Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1870-07-08
From the Philadelphia Dny.l
ABOUT BL1B.


Silence has shining virtues, but il is Ii
able To misrepresentation. Only the 9TH
er day a Washington correspondent ex-
hausted the shallow culver of his ridcule
in column of comment upon some mem
Der who has never yet waved his fist on
high and ycllcd-"Mr. Speaker ~ This
silent man is represented rs lone who
has no opinions" We regret that his
name is not given. A man in Congress
without opinions strikes us something
above the ordinary. He is presumed to
have 10 opinions because he does not.
twenty times 4 day, arise in his place and
demonstrate his lack of opinions. Hap
py man. "entrcnched behind his news
paper" or writing letters to-can it be
that this opinioness man writes letters
to his wife or sister? or some other re-
putablc woman? No matter. He has no
opinions, because he is silent in his place.
Therefore let him be pointed ut and ridi-
culed aud when his term expires, let his
constituents keep him at home OF what
use is member OF Congress unless he
can yell like M Indian on the war path,
and drink oceans Of whiskey?
There is another silent man in Wash.
gton-whether the reader believe it or
not. There is silent man at the other
end Of the avenue. He never put him.
self forward rs n nan wiser, or better, or
greater, than others. He entered the
Union army 4 Captain and became its
General. Ills communications were
'yca, yea, and nay, nay his dispatches
very bricf-coutaining very little about
himself and much about business. He
never tried 10 paint out the wrinkles on
the iron front Of war with fine writing.
Meeting ~ obSticle, he thundercd away
ut it, and it was removed. The army Of
the Potomac has been addressed and re-
viewed al nduSedHl. Its annals were
voluminous. This silent man, who smokes
and so tew Americans do that, You
know-took the army of the Potomac
from its anchorage on the banks OF the
Rappahannock and encampcd it before
Petersburg. His dispatches on the way
would not fill n page Of loolscap. OF
course this man of silence and cigars was
fool. Everybody knows that, because
he held his peace, and put no spread ea-
Gle into his CONVEX sation. 4 public man
who does not apostrophisc the American
eagle once day is m idiot. All wise
men are garrulous-cide George Francis
Train. Yet, this reticcnt man succeeded
and received the surrender of the chief
of revolt. The man who acted by some
inversion of natural law rs eXpoundcd by
partisan journals, for once accomplished
more than the men who talked. We
shall waste no more time in trying TO cx-
plain this singular anamoly.
Now that the people have made this
silent man chief magistrate, ought he not
to drop his reserve, and open his lips for
much speech? Ought we not to hear from
him as often rs three times n day, in re
sponse to the profound questionings of
newspaper reporters Should this man
of silence persist in having some privacy?
All great men wear their hearts on their
sleeves? This man does not wear his
heart on his sleeve, therefore he is not
great. This logic is borrowed from a
Democratic paper; we do not claim it.
grand and conclusive as it certainly is.
This man does not initiate George Fran
els Train, and therefore must be ignorant.
He refuses so publish all he knows about
foreign affairs therefore he knows moth
ing of our relations with other nations.
He docs not dispatch the army to arrest
Juarez, said to be smuggler as well as
President Of Mexico; therefore he is a
fool. Whether OF Aristotle, or Bacon,
or Whately, or Mill. we know not; but
this is logic, and the public may hereafter
know great and good man by his ca
pacity for blab.