New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-08-28
or strange IL he had become dizzy with his

unusual elevation and outlook. And so at
Winchester, if instead of talking cool common
sense about q grave question in political
economy, he had let fly his arms and lOOsed
his tongue and talked in wild. passionate
way about "spilling blood" and having some
"of these chaps dangling from the bOughs of
"trccs.' and other nonsense OF that sort, 1t
would have been a very natural, and probably
only momentary mistake.
In the Winchester speech, az reported, but
we are glad to learn from his friends IN
correctly reported, Mr.. Smith was represented
as saying: "What is the life of one OF these
"scoundres worth compared to the honor
"happincss, and even the existence of our
children ?" And then, commenting upon
IN unjust and oppressive feature of the tax
law. he was reported to have demanded that the
next Legislature change il, or, said he, Il Tor
zone and my sons will help to ride them out
"of town OH rail- 1t was obvious enough
that any man talking in that strain had lost
his head. He had ceased to be reformer
and becOmea noisy ranter; the philosopher was
sunk in the scOld. This kind of threatening does
no good; accomplishes nothing 1t may be
mschievous in infiaming the passions of few
shallow, angry men; but riding out OF town
on q rail or hanging men who are UNI
fortunate enough to own capital and
human enough to try and get the most they
can for the use Of it, will not promote the
more equal adjustment of the relations between
capital and labor, or place the laborer, be he
farmer or mechanic, in any better position.
This is not a question to be discussed an
grily. There are men in the ranks OF these
associations undoubtedly whose view of the
subject is limited and narrow, who discuss 1t
passionately and without reason or logic, as
an issue between themselves az individuals,
or as class and other individuals or classes.
1t cannot be so considered. 1t has much
wider scope than farm or neighbOrhOOd; 1t
calls for broader and more philosophic treat
ment.
Farmer Smith and the associations he has
organized have done good service In making
their demand upon the country for thought
full consideration of the injustice OF their
lot, and for such remedies as Intelligence ana
wisdom can devise. Should they be tempted
to give way TO anger or break out into threats,
they would only prejudice their own cause
and obstruct the processes of calm reflection
and deliberate Judgment to which they have
taken their appeal. This is, as we have fore
seen and warned the farmers, the greatest
danger For so soon as they give way to an
ger and indulge in threats, one or the other
of the great parties, both of which are wait
ing to profit by their impotence and indis-
creton will certainly pick them up and fool
them What they need more than anything
else is patience; patience to present their case
fairly for dispassionate public judgment; pa
thence under Misrepresentation and abuse,
and-as in the case of Farmer Smith at VIM
-misrepOrting; patience to walt the
just verdict Of the people.
Some Of the later addresses of Mr.. Smith
have been reported in THE TRIBUNE, and
have exhibited his usual good sense and tenn
pcrate treatment. His advice to the farmers
is sound and practical, and totally unlike the
talk he was charged with making at Winches-
ter. For man who has not had the expert
ence of affairs which more than anything else
enlarges the vision and clarifies the judgment,
he has come very near mastery comprehen-
sion of this very difficult subject His per-
sonal relations to it do not seem to nave OBJ
scured his vision, and the report that he had
yielded to feelings of resentment and anger,
at the very time when he needed most to be
entirely cool and dispassionate, is denied. He
has the gift of fluency, which has
been fatal to so many honest well-meaning
men, who talk faster than they think, and
only discover the mistakes in their talking
when they catch up with it in their thinking.
One such man as he can do great good or
great mischief accordingly as he is discreet or
impulsive. The success of this movement
not az a political venture, but as an incentive
to investigation and promoter of the gen.
eral good-depends upon its being treated
calmly and seriously and we shall regret to
see the leaders in it losing sight of its grand
possibilities in the discussion OF its minor
personal aspects.
KENTUCKY KU-KLUH.