Now, who
gets something for nothing? The man who
finds an oil well in his back yard? The
woman who marries a rich man? The miner
who stumbles upon gold? The fellow who
wins in the lottery? The thief who takes
a purse or the contents of a bank vault?
The swindler who cheats the unwary out
of his property? The real estate shark
who sells worthless lots for big prices?
The bootlegger who makes his own liquor
with wood alcohol, puts bogus labels on
it, and sells it as "just off the ship"?
The heirs who destroy the old will or
forge a new one so that all the property
comes to them? The counterfeiter who makes
hundred-dollar bills out of mere paper
and ink? The chap who raises a thousand-dollar
check to $10,000? Do all-or any-of these
get something for nothing? I used to think
they did. Often it looks so.
But the more you watch the individuals who do these things, the more you'll see that the law works with them just as it works with you and me. It's law--just as truly as the law of gravitation is law--and I can't break it. Neither can you. Neither can anybody else. Did you ever know a gambler who got rich? Did you ever know a burglar who had anything left after his pals, his fence, and his lawyers got through with him? Did you ever know a counterfeiter who had cars and a country home and a yacht? Did you ever know a woman who married for money and was happy?
"Maybe not," you say, "but they got away with the profits of the crooked deal!" Did they? How long did the profits last? Do you know?
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