A Case of Honesty

Dick had been working in the office nearly a month before his employer told him he was too dishonest to work longer; he must justify the high recommendations for honesty that his teachers and others had given him, or else he must find a job elsewhere.

Dick was stunned.  He flushed crimson and swallowed hard.  It was difficult to believe that he heard aright.

“Dishonest?” he said at last, “Do you mean that you think I am a thief?”

“Dishonesty always means theft of some kind,” answered Mr. Wood.  “The kind that you are guilty of is dishonesty just the same.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You will in a minute.  In the four weeks that you have been here you have been late in getting to work half a dozen mornings, and several times at noon you have taken much more time than we allow for luncheon.  That is taking something that does not belong to you—something that I have bought and paid for.  Isn’t that theft?”

“Yes, I suppose it is,” admitted Dick, “but—“

“And not only have you stolen time that belonged to me,” continued Mr. Wood, “but you have stolen the time of others and the attention that they should have given to their work.  For example, the superintendent tells me that you came to him three times yesterday about finding the firm to which you were sent to deliver a small parcel.  It is true that the firm has changed its place of business, but you could easily have traced it by means of the directory or the telephone book.  Some might call it laziness or lack of self-reliance on your part, but I call it plain dishonesty, for you were using the time and the thought of a busy fellow worker in doing what you are expected to do yourself, and are perfectly able to do and are paid to do.”

“Yes, I see,” admitted Dick again.

“Once I left you here to file some papers and close the office at night,” continued Mr. Wood.  “The next morning I found the door of the vault wide open.  That was more than carelessness, more than the neglect to obey orders.  It was an offer to help any thief who might have come along that night.  It was the misuse of valuable things that did not belong to you.

“I might mention other instances, but these will show what I mean when I say that you have not been honest since you have been working here—honest with yourself or honest with me.  But I am going to give you a trial for another month.  See if you cannot live up to those recommendations of honesty that you brought when I hired you.”

His tone was gentle and his smile friendly as he laid his hand on Dick’s shoulder; and the boy thanked him.  “I think that I understand,” he said, “and I’ll try to be honest in the biggest and broadest sense of the term”

-       Youth’s Companion[1]

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[1] The Youth’s Companion (1827-1929) was an American children’s magazine. It was published for over one hundred years until it finally merged with American Boy in 1929. (Source: Wikipedia)