iSivj 



(;i.i<:anmn(js in i{EE clilturk. 



•.131 



tho ii1h)vi> wotild bviuii a confession. woiildiTt 

 you? Hut it doos not. 1 have tt)ld tlic i"nlpi;it 

 that I had had lony; I'xpt'riiMU'i' iu this matter: 

 that tlie I'XiMiscs he made weri' the same ones 

 that others had used years before: init it did 

 not malve any dinereni.'e. and I iiave told al 

 least thirc pet^ple that liie only explanation 

 that eould possitdy he ffiveii was, tliat they had 

 taken leave of tlieir senses, at least for a little 

 time, and did not know w liat they were doing: 

 and I guess each one of them oreferred to accept 

 that, or tried to make me l)elievt». that it was a 

 case of ■■ temporary insanity "' ratlier than con- 

 fess that he liad tried [ostcul frotii the one who 

 was so kind as to relieve liis distr<'sses by giv- 

 ing him employment. 



A word at)ont this matter of acting the de- 

 tective in iirder to lind out beyond mistake 

 whether a ci^rtain one inul d>'libvi-ately gone 

 into dishonest pra.-tices oi- whet lur it was only a 

 mistake that miglit occur on one side as well as 

 the other. Doing this sort of detective business 

 has done more to wear me out and break down 

 luy nervous system than almost any thing else 

 in tiie woi-ld. Some of you may say. " Why, 

 brother Root, wiiy do you bother with such 

 people at all? I would not have theiu on the 

 premises, not even if they would work for noth- 

 ing.'' 



Well, I have thought that way a good many 

 times. I am afraid Satan has suggested it to 

 me very often. The trouble lii-s right here: 1 

 once knew of a church that was going to have 

 its ntembers pure, and tlu^y commenced turning 

 people out. I finally began to remonstrate, but 

 was told. " Mr. Root, we are going to purify our 

 church, even if we expel every last member." 

 Yon know how it turned out. They kept on 

 expelling until the church was shut up; and by 

 some (jueer freak it seemed as if those they 

 kept in were wor.se than those they turned out. 

 I do not mean by this that all our hands are 

 given Xo chedting— God forbid. I simply mean 

 that, if we turned off every one who uses to- 

 bacco, or cheats iu his time, or is forgetful, or 

 makes mistakes.orisslow. or quick- tempered, or 

 given to puttering, or who is crabbed, and dif- 

 ficult to deal with, or wlio lacks in judgment, 

 etc., we should not have anybody left. The 

 greater part of these faults ami failings can be 

 cured. A plain, kind talk with the.one who is 

 at fault usually results, as th(! text has it, " He 

 that heareth reproof shall be honored." People 

 who own up to their faults and failings will get 

 over them, as a rule, unless it is this grievous 

 sin that I have spoken of — a d'liberate deter- 

 mination to i<teal. 



Well, after having had so much trouble with 

 the markings on the slate, we procured, at 

 much expense, a registering time-clock. This 

 we have had for three or four y<'ars. When one 

 comes to work he selects tiie envelope fi'om the 

 rack, with his name printed on it. pushes it un- 

 der the stamp attached to the clock, strikes the 

 knob witli his hand, and the hour and minute 

 are printed on the envelope. He can notchange 

 it nor make it any different, even if he would, 

 because the time clerk wovdd see it if he did. 

 No changes are to be made without her per- 

 mission or sanction. This gets us out of the 

 trouble, doesn't it? Oh dear me! It gets us 

 out of one kind of trouble, and perhaps it 

 makes it a little harder for tlK)se who are dis- 



eosed to-be dishonest and untruthful. In ex- 

 orting people to temperance, we are often met 

 by remarks like this: '"You will never stop 

 drunkenness in this world. If you shut up the 

 saloons they will get it out of the drugstores. 

 People will get it by hook or by crook, when 

 they want it badJv.'" Now. I do not believe 

 much in this sort of logic: but there is an ele- 

 ment of truth iu it. after all. You can not 



nuike people lionest by building lences around 

 them. We recognized this in tiie beginning of 

 our l)usiness: and W(( have fewer locks and keys 

 —fewer rigid rules, atui fewer detectivi^s. than 

 [XM'haps any other similar institution. We rely 

 upon the lionor. int('grii>. and conscience of 

 our people, ami we get along pretty well. I 

 wish I miirlit. sio|) liere, because I dislike to drag 

 tilings to light that might wound like cutting 

 with a knife. Rut sometimes the knife must 

 be used: and I fee! tluit what I have to say 

 may help perhaps thousands to break away 

 from their sins, and may be lo get lieiter wages 

 than they ai'e gelling now. The text says. •• He 

 that regardeih icproof shall be honored;" and 

 the reproof I am about to give you may be 

 needed by a good many people who are working 

 for somelxxiy else. 



During the past few months we have had 

 dull times in our factory. Only a few were 

 kept in each of our rooms, and it would have 

 been policy for us to keep only the most faith- 

 ful: but sometimes circumstances seem to de- 

 mand that we should favor some who can 

 hardly take car(> of themselves unless they have 

 something to do. Common humanity would 

 seem to demand this. I have learned to dread 

 dull seas(uis, becaus<^ at such times there is al- 

 most always a sort of half heartedness about 

 the work. People do not accomplish as much 

 when they are making up work ahead, as when 

 orders are crowding them; therefore loose 

 ways get in upon us. We have had a political 

 campaign, and there was quite a tem[)tation to 

 talk politics instead of attending to work. Is 

 this right? When you have liired out to work 

 for a man, and have agreed on so much a day 

 or hour, is it right lo use those hours In discuss- 

 ing the political affairs of our country?. Per- 

 haps there is a revival meeting in your neigh- 

 borhood. After you have sold your time to a 

 certain neighbor for an agreed sum of money, 

 is it really honest and Christianlike for you to 

 occupy this time in talking about religion? I 

 think not. Of course, we expect everybody to 

 be courtious and neighborly, even If he is em- 

 ployed by somebody else: but whoever hires 

 out. should, if h<^ wishes to get the best possible 

 pay for his services, regard the contract like a 

 promissory note — " For value received I promise 



to pay hours of work for my neighbor." If 



your neighbor hire^ you to assist in a revival 

 of religion, why. then, of course, it is your duty 

 to carry along your Bible, quote texts, exhort, 

 etc.: but if the understanding is that you are 

 to build fences. I think he would have very 

 much more respect for your religion if you. dur- 

 ing those working hours, refu.se to discuss or 

 even consider the matter of politics, or religion 

 either. 



There is. however, a kind of religious talk 

 that I think no employer would object to. even 

 during working hours. Suppose one workman 

 should say to his companion. "Mr. Brown, if I 

 were a church-member, as you are, I hope it 

 would prevent me from using my employer's 

 time to light my pipe, and take a smoke just as 

 you are doing now." 1 do not mean by this 

 that I Would want men to stop their work to 

 discuss — at least not at any very great length — 

 the tobacco habit. But it would be qruti; prop- 

 er and right to talk religion this much: 

 "Thank you. Mr. Brown; but I will not take 

 any tobacco if you please. I started out a few 

 days ago to be a Christian, and I think a 

 Christian ought not to use tobacco." 



In times past, on these pages I have more 

 than once spoken in very high terms of women 

 as wage-earners. My conscience has troubled 

 me sometimes for fear I had given them too 

 exalted a position, or that I had. may be, gone 

 to the Quixotic extreme of imagining that all 



