. and Is II not reasonable TO
sunpose that he invites our confidence
IN his clock as we'll as his goods?
And would you not suppose that
the most commonplace considerations
OF selishness would prompt him 70
keen that clock always in perfect OF
der To coafrm and increase for his
own profit the confidence that he In.
x,,es, You'd think 20. wouldn't you
But how many clocks are so?
}. II infer from what you say" said TIE
t,.nouii man waiting for his train e
. vhom these remarks had been made
that you have trusted some public
efoek somewhere and 50 missed you
train"
your Inference is quite correct,
said the nc, and indignant man, ant
what I said to you IS to the penalties
y tia, I think ought to attach to 'hi'
crime Of failure TO keep public clock
; IN order IL only . brief. limited short
ahhrorsofna atlanu