HONESTY AND BUSINESS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 5 August 1931, Page 2

HONESTY AND BUSINESS

“BUYING AND SELLING THE TRUTH” ADDRESS TO ADVERTISING CLUB Characterising as a downright lie the oft-heard statement that a man could not be in business arid still be honest, the Rev. D. Gardner Miller gave an interesting address to members of the Canterbury Advertising Club (reports the “Press”). He stated that he received newspapers from all over the Dominion and from overseas, and read all the advertisements, and he found that the standard in Christchurch compared more than favourably with the great London dailies. He advised his hearers never to tamper wtih the truth, remarking that a certain section of advertising strained the truth to a very great extent. The address was entitled “Buying and selling the truth,” Mr J. J. Staples presiding. PLEA FOR SINCERITY “I do not stand behind a counter and sell goods, but I claim to be a business man, because 1 deal with values and proclaim the good,” said Mr Miller. “UnlSss you have an underlying sense of good in your business you cannot sell to great success. It has often been said that a man cannot be honest and engage in business, but that is a lie. Were it not so society would have rotted away long a’go. I hope you will not be tempted to make money purely for money’s sake, because when you sell your goods you sell your character. You dare not, except at very great peril, tamper with fundamental values.” Relating an incident that occurred recently, Mr Miller said that he had advertised that he would preach on “The Only Way.” The church was packed and he went “all out” on his subject. The next day a young business man approached him and said that some of the people had attended the service under false pretences. One man wanted his “threepence” back because he thought the sermon was to be on Martin Harvey’s famous book. “So you see, I, too, have to be careful in my advertising,” he said. THE FIRST RULE The moment morals were dissociated from business, business suffered, added the speaker. The fundamental values on which business rested, were broken up. The first and only rule for the business man to observe was not to make money for money’s sake, but to sell the truth! After all, he asked, what would it profit a man to declare a dividend and lose his character? If Diogenes of old were to visit Christchurch to-day, he concluded, he would meet very many honest business men.