The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1882-09-22
Plain Talk,
ON PLAIN sUsJEcrs.
BY A PLAIS CHAR.
SLANG.

SLANG.
Ionce thought that ] would never
DO guilty OF using slang, but have
found out by experience that il is as
easy 10 get in the habit Of lt as 1t is for
Hoodlums 70 smoke cigarettes. One
might aa we'll attempt to make one
hundred cents out Of a trade dollar a
70 try 10 evads the use Of slang when
surrounded by It. Il is al very we'll
to talk Of moral stamina; but il Is no
sign OF lack Of will Tor 9uck TO be
drifted down stream when the current
Is too swift for il 70 stem. We can see
that there IL considerable truth in this
when We observe the nunlber of really
excellent people Who Pollute their Lam
guage with tLis bad habit. Nov,
thero 10 good old MrA EASy, purer
woman never lived; bus Ia talking
With her Eve minutes you might count
At least score of mixed expressions;
and that warm bloodsd SON Of hers,
who 10 such favorite Of his SaAday
Scnool teacher, generally gives vent To
slaAgy expressions at = rate which
would discount the pattsr Of the feet Of
. race horse. One would hardly think
that Miss Fastidious could 30 far forge.
herself a. 70 cay "you bet" jet IL IL
. fact, and have heard much more OBJ
jectionable expressions ooze from be-
tween her lirs. The truth is we are
becoming 50 used 70 IL that We hardly
notice it any more than We 10 the rain
during 'he wiutsr months. Il Is just
saturating US through. We wish We
could say that II stopped with the
younger "fry," but, alas, il doesn't.
Gray hairs do not s:ep Il -.y more
than locked door keeps 1oy from
the preserve dish. We have some
magnificent old people in Albany, but
every IAst-all Of them, will embellis5
their language with crooked express
siona Even our miaissers, our guides,
are far f'Om exemplary in this respect,
and to hear one, or any person, say
"you oct" IN anEwsr TO = serious ques-
tiOa u. 20 say TIE least, decidedly ridic-
ulous, much m,re 90 th,n 10 hear q
tramp speak in refined language.
Have you ever thought ~by you
tarniSh your words with sang, Be-
oanse other people around yon dol
You are going to lay it 10 association,
are you. Well, think to certain
sxteut, you are right, ss have alreAd.
intimated, but when you come 10 the
bottom facts and face the truth you
will find that this habit attaches itself
70 many because their vocabulary Of
good, expressive English words, Is 50
terribly small that they cannot make
themselves understood without rvsort-
ing to il. Il is just the sane with
swearing. When l hear man send
lag forth Willumetts river Of oaths
I always say it is because he has only .
Sautiam Ditch dictionary in bis brain.
Il Is difficult thing to make some
people believe that slang is at least Q
first cousin oi swearing. In fact you
cannot do il. They consider them
selves virtuous, and while they look
with adherence upon the taking Of
the Creators name in vain, and very
Correctly too, they will ee6le their
tongue with exressions which csme
very close TO the blue tint. You know
this to be - fact. You can't squirm
around it because you do it yourself.
The only way is to admit that you are
wrong, aud reform yourself. 1t is in
this as il is in drinking. Taking beer
leads TO whi,ky. As compared to each
other your slang is about the same Al
the beer; it is sure TO grow on you. and
if you are young and of lhe sterner sex
ten TO one the first thing you know il
will just naturally slip of into an oath
If We pretend TO he above the latter w
ought TO be ashamed Of ourselves
every time we give vent to slangy ex
preston, and for my part l am,
| have said that it iS almost impossi
BILE for person to keep out Of tn
habit when completely surrounded b,
i IL. The thing for MS to do is to breal
down the surroundings, and by work
ing together improve ourselves if moth
Ing more, The using Of slang is no
reined, it is not gentlenanly nor lady
like; ifit was it would be taught in ou
schools, our Sunday school teacher
would encourage il, our public speak
srs would resort to it and you woul
hear it in the pulpit and in the schO.
room. m ..a .
/ believe you will admit that -iti
wrong and viii consent to place
among the had habits which need n
forming. Our social life is the be-
part Of us, and We ought to be as pa
ticular in il as in our business habit
The English education Dspartmsl