Smyrna Times

Heber Newton on Frauds.

LUXURIOUS LIVING

AND

BUSINESS

HONOR-HIGH THINKING

"Our Recent Epidemic of Frauds"

was the subject of the Rev. Dr. R. Heber Newton's discourse at All Saints Church Sunday morning. In opening his sermon, Dr. Newton said that the present season was notable for its physical earthquakes. A succession of defalcations among men of exceptional character had startled the country. On the list were the names of such men as Gray of Boston, Gould of Portland, Bartholomew of Hartford, and even staid old Pittsfield, among its solid hills, felt the social tremor. The men who had fallen had been apparently beyond the reach of temptation, with every safeguard of social position to keep them upright. The first influence of such a series of shameful falls was to despair society Who then is to be trusted? There is, however, no need of a social panic. There is no dry rot in society. We hear of few who fail, but no paper chronicles the faithfulness of the vast host whose steadiness to duty keeps society together. The fact that no sensational sheet wires from Chicago, "The president of the First National Bank is still at his post," signs to over pessimists the truth that the failures in faithfulness are the exception, not the rule. Our city will transact affairs to-morrow in many millions in which you here will depend on the fidelity of thousands of men all over the world, and there will be scarcely a disappointment in the trust placed in total strangers. Neither are we worse than other people. We can anticipate the virtuous indignation of England upon the outcome of our Republican institutions. Are your cousins wholly free from suspicion? Did you follow the Plimsoll investigation? If so you have learned a trick cuter than the smartest Yankee notion. We load a stanch ship with a valuable cargo and make a quick run as possible to Liverpool, but our good cousins load dummy cargoes on crazy hulks and consign it to the bottom of the seas, recovering a heavy insurance.

Herbert Spencer says that the English run to petty vices in trade while we develop colossal frauds. Nor is trade worse than of old. We shall search in vain for the good old days when there were no tricks of trade and no bankrupts in character. In the heroic days of the revolution there were shoddy contractors for our Continental army. Edward III. had to pass laws against corners in food. Even the chosen people abounded in such dealings, and we see them denounced by the prophets. The fact is there has been a steady growth upon the whole modern history in the character of business; certain virtues have been educated to a point never before known as notable truthfulness. We have still need of much greater illumination of conscience.

We can best further an improvement in business morality by altering the conditions our boards of directors must in some way direct. In nearly all late instances of defalcations the boards were as much astonished as the public. If men are too busy to give some eye to the management of their institutions, they should not let their names float them into ruin. We must trust largely the men at the head of affairs, but we must in some way watch them, too. It is wrong to trust any one in fiduciary affairs absolutely. Our great commercial and trade associations can do much towards fortifying honor. We may learn a lesson from the old times guilds which resolutely set themselves to the task of fostering craft pride and trade honor, and as resolutely saw to punishing bad men and tricky ways. Such action as the Stock Exchange has taken in several instances of late would mightily brace up business honor.

Action is urgently needed to restrain our wild speculation: action which the state is powerless to take, but which our exchanges could take safely and successfully. We all may lend a hand in the checking of our present tendencies to luxury, whereby the feverish haste to be rich is fed in every circle. Contrast a New York home of to-day with that of a generation ago, and a tale will be told bearing directly on the question before us.-New York Star.