160 WALL STREET AND THE WILDS 



us not to encourage reckless trading by compro- 

 mises." 



When a business man makes "a matter of prin- 

 ciple" his excuse for not doing a kindly act he 

 has touched the lowest depths of hypocrisy and 

 it is useless to reason with him. I like to think 

 of another kind of man and an incident that oc- 

 curred some months before the time of which I 

 am writing. The cashier of a large bank in 

 which I was interested came to me for help to 

 save him from trouble at his bank. I offered to 

 give him the money if he would go with me to 

 the president of the bank and get his approval. 

 He told me that wouldn't do for the president 

 was a hard man, with no mercy. I said I would 

 furnish the cash if a director of the bank would 

 take the moral responsibility of advising it, but 

 not otherwise. He then said Mr. Claflin was a 

 director and a kindly man and he would be so 

 grateful if I would see him alone. I called on 

 Horace B. Claflin, whom I knew but slightly, 

 and told him the story, saying it was the man's 

 first slip and I believed it would be his last. 





