The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-04-02

From The Daily Ntt0s
Oliver Wendell Holmes saws somewhere-in
the "Autocrat,n we belieye-that 1t is essential
TO the impartial investigation OF truth. thai GER
tain words should be "depolarized,r by which
he means that such words sholld be dscon-
nected from the ideas which. from time imme.
morial have been associated with them, and be
launched afresh, as it we're. This fancitul idea
the Radicals have attempted TO reduce TO prac.
tice, not indeed in the service of truth but in
the propagation OF error And il must bc ad.
mitted that they have met with but too much
success in their disloyal tampering with some of
the most sacred and tIme-honored words in the
language Not the least important OF the words,
whose meaning they have so perverted, is
loyalty.
This word. so racy of the soil, so suggestive TO
those who are capable Of approaching our noble
mothertongue, of all that is frank and sincere,
of all that is truthful and seli-sacridcing, aud
honorable, the radicals have attempted to de-
grade TO the basest uses and, by dint of perpe-
tUally ringing the changes on IT, in season and
out Of season, in Congressional halls and politi-
cal pulpits, in lying telegrapbic dispatches and
in the editorial columns of (soc6lled) respect
able journals, they have contrved to beWlder
many worthy people as to its true Specification,
or, at all events, to induce them to attach 10 the
word ideas wholly foreign to it. Primarily, 10y
atty signifies obedience to law, or, in other
words, the acceptance. in good faith OF all the
obligations imposed by any compact, express or
implied, to which one IS party; and by the
word acceptance we mean both willingness TO
perform, and the actually performing, as far as
possible, such obligations.
Hence we speak OF a loyal wife, brother, etc.,
meaning thereby one who performs all the du-
ties which the coniugal, fraternal, or other re-
lation imposes; and this is all that the word
means. But the radicals ii, indeed, they have
any fixed and accurate idea of what they really
do mean, and were bold enough and honest
enough to declare it, would tain nave the people
believe that loyalty consists solely in slavIsh
submission to power. According to them, those
only are loyal who, regardless alike of principle
and selt-respect, obey blindly the behests OF the
dominant party, and are ready to shout with the
"loyal" Fitzgerald
"ADd oh in Downing street should Old Nick reyel,
EnPlaDd's Prime Minister-then bess the devil"
The iallacousness OF this will be apparent.
when it is considered that il the dominant party
in SCate should undertake to override the Con.
stitution, disregard the laws, and subVert the
| Government adherence to them would be
| wholly inconsistent with obedience to the law,
| which, we have said, Is the primary sense OF
| loyalty; and, as this is precisely what the
radicals are now doing, it follows that they are
| themselves wanting IN that loyalty the absence
OF which at the South they profess to lament so
much.
| The South, on the contrary-and we do not
| hesitate TO affirm it's loyal. uer people are
not seeking to destroy the wsest provisions of the
| Constitution by hasty and ill-considered amend.
| ments, and, falling that, to set the document
aside altogether; they are not seeking 20 poison
| the stream of justice at its source by one-sded
! legislation on the one hand, and lettering the
Judiciary Oh the other; in fine, It is not they
who are keeping alive the agitation that is
| shaking the foundations of the Government.
On the contrary, they are wholly absorbed in
| industrial pursuits, and are endeavoring by
steady, patient labor, to repair the losses they
| have sustained. The people of the South have.
at this moment, but one wish. 1t is to be per
miLted to earn in peace the means of feeding
and clothing their families, and paying theiI
| taxes.
They are minding their own business and let
| ting other peoples alone, and it is great pity
| the Radicals don't do the same thing. 1t is true
they don't believe in Sumner; are not willing to
| perform kow-tow to Stevens; and utterly repu
diate the radical gospel as preached by the
| Tribune, and other dsloyal sheets. They coulG
not do otherwise if they would for they have
promised to be loyal, and both honor and in
teIest require them to keep their word. We dC
not expect that the Tribune and its party viii
cease to abuse and oppress the South, but VIZ
must insist that they shall be a little more con
sistent, and at all events that they shall cal
things by their right names. more peaceful
quiet, orderly, law abiding, and loyal peopl,
than the late Confederates cannot be found any
where, and the only disloyal people we know o
in the United States are Sumner, Stevens, anC
their followers.