The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1876-10-18
And Now, the Other Side.

And Now, the Other Side.
This page Of the <:dvance contained,
last week, lengthy and exhaustive let
ter from the pen of Mr.. B. B. Herbert,
giving the reasons why Judge Wilder
should be voted for, in preference to
Major Strait, to represent this district
in congress. The conclusions urged by
Mr.. Herbert may be briefly stated thus:
Judge Wilder is gentleman of excel.
lent reputation, capable, honest and
worthy, and not an office-seeker. Major
Strait is gentleman against whom a
good many things are charged: i'm
peaching his intelligence and honesty,
and is an ofice-seeker.
The suppositions are that, because
Judge Wilder is not accused of wrong,
he must, therefore, be innocent; and
because Major Strait is accused, he
must necessarily be guilty. That these
are violent Prescriptions is too palpable
to need asserting. Judge Wilder, be-
ing a gentleman whose tastes disln-
clined him for the strifes of the politi-
cal arena, has generally avoided them;
hence. he has not excited the opposi-
tion and envy, and drawn upon his
head the fierce denunciations and
gRoundless calumnies which are apt to
be entertained and used against those
who compete for honors in the political
field. Major Strait, on the other hand,
has been frequently engaged in these
strifes and has several times carried off
the prizes. Hence, it is but natural
that he should be the object Of Islander
and Misrepresentation.
TO the circumstances under which
these two men have lived, then, may be
entirely due the difference in their rep
utatlons. The one is full of energy,
sympathizes with the people in their
wants and wishes, feels it his duty to
bee ONE personally interested in the
management of public affairs, and is
carried into the turmoil of political lite
by the ardor of his patriotic and laudably
ambitious impulses. lie is often in some
body's way, and rs often gives offence
and attracts abuse, The other is of
retiring disposition, preferring the qui-
etude of his library and the compan-
ionship of his books to participation
in the contentious of active life. Not
destitute of sympathy for his fellow
men, by any means, but regarding them
as something apart from himself, whom
he can feel for but not with. This
- man naturally slips through the world
respected and esteemed. The traducer
has no occasion to speak Of him or to
him, for he seldom stands in anybody
way or gives offence to any. When he
mixes with society at all, it is Il sort of
holiday occasion for him, and he can
- afford to wear his finest clothes and dis
play his sunniest countenance. He occu-
pies the position of either a spectator or
guest, and in both is entitled to respectful
attentions and greater than ordinary
consideration.
But, mark you reader, we are not
finding fault with this class of men.
They are of great usefulness in life,
and may be ikened to "the salt that
seasoneth society,"" They are gener-
ally thinkers, who direct thought into
its proper channels, and thus aid in the
conservation of our social and political
institutions. It is rarely true of them
that they are cold-hearted and callous
towards the Affections Of their fellow
mortals, for, on the contrary, they are
apt to be over-sensitivc and allow the
sufferings Of others to affect them too
: deeply. Neither is it true that they
are "too dlgnifed' to mix with their
fellows, for it is more often that their
social restraint is due to excessive diffid.
ence or a dislike to ostentatious display,
or absorption in thought. than to what
is falsely termed dignity. That fault
= is an evidence .of vanity, and the class
of men we are describing cannot be
vain.
But while we honor and admire men
of this class, our reading and expert.
ence teach lis that they are not the men
to manage public affairs. Those very