Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1862-05-17

have been promulged from the rostr,m and
through the medium Of thcpress of late years.
neither do we class rs fanatics all those who be-
lieve in the many apparently plausible thco-
ries which have been advanced by men of ac-
knowledged ability. The absurdity Of a new
doctrine does not hinder it from finding advo-
Gates, and We may expect that even men of
education and talent may foster their pet
schemes, and for the two-fold purpose of ac-
curing at one bold stroke fame and fortune,
foist them upon an ovcr-credulous public. with
superficial show of candor and ingenious
reasoning, which is the more readily accepted
coming from an acknowledged responsible
source. Against such deception we can adj
vance no remedy; the dcludcd can only have
the meagre satisfaction of knowing that they
have been but tho toys of mightier intcllec:s
than their own. They can find satisfaction
in this, we say, when they arc awakened to
consciousness of the deception, and find an
excuse for hasty Judgment, based upon what
may have appeared to be perfectly logical de-
auctions.
But quite different is the case when ignor-
ancc and egotism step forward to direct the
public habits and morals in different channels
from those which have received the counte-
nance and sanction of ages. 1t behooves
each individual to examine well the mental
and moral capacity Of those who assume to
promulgc the many dangerous subjects Of
"reform" before choice is made in favor of
adoption. Should it bc.otherwise, untold in
juries may be visited upon the afflicted, socie-
ty may be demoralzed, and innumerable ills
scattered broadcast over community, which
might have been averted by a close examina-
ton at the outstait.
Chief among the "humbugs" with which
every community is more or less cursed from
time to time, is the itinerant lecturer or
"preachcr of reforms" We do not condemn
lecturers as class, bat only the nine out of
ten, the rowing, unettercd, unprincipled ego
fists, whose dispositions and tcmpeyumcnts
induce them TO prefer trade in the exercise
of which they can prey upon the lberality
and morals of a people, than to obtain their
subsistence by the sweat of the brow. AS we
have intimated, ignorance is 10 hindrancc to
those embracing this profession, providing tho
candidate possesses an equivalent in brass
and bravado. He is TO parrot-lke repeat
his discourse, pocket the dollars of those who
perhaps from motives of curiosity have be-
come his willing dupcs feast uFon tie fat Of
tie land, and away to some other locality in
which to repeat the same programme, leaving
behind him in the minds of youth, if not of
adults, the poisonous venom of his crafty
tongue! His discourse, of course, has been
written to ORDER but it must bo varied by its
master-mind from its predecessors in order to
give it the required "vim," and the lecturer
must not repeat what may have been told the
same audience before, consequently it is made
to extend further upon tho forbidden
grounds" than all former attempts indited by
that particular writer. A scientific nod of
the head makes ample amends for all trans
gressions Of decency or propriety, and the
word "private" prefxed to "lecture" gives
him ample license to exhaust the vocabulary
Of billingsgatc and obscenity before an audi
encc claiming common intelligence
A great aid to the +" itinerant" in his PEREZ
CARNATIONS is the so-callcd strong-mindcd"
portion Of every community, composed of those
who have acquired confusion of ideas from
the "quack publications" Of the day. Among
these model reformcrs, the lecturer, though he
may come with nousht to vouch for an honest
character, always receives an enthusiastic re.
ception, like even unto ono of the family"
This is considered very proper and right by
the one-idead fanatic. He may be an escaped
convict; "but arc We not brothers in the great
cause Of human progress 7" You may place
your daughter at the mercy Of the stranger,
but let us not blame the errisg.
Many Of our readers doubtless remember
the notorious reformer. Liulcjol,n, who crca.
ted complete Juror in the Eastern and West
ern States. in ls4s. 1t was not until he was
almost dci6ed by the strong minded" masses
that his true character became known and he
lodged in felon's cell. Let his example
prove warning to the "small fry" lecturers.
aswell as to the people, against placing implicit
confidence in those who may have left their
native soil " for their country's good"
We have now in our midst one of these
rowing lecturers. If he is an exception to the
rule laid down above, we have not yet learned