The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-12-03
c0unty 3. in laet, nIeroeosn Of our


didates Of one or the other party, wi
/. have reached q nomination through feeul
party channels, at each recurring electiC
1 no matter what amount OF campaign VOL
has been performed looking towardschan
, Ing them by public meetings, or otherWis
! through the press. ! meet and ming
. socially and professionally with men
: my own age who have never voted durlE
lie any other than the regular tickets
the political party to which they give at
: herence, except In rare cases. motives I
trlendship, or otherwise, induce such
I change one or more name on their regulI
party ticket at some elections.
This large class In our country 10 nearl
equally divided between the two gtei
political parties now existing. They hay
stable brain structures that perform thei
political functions on days OF election
with as much precision and regularity a
q good tlme.piece performs It's duties. Ed
ucatienal influences which do not touCI
their persons, families, near relatives, O
friends, or their property, have little or n
influence on them, even temporarily, 70
the reason they do not possess the iaculty
OF changing existing forms Of structure Ii
their brain matter, any more than has tn,
possessOr Of good time-pieCe the powe
TO change It's interior mechanism so a
to perform the functions OF a wagon
With the smaller class 1t Is altogeIhe
different. They have brain matter Il
such unstable condition that eduCa
tional influences, political, or otherwise
modify or change them from time TO time
through life.
The lines OF separation between these
classes are, however, by no means cleal
and sharply defined. In actual life, or
the contrary, there is every graduation be
tween the extremes. From the apparent
ly solid and indifferent 10 the most tickle
and changeable, they fade almost imper.
Cepubly into each other. Then, again
the time Of life, or age, has much to do
with the capacity to effect changes In the
material Of brain. Poor Richards saying
that lust as the twig Is bent the tree il
inclined, embodies a truth as eternal az
the heavens above US.
Youth Is the period in which structural
arrangements are effected 10 brain matters.
Train up the child the way he should 20,
and when he is old he will not ClepSl /
from IL, is another recognition that the
bulk Of mankind, and may include a
large proportion OF animated nature, &C.
qutre structural arrangements in their
brain matter in early life, which are little
subject to change by any educational in.
tuence whatever, as they grow older.
Il Is, again, well illustrated BY the
presence Of the Chinese 10 our Pacific
States and Territories. They come TO
US with brain matter having struc.
tural forms impressed by Chinese or
Asiatic civilization which are little, or not
at all, influenced by our own manners,
customs, religion, or thought; that Is, they
are unacceptable to changes or modiHca.
tions by our own civilization ia their
brain matter; and, hence, have become
objects Of deep distrust to the resident
population. There, politics are largely in
tiuenced by the Chinese problem, as might
be expected. In the nature Of things, one,
or the other civilization will have 10 20 to
the wall, as the probabilities Of the two
ever dwelling on the same soil in harmony
are very remote.
l arm not now dealing with the abstract
problem OF the human will, and therefore
say nothing aboutit. lam now only con-
sider1ng the more obvious phenomena OF
mind, as determined by external educa-
tional influences, In etfecting structural
arrank ements in brain matter.
Once effected there, these structural ar
rangements perform, duties or functions,
which we all rely upon with the utmost
confidence, as regards future actions.
The probabilities Of the future are cal.
culated from past actions OF men OF all
classes. That man whose acts in the past
have been honest and upright, has struc.
tural arrangements OF brain matter which
perform honest and upright functions, or
duties, can be trusted for the future. And,
as have been proven by the past TO be little
or not at all interiered with by education.
al influences, events and temptations; or
have proven unstable and readily inau.
enCed and changed, SO is our faith in
them strong or doubling.
But illustrations arc so abundant, on
every hand, OF the general principles here
insisted upon, that It seems to be almost a
waste Of time to multiply them. The
very existence OF civilization and society
depends altogether upon the permanency
Of structural arrangements OF brain mat.
ter. And the same is true OF crime and
misdemeanors. These are otherwise per.
petuated by educational influences.
Evil communications corrupt good
Manners" is truth OF the highest i'm
portance; only slightly varied from one of
the petitions OF the Lords Prayer, LEAD
us not into temptation. -
An individual does series OF good acts,
and he IL, on the faith reposed in the per-
manency OF his brain structures, trusted
by his fellow men. On the contrary, an
Individual who has done bad acts, Is for
the same reason exactly, 10 wit, the per-
manenCy OF his brain structures. distrust-
ed his fellow men repose no faith in him,
except to continue to do wrong on all &C.
casions.
Men whose brain structures impels
them to commit the crime OF numbering
their fellow men for any reason whatever,
whether from motives Of hatred, revenge,
or pecuniary gain, are, BY society, consid.
cred unfit to live. They are accordingly,
In obedience to a judicial sentence, exc,
cuted, or imprisoned for life; and for the
very satisfactory reason that experience
has shown that educational influences do
not often effect such permanent changes
in their brain matter so as 10 enable them
to perform other aud safer functions than
murder.
Educational influences may be divided
into words and deeds, or aets-precepts
and examples-as It may be otherwise
stated. OF the two, acts accomplished,
that is, deeds, ore By lar the most import.
ant aud etfectual.
The late lamented Lincoln never utter,
ed words OF greater import than those pro.
nounCed at the dedication oil the National
Cemetery at Gettysburg: "My fellow
countrymen, the world will little heed OF
long remember what we say here, but /,
will never forget what these dead soldiers
did here"
The doiugs, the deeds, the acts oil men,
what they have done, are far more eflectuai
alupatnFS than fhair wnFds