The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1914-07-23
Liars

| am moved to speak 10 you on
this topic because l have had AM
experience. Not is not my 1rst
and without doubt, l shall have 9TH
ers. Some lies l have been able to-
understandable lies Of childhood, forI
instance. Some have been able TO-
forgive, a good many, in fact. Others
I have been able even to excuse
The author Of a lie sometimes sim
cerely believes himself justified in
lying.
But, in general, a lie Is q aetest'
able thing and you cant feel quite
the same toward a person after he's
told you a lie as you did oefore. A
lie. Then how can you feel otter
he has told two and three and half
n dozen? When he has finally and
fatally branded himself with his own
tongue-a liar? Shall we look upon
him with that contempt, disgust and
dislike which is our first and natur'
al impulse? Or shall we regard him
with humanitarian compassion, As
being deficient In moral attribute!
confess that my instructive feel
ing toward liar is the same DIS that
l should experience in the presence
of a being infested with sores, dit
and vermin. No matter how fair
the face may be or how attractive the
outward appearance, If the eyes lock
ont at you with the defiant stare or
bringing shift of the liar. the air Is
full of the shrieks and lamentations
of the leper. "un!cean. unclean. 1
could no more caress or approach in
t,mately a person who habitually lies
and deceiyes than could one upon
whom the evidence of filth were man
ifest.
And a lie Is such a useless thing.
What good does 1t do one to lie
ever? Out Of every thousand lies
told. nine hundred and ninety'nine
are found out and the one thousaadth
is suspected. A lie stamps itself on
the face and in the manner OF the
teller. Besides there are SO many
tongues wagging all at once and some
of them are sure to wag things az
thew are. And truth is like Ivory
Soap. II floats. It's sure to come 10
the top. You can't keep it down.
There are various kinds Of liars.
Mark Twain says there are eight
hundred and slxty.nine different va
rieties. There's the hatterer liar
the person who thinks he gets in"
by pouring honeyed lies into your
ear. OF course there are varying
shades Of this kind of lie, all the way
from telling you that your eyes are
a heavenly blue when you know they
are the color of slate, to hysterical
rapture over your spring verse only
to poke fun at It behind your back.
The fiatterer does not consider him
self \ liar and would probably bristle
up like turkey cock II you called
him one. And he Is not necessar
lily q coward, though most liars are
in pinch he might rise to the occa
sion and stop a runaway horse OF
save child from the wheels Of
street car, even at the risk OF his
own life. He simply likes to fatte'
people-make them feel good. At thu
outset he seems to gain by It; geti
invitations, cordiality. Sooner or la
ter. however. We are "onto him." W.
know he does not mean what he say
and we take It for what 1t is worth
We look upon him first tolerantly
then contemptuously, and afterwart
We drop him. He has no sincerity
nothing to fasten to. You can no
build an abiding relationship with al
insincere or deceitful person, Ant
the flatterer is insincere. He aim
to deceive. He lies.
Politeness often borders on lying
We hate to speak truth which Il
going to wound, and so, trying to b'
polite-we lie, Lies of this class VIC
men tell when they say to your face
I'm so glad you came" and behin'
your back, Good Lord, hope sh
won't come again" Polite lies ar
one OF the varieties. They are goo'
to beware of. Silence is better, ]
Can neither wound nor lie.
Then there is the imaginative liar
] heard a woman say the other day
81 never let story spoil by my tel
ing it," These are the people wh
distort the truth to make the stor
sound better. They forget how littl
time it takes to get acquainted VIII
this habit, and thereafter the mas
native liar Is listened to with