Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1910-01-13
Defaulter. the Worst of Criminals.

trust fund shipwrecked by officers
directors and clerks, millions of cash
and securities stolen, depositors strip.
ped, stockholders ruined, estates rifed,
widows and orphans defralded, hard
laboring men and women robbed OF
their earnings, are such common oc-
currences that the daily chronicles
no longer sgartle us. What does ii
all mean? Are we the most dishonest
people on the face of the earth? Is
our society hopelessly corrupt ? Is
there to be no end of such disclosures
of dishonor? These awful financial
crimes land what crimes are worse,
save possibly murder and treason y
force upon society the consideration of
the most serious questions.
81 do not believe that every man
has his price There are in the world
of business many more honest men
than rogues, and for one trust that is
betrayed, there are hundreds that are
most sacredly kept. How are default
ers made ?
ITO begin with, there is the romance
of fraud. The most skilled in swallow
ing trust funds and moneyed institu-
tons are looked upon as heroes and our
young men are dazzled by their bril-
liant exploits. Steal loaf of bread
and you go to Jail, but swallow trust
funds, loot the widow and orphan, and
you will astonish the world with your
magnificent entertainments. Steal a
dollar and the world will kick YOU take
a million and the world will feel hon
ored by being kicked by you.
Felony is felony, whether commit
ted by a bank official or a bank burg
lar. 1t is high time that we look
upon embezzlements, Irregularities,
defalcations, and short accounts as
high treason against public property
and public morality, and society should
demand a speedy and effective execu-
ton Of justice The prevailing spirit
of extravaganza is making more de-
faulters than any one thing and is one
of the greatest moral evils with which
this nation is afflicted.
"a moderate desire for money is
valuable incentive to industry. Wealth
is not an evil 1t is a powerful in
strument for procuring enjoyment and
for doing good. If there were no
desire for wealth, there would be no
need for it. 1t would soon cease to
exist and society would go back to a
state of actual barbarism. The bible
warns us that, the love of money is
the root of all evil, but it also says
that money answereth all things. 1t
would not assure rs that the blessings
of the Lord maketh rich if riches were
curse. If money comes to you hon
orably and goes from you usefully, it
is one of the greatest blessings you can
possess.
"Defaulting clerks have invested
thousands of dollars not their own in
brokers' offices and have never been
met With word of inquiry or request
as to identity. Let this direct invi-
tation to crime be done away with.
Make every broker responsible for his
dealings; make him liable for all losses
if he negotiates deals with the ire
sponsibles.
In your race for riches you may
practice secret frauds and imagine the
only harm is in being found out. You
may cover up your transgression, but
the fraud is there just the same How
about that wicked scheme you have
now on foot?
"Keep your private accounts sep
arate from your account as trustee
of an estate or an institution. Never
use the property of others except for
their advantage and never without
their knowledge and consent. Re-
member that whether president of
some great corporation, carrying on a
course of trickery and fraud, or en-
gagged only in private transactions,
where false weight and false measures,
deception and shoddy, abound, you are
sailing in a ship like that tabled one
of old, which ever comes nearer and
nearer to magnetic mountain that
would at last draw every nail out of it. "