The Red Cloud chief., 1889-05-17
CRUSH ALL SUSPICIOUS.

Hev 70 Avol Driftiae - . Alsssabl
Coadlitioa d Mid.
There are few things moro productive
Of evil in society than q suspicious dis
position. He who il always on the watcl
for wrong-doing actually fosters it. HI
may fancy that he IL q foe to evil. but
In truth, by letting it dwell it his mind,
he becomes 1t promoter. The gross In
justice he does to the innocent is but
part of the injury. He stirs up 10
sentful feeling. destroys friendship,
embitters intercourse, s0ws seeds o.
distrust everywhere, poisons both his
own happiness and that Of many others.
Somanifest n these results that there
Is . very general stigma placed moi
only upon the suspicious person. but
upon all suspicion itself. IF its con.
tinual presence be so baneful, let us
Danish it altogether" say many social
well-wishers. A little deeper re1ec-
ton. however, would show that this
utter determination of suspicion Is
neither possible nor desirable for as
long as there is evil in the world there
must be the fear of evil. and asuspici0n
in its first formation is but q fear.
q doubt. an uncertainty in the mind.
based upon moro or less reas0na-
bic grounds. A man. for example,
suspects some one in his employ of un-
f%aithfulness. He may have strong
cause for the suspicion. or there may
be but slight foundation, or it may be
entirely a Pigment of the imagination.
In any case he. perhaps. can not avoid
in the first instance the entrance of the
suspicion into his wi mind. and it
may be we'll that he can not. His own
interest and the cause of justice might
otherwise both suffer. Being there.
however. the question i'm mediately
arises. What shall he do with it? There
are three paths open to him and to
every one who suspects another OF
wrong-doing. He may test the suspi-
cion, he may quench it o he may
cherish and retain it. The last of these
methods is the most common, and this
it is that works so much evil and grad
ually develops the suspicious DISPOSE
ton. To retain the suspicion. to let it
Fankle in the mind even slightly. is
both unjust and unwise. and when to
this VI add the very common habit Of
confiding these unprovoked doubts and
fears to a third party the injury IS
multiplied.
There r many suspicious that Weed
crushing in the bud. We fancy our
friend is cool to US; we imagine some
one has sighted US; we suspect our
neighbor of having spoken i'll Of US.
Most likely we r mistaken. and. in any
case, we could never probably search
into the matter. Our trust in our
friend or our own s~elf-respect, should
lead US to put away such thoughts. to
such suspicious. Some ono
has. perhaps. dropped q poisonous
word Of scandal into u ears. Let us
Danish it from our thoughts with scorn.
Circumstances may tend to cast US
On one whom We may honor; let
US continue to trust him in our heart
Of hearts. We may fear that some n
has committed . fault which, how
ever. does not concern u in the least,
and in which We are not called upon to
Interfere; let us expel the idea Of an
intruder. In one Of these
two ways every suspicion may be right
" dealt with. If as a warning it has q
mission to perform. it will do its work;
fit is an unworthy or an idle ~conjec-
ture. it will be dismissed. In either case
Il will pass away as all suspicious are
meant to do. As transient guests OF
The mind. they may be useful in
establishing the innocence which
should DO brought to light, or in prov
ing the guilt which should be purged
away. But as permanent inmates Of
The mind, their influence Is most per-
Suffered to remain, they
rankle and tester, and produce all man
her of social corruptions. People are
not naturally suspicious. as is some
lines supposed. They have brought
into this unwholesome and
unhappy condition by failing to deal
with each separate suspicion as
t arises. Instead of courageously test
it. OF firmly resisting it. they have
permitted the constant presence of one
'uspicion after the another until they
.lond the mind. darken the thoughts,
Ind fill the heart with distrust and
But he who deals intelli-
.ently and faithfully with his sus-
mastering them. and never
uffering them to master him. will
'ever sink into the miserable and
nis~ery-giving condition that every one
must occupy who has q suspicious
~haracter
According to a news item. two
Dung men recently fought a duel for the
and Of a young lady. and as neither
'as wounded, the girl refused to have
ither. saying that ''she didn't want q
IAN who couldn't hit q barn In her
Whereupon one Of the young
said II he had known that ''she
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