Evening star., 1928-11-05
KEEPING MENTALLY FIT
BY JOSEPH JASTROW.

fortably honest world. The bank state
mentS tell one story, but the returns
are not all in the bank statements.
Mr.. Crowther tells us that about S
persons in 100 borrow money; honesty
among this 5 per cent of the popula-
ton seems established. How many
more than 5 per cent buy on the in
stallment plan Is not told. Many,
many more buy on credit. The ordi-
nary losses on unpaid accounts is re-
ported to be so large that it is often
cited as the main cause Of business
failure in small retail business. We
should like to hear from rent collectors:
people who pay rent form far larger
and more representative part of the
population than those who borrow
money at banks. Collecting is an enor-
mously costly and difficult occupation.
There are certain obligations that
we put more or less in a class by
themselves, as legally entered into with
the idea that these must be met. Bank
loans, life and fire insurance, rentals.
lnstallment payments fall more or less
in this class. The experience proves
that people are honest enough to per-
NIT this type of business to go on with
slight loss, though by no means equal
In each of these items. There is a
ing to know how bank loan honesty
and small shop credit honesty compare.
But the overwhelming evidence on
the other side is the enormous amount
OF money spent in looking up things,
IN millions of tons of steel used in
making vaults and safes and locks and
bolts and bars. The whole world is
padlocked at night, and much of it
during the day. Guards are on duty
at every point. Think of the salaries
paid to these vast armies Of guardians
against dishonesty. Walk a mile in
the center Of New York City and you'll
meet more than one armored truck.
Or course, this means only that very
small proportion of people are profess
sionally dishonest, and we, the honest
folks, have to pay millions to defend
ourselves against the few. There is,
however, an enormous amount Of petty
thieving and shoplifting. and quite as
much in imitation and counterfeits and
shady transactions generally.
Despite pure food laws and a great
improvement in business ethics, you
still buy considerably at your own risk.
Further, you are hampered in coming
and going by the fear of loss, because
people generally haven't the habit of
honesty so ingrained that you can let
~ OAA tAAC FA6AldllNC 4AA NoA AA6
for your property.
This isn't pessimistic view of the
human race by any means; it's just an
| honest facing of the facts. It's an
| emphasis on honesty as an everyday,
! all-day habit, practcied without effort
and bred into ones behavior, for until
| you have that kind Of honesty prevail
+; ing in the population generally, you
/ won't have the comfort and convenience
| Of an honest world.
To be morally and mentally fit i'm
plies that hcnssty is a part of your
makeup; that you don't have to police
| yourself, not merely that you feel at
ease when you pass the policeman. In
a world in which property and money
mean so much the temptation to dis
honesty increases. Let us try to be-
lieve that people are as honest as they
ever were. despite the fact that 1t is
harder to be so. The only salvation
is to make honesty the best habit for
everybody. .....-