The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-07-30
AFTER THE TI,ADEsMEN WHO


"Ye shall not steal, neither deal
falsely, neither lie one to another
Thou shalt not defraud thy neigh
Dor. neither rob him.
Just balances, just weights, Il just
ephah. and a just hin, shall We have"
That was the law a very long time
ago when a false balance was abomi-
mated to the Lord: but, of course, in
the development Of our higher civili-
cation, we have outgrown it, 1T being
held now In some quarters that 1t is
perfectly legitimate to cheat so long
as the persons cheated do not find
1T out. The Commissioner of Weights
and Measures in New York has been
making himself quite unpopular with
certain class of tradesmen in that
town by requiring them to give full
measure.
According to the New York
World, vigorous protest has
been made against this inter-
ference on the ground that 1t is
trade custom" to use short barrels:
would cause great Inconvenience" to
throw away old barrels and get new
ones; would cause potato growers to
stop shipping potatoes to New York:
would interfere with trade at this the
busiest season of the year, and by
forcing the seller to give full weight
TO the buyer, would interfere with In
terstate Commerce. There Is some
al,
cry of the people who plead their ras-
cality as defence for their rascality.
they have been stealing for years, and
now that they have been caught at it
and confess 1t, they insist that they
shall be permitted to keep it up until
they have worked UP all their stock
OF stealing machinery. The World
INDUCES in this very severe sarcasm:
4 Some day shrewd counsel for an
enterprising burglar will plead that
to discourage burglary would be very
unwise. because first, burglary has
! become an established institution and
many innocent citizens employed as
| policemen, prosecuting officers and
judges. not to mention those engaged
| in the business of burglary insurance,
| would be thrown out of employment
If II did not exist; second, as burglary
has become established it would be
unfair to enforce the law too strictly
some delay should be accorded to
the secondstor man who has served
a long apprenticeship to his trade and
has invested considerable capital in
jimmies and other tools: third, 1t is
ioften necessary for the burglar to
ira al n a N
Interference with interstate commerce;
dles-the burglar, being man OF
nerve and sinew. should be cncour-
aged: fifth, statutes against burglary
are paternal Legislation pure and sim
pie, thus transgressing the elementary
4 principle that individuaiism should be
fostered; SIXTH every man has right
to make living
Why not? IF a commission merchant
who steals should be excused be-
cause he is overstocked with short
barrels and light weights. and not
only excused, but authorized to go on
with his stealing. why should not a
burglar be justified in prosecuting his
business of cracking safes and forcing
doors and climbing porches because he
has laid in a supply of jimmes and
combinations of one sort and another
that will enable him to make liv-
ing? Our sympathies are with the
burglars rather than with the higher
class thieves who have been robbing
the poor all these years with their
trade customs"