Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1911-05-11
PAYS EVEN IN PIRATES.
Value Of PoIitene.. When on Robbery
Bent and in Ordinary Life.
From the New York Stun.

HiOAtA ~ 4NCW OAh sun.
a a general proposition" said Mr..
Blinkinton, Il should say that a pirate
could get away with 1t easy IL he would
observe good To be robbed
rudely is distressing to most people.
1T Is the familiar adding insult to in
jury. and that is something that al.
ways rankles.
1T has always seemed to me thai ff
ever l should nave taken up the piracy
game In any form l should go about it
with The greatest possible considera-
ton for the personal feelings of the,
people robbed, for people will stand
for almost anything as long as they
are decently treated: and so with po-,
lite treatment piracy is easy and prof.
liable at least for a long time.
1T Is not alone in piracy that good
count for profit; good man
ners give great dividends to the prac-.
titioner in thes pleasure that arises
from giving other people pleasure and.
sparing other people distress.
II don't find in my experience that.
any one sort Of people has a monopoly.
of good manner or hat any one sort is,
more han another guilty of i'll man.
ners. I should say that prosperity be-,
gets thoughtfulness. but thoughtless-I
ness is not necessarily i'll manners, and
1t may be harmless, unless 1t devel-I
ops into indifference, in which form it
may hurt us some.
Generally speaking, I don't fin my,
self any more likely to be disturbed
by arrogance on the part Of the rich
poor. which Is to say that l am as like
ly to meet i'll manners from one an
from the other. The man whom I en-
counter in an elevator car sitting
slowed u so that he occupies q
seat and a half and who declines ia
fortabfy ci-rcumstanced n weln
dressed or he may be poor and poorly
dressed. In either case the lack OF
courtesy might l-oceed from precise
" the same cause-from simple boor-,
ishness and natural ill-manneredness.
1T is fear that we may impose upon,
and. further. that the other fellow will
thfnk that In giving way we are
knuckling to him. that is responsible
for many and many an exhibition OF Ill
along the sidewalk on a rainy day car
rying an umbrella, while we are doing
the same. 1t would be an easy thing
for either OF .us to elevate his umbrella
a little so that it would clear the other
mans as we passed. or it would be-
easy for either of to tilt his UNI
brella a little. with the same result.
I'VE hesitate to do either for fear
the other man will think we are
%knuckling to him. And precisely the
what more acutely felt form. as to
turning out, as between two men
meeting in a path wide enough only
for one, beaten own in neW-fallen
snow.
Il used to M a man up in Tur-
ners Falls. Mass, who tried habttually
to practice good manners. and he has
old me that in rainy-day encounters
such as I have cited he invariably
raises his umbrella OF tits it, as in
variably to find the other man return
Ing his courtesy In manner correspond
Ing. He tells me hat when he meets
a man in a narrow snow path he al
ways steps out with one foot, so Riy-
ing h other nan half the path, and
he tells me that rarely does this cour-
tesy fail OF return In the manner Of
red-tha he has seen coming along
the path toward him bull-headed and
determined men who were evidently
bent on hogging the whole path. but
who. when they saw him do this.
stepped out with one foot themselves.
yielding to him what he conceded 10
them.
"And he tells me that it is his COM
mon experience that people treat him
as he treats them-that IL he shows
good manners to them they show good
to him. that good manner
bring good in return.
las I remarked at the outset, we
will stand to be pirated IL the person
is polite to US: but 1t is in the innu-
merable little encounters Of our daily
life. in our meetings here and there
with various people and over little,
things hat good manner count. In
these things they count for much.
Blessed be the man who first in
vented good manners: and thrice blest
Is he who makes it the code Of his
daily life
rN A. @-