Towanda daily review. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1879-1921, 1880-02-10
Hiding Behind the Majority.

attacks men as corporation. Take the
average business man, for instance; it is
safe to assume that he is an honest, con-
scientious fellow; he would not wrong
his grocer or his booblack Of a penny.
But give him the smallest share in part
nershp, and he will calmly consent that
"the Works" should put China clay in
their drillings or sand in their sugar to
the cheating of thousands of poorer pur
chaserS, or should even adulteratC their
drugs to the destruction of human life.
Individually, he will go to church to-day
and drop his money in the box for foreign
missions, with the sincere prayer that it
be blessed to the CoverSiOn and CiViliZa-
tion of some poor heather; tomorrow,
as one of the firm, he will issue orders TO
his statesmen to get rid of certain unSala-
bic stock to unwary country customers
at maximum prices; or he will instruct
his new shipping-clerk how to cheat the
customs Of their usual per centage of the
duties. He knows we'll enough that such
teaching to lads and young men begin
ming business life infectS their life with
the dry-rot Of corruption; but it is not
he, it is ''the trade that does it.
Or, take another man, who is in tenn
permanent tender-hearted and sensitive as
woman, who would not look on to see q
worm needlessly hurt; yet he belongs to
little sect that triumphantly cOnsigns
all the rest of mankind to eternal and in
exorable torture because it does not sub
NIT to its dictaton in certain dogmas :;
and the idea of this wholesale cruelty
does not revolt him at all. If he had
lived, too, in the time of the world when
his sect had power, he would have ap-
proved its use OF thuiubscrcW, MJoY and
rack 70 DO to death its helpless ,ictins.
Remember how many merciful men and
gentle women consented to these things
in the old time simply because
their hideous creed came to them sane
toned by great majority, host of their
congenerS and torefatherS. Or take 9TH
ers of our readers of still higher class,
refined and honorable Christians; as
commercial men, scholars or clergymen,
whatever their domestic life or business
relations may be, they are scrupulously
careful to fulfil every duty. Yet gigantic
frauds, and cruel injustice may be carried
on by the political party Of which they
are nominal members or by the govern
ment which they helped to form. and they
do not stretch out a finger to reform
either The good man sitting by his
chimney-corner shakes his head sadly
when he reads of the corruption in his
own party, and thanks God that he knows
nothing of rings and long since ceased to
take any part in politics. He read Two
years ago of the cold-blooded murder by
order of the Government of sevcnty-tive
helpless men, women and babies; he
reads now Of the ROBBERY, the bani Shmcnt
and slow starvation of whole tribes, and
it sounds to him like diSagrceablc but
far-off song. "He has nothing to do with
it, Has he nothing to do with it? The
decent, honorable citizen who refuses to
take part in politics, who passively hands
over the control of his city or State to
rings or men whom he knows to be
knaves and swindlers is just as response
BILE for its management as they are. The
voter, who knows of blot upon the Ma
tional honor and crime like that of Sla-
very, or the slow slaughter of the Indians
now going on, and does not protest
against it, is personally guilty of it. 1t
20 oro;pCt him NOT anaiuCt an n