The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1867-01-26
POPULAR FoLL1Es.
An Address Delivered before fHEe
~ eeiOs Deeemb6K nzs 1865.
BY r. M. MARTIN.

BY r. NJ. MARTIN.
mr.. President, Ladies and Gent1emen:
It may be safely asserted that the pres
ent civilization of our country is, to re-
maTkable extent, sensational. Enthusi-
asm seems TO be indigenous in our social
soil The public mind is carried By
storm, by Cts of tickle aud unbounded ad.
miration of persons and styles. Manias,
both in society and fashion, gYeep through
THE country like whirlwind Socially,
the popular notion seems to 90 by steam.
This high-pressure element manifests it.
self in wild excitements, on slight causes,
prescriptions and fanaticisms Of various
kinds. The universal presence of this
farce appears to be re ognized by the COM
mon people and to this fact is to be at
tributable the origin of such coarse, yet
lpithy expressions as, g0n tho brain, ""On
lit" ete. ALLOW me to call to your re-
membrance few Of those sensations which
] had their course during the last few years.
i You will have no trouble In calling 10 mind
the Jenny Lind mania. At tha. time
many persons were nearly crazy on the
singing question. One infatuated indi-
vidual, whose calling was that ofencasing
the brain, became so infatuated with
Jenny Lind on the brain, that he gave a
young fortune to hear this wide-mouthed
Swcde woman sing; Everything had to
be "a Ia Jenny Lind" II was found to
oe q particular charm TO have this Scan
dinayian name attached TO all articles Of
wearing apparel Jenny Lind hats were
'.all the 60" Sons of Crispip got rich
by the sale Of Jenny Lind CATERS. Goats,
vests, dress of every description had TO be
christened with this charming epithet.-
We had Jenny Lind drinks, and Jenny
Lind dishes; and this fever had its most
heated development in Jenny Lind pep
pcr-sauce-its most greasy point in Jenny
Lind hair-oil.
/ This musical breese "played itself ont, =
and was soon followed by the Koss nth
sensation. BY means Of "Kossuth on the
BRAIN" that distinguished and patriotic %
Hungarian sw;ndled the soyereigns out of
millions Of money. And it may truly be
said that the soyereigns were pleased to
be swindled.
The vibrations of this popular current
Of enthusiasm seem to ignore the law of
consistency, but folloW rather after the
law of physics, that "action and reaction
are equal, and in opposite directions. p
This fact 10 illustrated by Known Nothing-
ism and its present inverted shadow. That
excitment swept the country Ike whiFi-
wind. 1t was dangerous thing to be an
Irishman in those times; and almost as
good passport toHades as q man could
wish to be known as an Irish CathoEc. -
Now the great national pendulum has
!. lgone 20 the other verge, and it is almost
a dangerous thing not to be an Irishman.
The ''Finnigans" are 'all the rage" You
doubtless remember the time when it vas
as much as a mans life was worth to be
known as an abolitionist, and that, too, in
some Of the free States now the eccen-
. tric pendulum is at its extreme point the
other way, and q man is hardly safe in
those same places unless he is an aboli-
! zionist. 4 few years ago temperance
/ lecturer was as good target for rotten
eggs as could be found; now there are
many communities in which man is
hardly considered respectable unless he is
a Good Templar. And 50 throbs the
great American pulss: To-day at fever
hcat-to-morrow so low as to be scarcely
parccptible. To-day, degrading, ostracis.
! ing; !; tomorrow, performing an apotheo-
, sis. To trace the remote causes Of these
remarkable oscillations, would be some.
, what foreign TO the purpose of this dis.
course. Yet it may be safely assumed
that any theory Of this sensational ele.
! ment which does p9t include the entire
American nation, must be erroneous: be.
cause, popular enthusiasm manifests as
much force and fckleness in New Orleans
and Charleston, as at Chicago, New York
or San Francisco. IF some of the salien,
points in these mountain ranges Of popu.
lag folly can be clearly indicated to you
my object tonight will be accomplished
/ Should any apology be necessary for what
ever Of saustic is discernable in these re-
} marks, It must be found in thise-z (
) "Oh wad some power the giftie gle rs,
VI To SOC oursels as itlters see us;
1t wad frae mony blunder Gree ps.. s
1t seems very proper that, as teachers
f we should enquire whether there are any
t errors in our modern .stheory and practict
/ Of teaching" which are gross enough t.
+ fall under the general appellation of fol
0 lies. What shall we say of Teachers In
oUiUuVos r. Tl.~ ~~--~-s~y--*--- :@c----1 rs
) at least one member Of the I last Legisla
: tqre, that such organizations as these arr
: we'll entitled to take rank among th,
! prominent follies of the educational world
! Without stopping to discuss this point, ]
o will simply say that you do not think so
e ory you would not travel many miles through
h the mud and rain, as you have done, t,
o come here; and if the distinguished &?
/. assemblyman is right, then the mos
g prominent educators of the world are eli
q ther fools or knaves-for they are earnes
i friends and active workers in Teachers
J Institutes. It is certain that those teach
s ers who come here are neither afraid t
show their hand or their certificates l.
: What shall we say about OBJ jeot Teachin,
q as distinct study? Is it that frst.clas
awakener Of the perceptives that it
friends Claim it to BID OF is it GnotBer q
those modern iaaoUGtioas, whose direc
{ and constant tendency is to fippancy an,
o superfeiality 2 It is claimed as grea
h Improvements: it is objected to as q mon
Is strous sham. Atall events, the fact of
novelty is neither an argument for, Q
is against it. That educational consery&tisl
" which would aenounce everything new
should be banighed to the Celestial En-