Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1883-12-13
fCoMMuKIcArED.
December 8, 1883.


first portion of the reflections Of "Se-
mel" published in your issue of the
22nd Of November, would have sung
had not my musical education been
SO sadly neglected in my youth:
"Hark from the tombs doleful sound. .
The conclusion forces FROM us the
expression,
"He stared aloft, on wings Of fame,
And ht---On daddys woodpile."
mean no ofense to the old gentle
men, by this method of commencing
my reflections upon the past. /,
Messrs. Editors, have been a voter
for l6 years, and have watched the
course Of politics in this county for
nearly 25, with more or less interest.
cannot see that there is any less
honesty in them now than heretofore.
1t is true that in those days of "auld
lang syne, wealth in slaves or land,
and position. otherwise birth, were the
sole credentials by which man could
reach public favor. Then, if any as
pired to lead, he would have to meas
ure his farm, weigh his purse. count
his slaves, or failing in these, take a
stroll to the churchyard and examine
the tombstones in order to ascertain
the height Of his genealogical tree.
Now, .Messrs. Editors, do not wish
to convey the idea that these creden-
tials are unfit. On the contrary,
wealth if properly employed brings
culture, and if all wealthy men were
honest and willing to accord to others
the rights they claim for themselves,
no one would or could object to it in
would be leaders. If a mans father,
grandfather and perhaps great-grand-
father have been honorable, intelli-
gent and honored men, people natur-
ally expect the same qualities in him,
and believe more readily put their
trust in him, but it gives him no
inherent rights mora than others
In this ''land of the free, and home of
the brave, he must, or should rise
or fall by his own merits. IF he has
those qualities that rendered them
conspicuous, he deserves success, and
will succeed. If he has not, but on
the contrary turns his back upon the
bright records left for his guidance,
and becomes a sot and a rake, he de-
serves and should receive no more
consideration than the son of the most
comnon labOrsr in the land. In fact,
not SO much. for his position. the ex-
amples of his ancestors and his op-
portnnitEes for learning the right way
should teach him better.
We have also, in our midst, fami-
lies Of laboring men, who for genera
tions have maintained as bright a
record for honesty, sObriety and all
the qualities that make the useful
citiaens, as any Of orr wealthiest men.
Are they TO be ignored and given no
voice in our affairs, beyond the mere
act Of vOtingY They are the bone
and sinew Of the land. Without
them capital and birth would soOr
collapse. Must the sturdy yoemanry
OF ouE country be forced to submit to
the rule Of others? Such was the
order of things in those good old days
spoken Of. If, perhaps. an unworthy
man has been lifted into power Of late
years, We must consider it bat a nat
ural rebound from the high tension
Of ye olden times. Besides, / have
known Of many unworthy men, who
held ottce during my younger days.
Men Of wealth. high birth and edu-
cated-but unfortunately no merit was
there, Some were cOlrupt others,
fools Some may say that a fool can
not be educated. Perhaps. not in a
correct sense. but / use the word in
its popular aeCeptation. OF course,
il is rather hard for old men who have
been trained in a different age, to
adjust themselves TO the altered cir