Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-06-25
lancaster fntelltgencer.
About Fools and Asses.

SATURDAY EVENING. JUNE 20, 1881.
About Fools and Asses.
The other day in the English Parlia-
ment couple of the barons interchang-
ed in brief way their opinions of one
another. Sir William Vernon Harcourt
said to Lord Randolph Churchill, across
the floor of the House, You little ass"
to which Lord Randolph responded,
You damned fool.' That is style of
remark in a legislative assembly with
which we are quite familiar on this side
of the water, but then our legislators
are not lords. If Sir William and Lord
Randolph are to be believed, a legislator
may bean ass or fool, even though he
be knight; but he certainly ought not
to be even though he is. A country to be
well governed ought not to be ruled by
fools and asses and it would be a most
excellent thing if they could be elimin-
ated from among the lawmakers. Weare
not advised that the Parliament took
any notice of the allegations of Sir
William and Lord Randolph anent each
other; no committee was raised to in
quire into their truth and yet clearly
it ought to have been investigated. Per-
haps the fellow members of Lord Ran
dolph and Sir William did not feel quail
fled to decide what constituted fool or
an ass, or feared that an elimination of
them would leave the English without
any Parliament to speak of. 1t would be
grand discovery for the people if some
means could he devised of keeping fool
ish men out of their Legislatures for
somehow it is just the place that they
seem most successful in getting into.
We are sure the people of these states
are most heartily tired Of the silly per-
formanccs SO repeatedly exhibited
in our representative assemblies. We
in Pennsylvania have a lively
realization of the fact that wisdom does
not dwell among our lawmakers. Sensible
men when they come together to legis-
late seem to he stricken with folly, and
exhibit themselves rs though entirely
devoid of good temper and good sense.
How sick they make us always while
they sit and how glad we are when they
adjourn And Congress is little better
nor any other state legislature. How
absolutely silly do those New York rep
resentatives seem who day after day un-
successfully undertake to elect their
senator's! Manifestly they Can or can.
not decide who they shall be; and surely
they would be wise to adjourn and cease
their wearisOme ballotings when they
find their differences irreconcilablc.
There is a current impression that
even i United States senator may be
a fool and State Senator Mad.
den, of New. York, was taken to task
the other day 10y 4 friend of Conkling's
for expressing such an opinion of him.
He, however, declared that he had not
said Senator Conkling was Il fool, only
that he was foolish and he contended
there was i big difference there. Nc
doubt there is. The old Bible declares
that he who calleth his brother foo
is in danger of hell fire and we do moi
know that the new Bible has altered thi:
law in changing the name of the abode
of the damned: But there is no punish
ment prescribed for those who declare
their brothers to De foolish, even though
they are never anything else, sleeping OF
waking. Senator Madden therefore
may be put down us a man of sound
discrimination and 4 very excellent legis,
lator for no quality is more valuable tt
4 representative of the people than the
faculty of saying just what ought tt
be said-nO more and no less. LORD
Randolph; Churchill would have hes,
repudiated the charge that he was ar
ass if he had replied to Sir William 'syou
are habitually fOolish.'' He would have
shown that he was Christian gentleman
with correct understanding of the
value of words, withal. Sir William, OF
course, WAS entirely inaccurate in telling
Lord Churchill that he was Il little ass
lie might have truthfully said that he
possessed the attributes of 4 little ass,
if that is what he meant to say; and il
he knows of any essential difference in
the moral traits OF little and big asses.
On the whole it would seem that legis
latOr of fine discrimination, like Senator
Madden, might do good missionary
work i'm England /; and we hope to see
him receive the English mission.
No Compromise.
People who are speculating upon the
OrpSencp Of Grant and Garfiald at ono