The American. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1857, 1857-09-12
49, TnIN.s M RIGHT NAMES.

IL IL Il
one of The bad signs Of the times il the dispcsi-
ton Of men Of probity and moral scnslblity, even,
% lock lenlsnIy upon immoral and corrupt trans
actions in political and ofhcial LIE, 70 find soft
names for various kinds OF rascalty and bsseness
and instead Of condemnng the individual guilty Of
them A. unworthy Of confidence, 70 speak OF him
commendngly, as smart, shrewd, and cunning
A writer ON the Engsh language says: :" Another
way in which the immortality Of words mainly dis,
plays ilself--one, too, In which they work their
greatest mischief-is that Of giving honorable
names to dishonorable things, making sin plausi-
bic by dressing il out sometimes even in tho very
colors Of goodness or IL not 80, yet In such as 80
far to conceal its own native deformity. -
How much wholesomer on all accounts 10 II,
that there should be an ugly word for an ugly
thing, one involving more condemnation and dis.
gust, even at the expense OF little coarseness,
the eternal principles of morality, which makes sin
plausible, and shifts the dvinely land marks
Of right and wrong, thus bringing the user under
the wo of them that call evil good, and good evil
that put darkness for light and light for darkness
that put sweet for bitter, and bitter for sweet"
"How immense is the difference as to the light in
which we shall learn to regard sin, according as
we have been wont to designate and hear II de-
sisnated by a word which brings out its loath-
someness and deformity; or by one which con-
ceals these. As an example Of this,
what source of mischief in all our country par
ishes is the one practice Of calling child born out
Of wedlock, Glove child" instead Of q bastard.
1t would be hard TO estimate how much It has
lowered the tone and standard Of morality among
us: or for how many young women il may have
helped to make the downward way more sloping
still. How vigorously ought we to oppose our
selves to all such immoralites Of language" Some
names or words, this excellent moralist says, "are
whited sepulchres,' so fair are they without, yet
hiding so much foul Within" and he gives many
examples"
There is no surer sign of the decadence Of
national and political morality than the application
Of names to acts Of dishonesty, Discrimination,
fraud, and peculation, that have the effect Of
representing them, if not commendablc or justiH.
able, at least as not so very bad, and even, per-
haps, ercusable, and speaking Of them in tone
and manner which show that we rather envy the
man who has been guilty Of such acts, for the
amount Of foul gains he has pocketed, than con-
denim him for his dishonesty.
Let US illustrate: we may, without doing yio-
lence to probabilities, suppose the case Of a man
in Office, through whose hands large sums Of
public money annually pass-who has TO make
| large purchases for the United States; he takes
| care, in making such purchases, TO secure to him
self secretly and fraudulently high per centage
| so that, though he may be receiving good
salary it is really nothing compared with what ID
| now termed "the pickings and stealingsn Of his
| Office. Now these "steaiings," for such they
really are, If not taken feoniousy from the public
Treasury, are taken surreptitiously; and as the
guilty party knows he is committing a species Of
thyt-that he is morally guilty of stealing Che is
as criminal and depraved as he who picks the
pocket Of his victim, is detected, convicted, and
sentenced to the penitentiary for his crime.
But how often do we hear such man spoken
of thus: swell, he is smart fellow, and has
feathered his nest well / only wish I had the
money he has cheated Uncle Sam out Of" Is he
not envied for his " stealings" rather than con.
demned for his depravity? And what is the effect
upon himp Does he not feel that he is envied
rather than condemned? Does he not make a
parade Of his ill-gotten plunder-walk with a
brazen face among those who must know how his
riches have been, obtained, and appear uncon.
scious of having deserved the odium of the com.
munity?
What is the effect of all this Is he who sue.
ceeds him in Office likely to conduct himself with
rigid and scrupulous honesty, or is it probable
that he too viii say to himself he that provdeth
not for his household is worse than an infdel and
thereupon determine to follow in "the footsteps of
his illustrious predecessor" who went into Office
poor, and came out of il richp
II the world would but apply the proper terms
to such men, speak Of official dishonesty in plain,
unmstakeable language, and hold them up as OBJ.
jects Of scorn-as public thieves, instead of gozing
over their villainy with smooth and delicate ex-
pressnns, our word for it there would soon be a
more wholesome state of official morals than is
now unfortunately witnessed in every section of
the Union.
Let us bring into use few more Of the old, ex.
pressive Saxon-English words, used with such tire.
mendous force and effect by Seth Hooker, Brown,
Dryden the elder Pitt and others Of the old vigor.
GUS writer's preachers, and orators. There Is need
ofthem; We have Miss Nancied things long enough.
Pitt, in one of his terrible onsaughts upon Wal.
pole, uttered something like the following Ian.
guage, under which Walpole quailed:
81 will not hold my peace when my country
is invaded, nor sit in silence amidst public rob.
berry but will, with whatever hazard to myself
expose the offenders and bring the thief to jus.
tice, whoever may protect them in their yillainy,
and whoever may paftake Of their plumber"
OPLJNDER PARTYv