New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-07-12

&" HAMPTON, oil South Caroiii'"' "I" '''
.. to the people Of the Unitci' STATES lou
..bayc elected me to the first ONCE I'D your
So. Gift and by the eternal GOT VIII be PreSl-
-. dent, ne would be President ANA TINS
leads ia 70 remark, in the first place 'hat II Is
unite manifest that Mr.. NoodSon does not
know Mr.. Tildrn. No one VINO mas lho
pleasure of Il personal acquaintance Wlti
fine gentleman whom the Tammany society
calls the statesman of Creamery faik
would ever dream of his saying that sort OF
thing in that way. 1t isn't HIS manner at ALL
or bis STYLE of address. Onc would as soon
cxucct to see the bronze Seward at Madison
Square Use up and b"cEon to DIoa"""'
stage. IA to hear Mr. Tildcn indulge III any
such profancly vigorous assertion. FOR MI IL
drn's address is an unvarying monotone ic
is not emphatic does not " hire OIL DIS m""''
like pack of iirc-crackcrS or a 6atilIlS gun
or a Western orator but rather lets 1t cXiide
deliberate wisdom into the ear OF Il COM
mttcr. like the flow OF cold molasscs from
the splgot of hogShead INTO il series
of brown Jugs. Instead of saying he womb DE
President "by the eternal Cod" he would pe
much more likely to scratch his ga: ana say
- will see you later And yet this does not
arpuc lack of courage by any means. MI.
Wood,on is n little too fast. we think, when he
assumes that Il man is Il coward VINO does not
swear "bv the eternal God" he will do things.
We could name several persons who never
swear in that way whose personal courage Is
undoubtcd.
Another thing: We suspect that Mr.. Wood
son hborS under IA misaDprchcnSlon IN sup
posing that in this country a man can 30 any =
thing he plcaScs if he only swcars "by the
eternal God" that he will do it. There
seems To be prevailing dcluSion III some
parts of The South and West that the aversion
which Is felt in some communities at the North
and East for profanity and blaSphcmy
arises from timidity and not simply from
disgust. 1t is thought, no doubt, that
anyhody with blold-hrimmcd hat and
Il staggering gait, and a pistol slung
on his hip, can scatter whole townships in
terror by the mere fluent uttcranca Of ener-
cctc profanity, and that all good Demo-
clat who has been running for office need
do j, to swear by the eternal God" he viii
have the office, and everybody will stand
back in ahcct fear and give him his way.
We take leave to correct the gifted Missouri
orator upon this point. II j. not ut all I'M
likely that Il majority of those who voted
AGAINST Nr. lildcn IN the late election would
have been surprised and perhaps shocked
had that gentleman swung MP his clcnched
list ana hoaI,cly how.cd, "a, Mr. WOodsOn
thinks ne ought that he had been elected, and
"by the eternal God" hc would be President,
but We have no idea that they would have been
50 scared a, to run. They don't like proianc
language. but then they are not 80 afraid Of
it a, to run away simply because a man swcars
M them. Indeed. we do not think that if Mr..
Tillcn had put on a Sombrcio and girt HIM
self with MORSE pistol, aud bo"c-hnivcS and
added spur, Is large a, a cartwhccl, and gone
ont on his porch and taken Mr. Wood>on>
Li.h oath. that single family would have
moved out al the square. They would have
been much more likely to >ly, "Nhy, this
"absrd old person has lost hi wits and TO
pat him in charge OF a keeper. There was a
good deal of this by the Eternal" and ." 50
"h,lp me Cod" business done before the war;
and some person, got the perhaps
MIR. Woud~pn was one OF thcm-that a free
u,r of whi,kcy and the name Of the Deity
oath, coming out a, wh-hcy went iH-would
push any 'Iii-' ''''l' ~ NV III VI
Mr.. Woad>on seems not to be onc-havc
learned their mistake.
Far bc IL FROM Il, To undertake To hclittr the
oratorical grace, and accomplishments 10y which
Democratic Statesmen at the West and Nod'h,
and not nficqucutly III conventions nearer
home. arouse their audience, 10 a frenzy Of
enthusiasm. The men who raise their clruchcd
fist, in air and shake their locks and stamp
and lagc aud tear their passion 10 tattC,s and
roll up their eyes like billiard ball, with
appeals to heaven, are not without
some influence upon the class of citizens
To- whom they address themselves. They frc-
drcutly arouse each other to desperate deeds,
and their mashed noses and broken jaws
attest hc power of this style OF cloqucncc.
Bat The, do not often frightcn decent people
into throwing them their pulses o. the keys
Of the public treasury. Mr.. Wood~ou makes
Il mistake similar 20 that of the blasphcmous
small boy, 10 whom IN the midst of a torrent of
oathS that would have done credit TO Il
Iammany convention, clergyman said /:
"Why, my lad, you absolutely brighten me.
"Wru," said the boy. " ii You rc-lrightcncd.
"why IN -- don't Won run!" Mr.. Tildcn
might have startled the public by breaking
ont - Mr.. WoodSon suggests. and they might
have been frightened on his account lest the
man had gone mad but Mr. Wood>on IL mis-
taken If he suppo,cs they would have been 50
frightened aS to run away and leave the old
gentleman 10 swear himself in.
The various experiments III lighting rooms or
large spaces with electricity, which oar local