The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1922-03-17

We hear so much Of the seamy
side of life that once in awhile
it is refreshing to know that it
is just as possible to wear too
dark colored glasses as it is to
put on rosy-hued specs. The
Miami Herald comments on the
trait in human character to be
honest and finds that most of us
are honest but the publicity is
all on the other side. The Herald
says:
A prominent Chicago hotel man
says that only one tenth of one per
cent of the people who have patron
lied his hotels have ever made any
effort to beat their board bills. He
concludes that only one person in a
thousand is inclined to be dishonest,
at least so far as his experience
proves anything.
There is a prevalent idea that
everybody is more or less crooked.
Business experience does not support
this idea.
The proprietor of big hotel camp
in one of the western parks stated
some time ago that he had been in
business for ten years. During that
time he had cashed an average OF
forty thousand dollars worth of per-
sonal checks each season, and he had
never received one bad check. This
was in spite of the fact that his
camp was somewhat isolated, and
that it would have been comparative
ly easy for crooks to have made a
getaway. This is perhaps an un-
usual experience, but is another
straw indicating that humanity is
essentially honest.
The maxim has it that Honesty
is the best policy" 1t may be that
this ideal is back of the straight
conduct of people. 1t is pleasant to
think that it is, at least. But
whether it is or not, it has been
clearly indicated by the experience
of the past that honesty is the
safest policy and it may be that
this common experience is respons-
ible for the fact that most people
try to meet their legitimate obliga-
tions
The whole business structure, of
course, rests upon faith. Cash trans
actions are comparatively few. Credit
is the basis of nearly all business.
If most of the people were inclined
to be crooked credit would be i'm
possible, and business would neces-
sarily be greatly restricted.
Dirhonest persons get most of the
publ ity. This is the reason for the
idea that there is a great deal of
crookedness. The fact that evil do
ings get the publicity is fair in
dication that evil is unusual, for it
is only the unusual which has any
great news value.
Humanity is rather decent Some
times a man goes wrong because of
the circumstances which have sur
rounded him. Most people go
straight, and sometimes it is not so
easy to do it. If there were only
some way to give adequate publicity
to acts of heroic honesty the idea
that all men are dishonest would
disappear. .......,..
Russia is in the position of the
patient under the knife. The
operation is a success but the
patient dies. Lenine and Trotzky
have indicated their theories
and proved that a government
can be run successfully" upon
their platform but Russia starves
meanwhile. There is no ques-
ton but that Russia is starving
even to the point of cannibalism.
1t begins to look af if we would
have to wait the natural course
of events to have the govern
ment overthrow by revolution
but until this happens the world
must feed Russia and salvage
what is possible from the human
wreck.