Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1885-09-25
DAILY POsT.INTELLleENceR
1eurrCaL ssmsscLATTEE.

R0klr1lAL h0HtstLass
No one Who 10 interested N ADeTican
politics can fail 70 be struck sy tie Pc
euliar taste Displayed By toe people IN
their selscsion Of political terms Writ
srs and speakers are continually Invent
ing nev words TO describe nsS political
IDEAS or new party divisions B>eh
eampaign and ssch political agitation
calls forth its ovn peculiar words anc
phrases. Tue vas, ma riiy Of these are
forgotten aInsst a. soon ~ the poiit'cAl
srigency which demanded tkero Is past
A few, hosever, catch tss pop1lsr fancy
and are given permanent places IN the
language. either a. vsrds which pas.
into general use, OF a. srpressiJns 70 Dr.
looked for in eyelopedias, where they
stand for some episode Of past political
history. Arnssg words which have thus
passed into general use are esrryman
dsr.- The name Of the peculiar fern Of
political manipulation Of which Elbrids'
Gerry was the originator, caucus and
bulldose." Among those vAieh call
10 mind particular political episodes are
"Hunker," Barsburnsf," -" Losofoco
and 50 Liberal" The taste displayed by
the people In the selection Of the phrases
destined 10 live IL most extraordinary.
Hundrsds Of words may bs coined, all
OF which the people reoefye most con
temptuousIy and absolutely refase to
adopt. Suddenly, hewsver, another VIII
appear. Ii may have no advantage IN
sound or sense over the hundred which
failed TO fiud popular approval, bat for
some mysterious reason 1t u caught up,
and almost at once II comes into popu
lar use.
Usually the men who coin suob words
are unconscious that they are present
inc something nev 10 the English Ian
euaas. Often the infant words act IN
q most independent manner aud take
upon themselves meanings which those
who are responsible for their birth
never dreamed of giving them. For
instance, in 1877 Mr.. Blaine described
himself an q "stalwart Republican"
The phrase struck the popular ear at
once. ID was strong and euphonious,
and IL meant something. II passed
into general use. asd two years later We
hnd that Mr.. Blaine's adjective had be
come a noun and that the unnatural
word has transferred Its allegiance TO
political faction which Is bitterly hostile
10 its father. The word meant some
thing that Mr.. Blaine never intended II
10 mean. but 1t stuck and will never en-
tirely disappear. The word Hslfbresd.
which came into use in It's political
senss early In 1881, was coined with
the express purpose Of providing a
name for the faction OF the Republican
party which was opposed to the Stall
warts; but il was not received with ap-
proval, was never generally adopted ont
side Of the State Of New York, and is
now almost forgotten. The word mug
wump" was commonly heard for the
first time In 1881. Il vas slang word
which meant anything or nothing as
the speaker chose. While il Was drift
ing around In this helpless way, Mr..
Blaine was nominated fer the Presiden-
cy and the detection Of the Independ-
est Republicans took place. The people
wanted a convenient word 10 describe
the men Who. while asserting their de-
votion TO the principles Of the Republl-
ssn party, were for the time acting
With The DeDocrsts- They were neither
Republicans nor Democrats. and TIE
phrase ibdependent Republicans
vss too eaubsrsoEne for popular ase.
semeons remembered The orphan word
kne applied u 30 the n1nelsss party.
d vss p~rfeci 81. Ibs people accept
Cd IL and N spite Of their .ehsmsni
Erosssast1ons tie Indspendent Rspubh-
cans started on their career doomed to
veal the grOteeqne name Of Maxwump.
For the latest addition 10 cur poiisi-
cal Vocabulary We are indebted TO Sena-
ssF Hear. The new word IL 81 pread-
amise." and II gives anmistakable indi-
cations Of vitality. The circumstances
u Ia birth are peculiar. Senator Sher.
.uar IN k,s ..,aa.k..s a.. Sha nhso -.
psien devosss almost his entire atteu-
sfsa 20 the Soashern question. This
fact has been bitterly CONNIE nted upon
by the Democratic press of the coan
try. senator sherman was denounced
for revivinR issues witch, as the Demo
crats insisted. we're dead and gone. He
vas accused OF locking 10 the past
rather than 10 the present and The
future. Finally be vas described a.
antedflnvian- Senstor Roar therefore
declared in speech that II Sherman il
an antedilavian, he Ia q Preadamite.
The phrase vas caught up. Hoar vas
referred 10 by the various newspapers
o. Preadamise, and at length the
name vas extended 90 as 10 include all
hspselicans vhs s,ill dwell apon the
Questions rising out OF the rebellion.
TIE word vas needed. and there 10
every indication that IL has come TO
Say. - least for some years. We may
expect 10 hear much OF the Preadami.es
hereafter.
One peculiar result Of the withdrawal
OF one and tvo dollar ereenbscks from
eircolatioa Is an unexpected prvvalsnce
Of Canadian bank notes in all the
Naf4harxa Alalaz L.