Evening star., 1915-12-17
BUSINESS AND FAITH,
by DIR. FRANK CRANE.
Copyright. 1851

The world is growing better. There
are more honest people than DISHONEST
Most men you meet would rather be
straight than crooked. Most women
would rather be good than bad AL
most all children Will grow up indus
trious and gentle if they have a chance
l am not arguing this / am stating
it. as a creed. The person who believes
it will find this world mighty good
and pleasant place. Whoever. does not
believe it will become sour and
wretched. if not already so.
A lady was looking around in the
glassware section of big department
store the other day She had priced
a vase. 1t was S10. The clerk had gone
away and the lady continued to in
spect the beautiful objects all about.
Suddenly her coat caught the self
Giancing around she saw no one near.
She went over to the other side of the
room, found the clerk, and said to him:
Il have accidentally knocked that $50
vase from the table and broken it. l
have not the money with meu but here
is my card. Send me the bill and 1
will pay for it. 1t was my fault. l was
awkward
Wait here a moment replied the
clerk, and went away presumably to
consult the manager. III d sHOTt TIME
he returned, and said:
The manager says that's all right,
Mrs. Blank, it was accidental. There is
nothing to pay
The lady was dumfounded. But she
was permanent customer of that
store ever after.
This is not an isolated case. Mer-
chants of the more intelligent type are
learning that it. pays to trust people
and to treat them with generous cour-
tesy.
The old era when everybody was con-
sidered a thief and had to be watched
is passing.
Publications are full of advertise
ments offering pianos. books. clothing
and all sorts of goods ION approval"
or on small payments. The seller
everywhere is taking chances that
generation ago would have seemed abb
surd
I asked the credit man OF a huge
wholesale and retail concern in Chi
cago the other day how much he lost
in bad debts. what proportion of buy
ers defaulted. His answer was: Less
than two-thirds of 1 per cent"
1T is a curious thing said the post
master of a large town in Illinois to
by mistake receive a cent ~or two too
much change at the stamp window
voluntarily come and give IL back. 1t
looks like they would rather not have
the money than. II have the conscious
ness that they have money that doesn't
belong to them.
OF course, we are impressed by the
man who swindles US more than by the
twenty who deal fairly. We forget
thai the average is twenty TO one.
I met lecturer the other day who
said. II have had rather remarkable
experience this summer Mr.. A., the
lecture bureau man, met me in New
York alta clubhouse. He asked me to
give him three months time at 81 900
a month. 1 agreed. After while he
sent me my list of engagements. l fill
ed them, collected all the money and
settled up with him. There was not
scrap of paper. contract or anything
of the sort. ! took his word. He took
mine That was all there was to it.
Just one minutes conversation and no
witnesses, and on that we did several
thousand dollars worth of business"
We are trusting each other more The
treason is that the more we trust the
more we become trustworthy What
Warden Osborne of Sing Sing prison
has found out about criminals is true
OF humanity everywhere: the more you
repose confidence in men the more
they measure UP to 1t. And the more
you treat people like beasts and devils
the more beastly and deyiIish they
prove themselves.
We are slowly learning that saliva
tion by faith" is not a mere theological
expression it is a great law of human
relations. Society is saved by faith
by appreciation, and it is damned by
doubt, suspicion and hate