The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-10-19
BORROWING TROUBLE.

BOkkOWlNG IkUubLE.
There is wide difference between /
thoughtful consideration Of that which il
possible OF liable to happen end the dread o.
what may happen. One is forecast; the othel
is fear. One is q talent; the other weak
ness. One foresees evil to shun it; the othe1
fears evil to exaggerate it and to suffer from i
in anticipation. One sees what is inevitable
and meets it with thoughtful courage; the
other covers and shrinks in an agony o.
dread until the stroke has fallen. The saga.
cious man, whose nerves are steady and
whose heart is whole, never fears to look the
possible future squarely and bravely in the
face. Such men do not fear trouble, and
when it comes they are prepared to meet it.
All the maxims of the great French soldier
showed how constantly his thoughts
were directed to future contingencies. Even
in his campaigns, as he declared, he gave lit
tie thought comparatively to his line of &C
ton in the event of successful battle, but
meditated long and laborieusly on his con-
duct in case of defeat This great COM
mander, whose genius surpassed all known
human strength, was busy during all his
waking hours in clearing away the uncertain
ties of the future, in making mental forced
reconnoisances into the field Of tomorrow.
He advanced always towards the trouble
which the future concealed. He was some
times thwarted by chances beyond the range
of even his anticipation, but never by the su
perior forecast of his enemy.
Looking forward in this manner, and with
the spirit of the pioneer, is one of the talents
by which success is gained; but the dread of
mishaps merely because they are possible,
the fear Of that which the future has in store,
and the habitual croaking and vaticination
about calamities which are yet among the
unswollen seeds of tomorrow, and which may
never terminate at all, is neither wise nor
profitable.
The Democrats of Ohio, as in part rep
resented by their delegates to the Columbus
Convention, illustrate in singular manner
the folly of borrowing trouble by anticipating
an issue which was outside Of their jurisdic-
ton. Whatever personal opinions, hopes or
fears they may have had respecting monetary
affairs, they knew, or should have known,
that the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor,
the Secretary of State, the Attorney General
and the legislators of Ohio had no voice what
ever in the matter of the currency, and could
only be heard in Congress on the subject of
contraction through their representatives
already elected.
1t was the true mission of the anti r adicals Of
Ohio tore-elect Allen their worthy color bearer;
10 elect a reform Legislature that would hold
up his hands; to make Democracy popular by
the cost of government; to make
! victory in November, 1876, certainty by
proving that they were worthy Of success; to
make the Democrats of all the States proud Of
The unity in action and soundness in principle
Of their confreres in Ohio. Had they done
his, and this only, as they most certainly
would have done by confning themselves to
their proper local business, million tongues
would to-day have been eloquent in their
praise.
IL ~ I'LL eApcubifo lcSSOu, tAdt AIny OOst Oh.
other term OF Radical domination at Wash
ngton, but it will not be total loss if it
warns politicians against borrowing trouble
Let it teach leaders in Democracy to limit
themselves in their diotation to that which is
Immediately within their respective functions
Let them concern themselves as little as pos
ible about the removal of the capital, the
var Of religions, the. instruction of the ne
,roes, the war of the races, the secession of
he Mississippi Valley, the abolition Of COM
non schools, ofice-holding women, the an
lexation of Canada the conquest of South
America, the war between capital and labor,
he navigation of the air, the fashions of So
iety, the occupation of females, the fu-
ure of the aborigines, the habits of the
Lormons, the invasion from China, and all
,indred matters only remotely, or not at all
on the political trestleboard.
Ambition, exorbitant, obtrusive, ill-timed and
inpatient, has done enormous damage to the
ause OF Democracy and good government,
mt the harm done by thrusting before the
,eople issues that were irrelevant or prema-
ure has been much greater Sufficient unto
he day are its evils. Let us limit our con-
ests and issues to the visible and tangible
wrongs and dangers of the hour, remember
ng that political duty, like true charity,
egins at home