New-York tribune., 1875-11-03
THE CASE or C1RRETH.

The miserable Carri1tlt a0dlf II ulaggcu ~
fore the public again by the unexpected death
of the wounded man aud the arrest of Lands.
With the degree Of tho prisoners guilt or his
chances of escape from punishment We have
nothing to do; legal technicaitics and the
opinion of medical men will probably decide
his fate but the final issue must remain the
same. Here were two families, happy year
ago in health, competency, and domestic atiec
ton, living in pleasant homes near each other;
the two heads of the household men Of consider
able intellectual force, with every facility be-
fore them for remaining as they were, influential
and respected citizens To-day one is dead, after
months of physical and mental agony. leaving
his wife and children homeless and penniless
the other is waiting his trial for murder, and
his wife has applied for q divorce. The ruin
of the men and their homes did net in this
case come from the usual cause-hquor-but
from uncontrolled temper and language, just
as general and sure cause Of misery. We
are not wronging the dead nor prcjudging the
case in stating facts Landis's plea rests upon
his uncomfortable frenzy produced by aggra-
vatioiis too intOlcrable to bear. The men had
petty quarrel they kept their village alive
with it. One was dogmatic, imperious, unable
to deal with friend or foe, even to marry, without
making some passionate outbreak which should
ill the newspapers the other had control OF
newspaper, and was one Of those journalists
who believe that tho exhibition of his own
petty spite and old personal grudges is the
proper and most acceptable food to servo to
the public. So the miserable squabble went on,
gathering malignancy and fury, until one
morning there was a more abusive article than
usual, pistol shot, and the hives of those two
mcn virtually were ovcr-thcir career closed.
II they had been the only men living at
high-pressure speed, barring to the public un-
cOncernedly their personal ambitions and loves
and hates and anger; if this poor dead Car
ruth wero the only small-mindcd journalist
who, like the Roman lazzaroni, exposed his old
sores for the pity or amusement of the public
every morning, there would bo no use in
talking about the story. But there never was
time when way was made by the
public as calmly for personal ambi
tfon, temper, and venom to run their
course, or when these lower motives
so racked and disturbed society rs now. The
object of Americans is TO get on in society or
in politics, or with tho better class in knOwl-
edge. To accomplish this they thrust any
other man ont of their way. III he be a can
didate for office they heap unsparinsly upon
him lies both malignant and absurd. Nobody
is shocked at the lies, nobody is disgusted by
the headlong hurry and rage Of the ambitious
man. III tho ISLANDERS kill, the nation, which
listened to them complacently, is ready
to mourn over the grave of the VIC
tim sincerely; il the ambitious man,
as in the case Of Colfax or Fisk OF Tweed, has
sudden tumble, people laugh and watch
somebody else climb into his place. There is
an incessant chatter about modes Of educa-
tion-hOw best to teach American boys the
classics or science or the rules of trade--but
when are they taught reticence, decent grave
reserve of thought and speech, that self-cOntrOl,
in short, which makes an ordinary man greater
than him who wins many battles9 We have
our Jokes upon tho cautiOus-tongued canny
Scotchman, and the taciturn Quaker, but they
could teach us lessons which would increase
our self-respect and enable us to cut much
more decent figure in the eyes of the world.