The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-08-24
Us been advised to acount twenty" be.

but ii, instead OF this difficult mental
process, we were permitted at once to
"let the steam Off by string OF lou d,
strong sounding, but perfectly meaning
less CALCULATIONS, the fit of ill-temper
would be of much shorter duration.
1.-THE excuses which men OF the world
advance in favor of certain amount Of
permissible license of speech" the Tele-
graph says, generally come down to the
one plea, that after all the tongue is use
full as safety-valve, and that many an
assault would be committed If it were
impossible to unpack ones heart in
words. There is, no doubt, considerable
truth in the assertion; but at the same
time it hardly answers the objection that
man of real self control would refrain
both from the words and from the sub
stituted assault. There can be no ques-
ton that the habit of swearing is one
which is painfully prevalent in the lower
branches of society. It is impossible for
woman TO walk down any street IN the
kingdom without hearing explosives
which are employed without any thought
whatever If their intrinsic coarseness.
The scholar attempts to comfort us by
the assurance that the most popular of
British adjectives is contraction Of q
highly respectable medieval exclama-
ton; but the practical point to be con-
sidered is whether nothing can or ought
to be done to check the aimless flow of
imbecile profanity which is still far too
common among u.s."
The British journal thinks quite we'll
OF the remedy proposed by the Baptist
clergyman Ct New York-to let the
swearer down by easy stages of exple
tives until his habit is finally cured.
The clergyman suggests that when the
victim Of the pernicious habit is unex-
pectedly stung by wasp, or encounters
a nail on the floor when denuded of
stockings, or barks his shins badly
against the leg Of a table, he at once re-
marks ia a loud voice, "Beefsteak and
onions!' proceeding directly afterward
to observe, "Ham and eggs!" and if the
tendency to swear has not by that time
passed Of, he adds, BREAD and butter
and a plate Of iced cream!" The rev.
erend gentleman assures the world that,
armed with this simple weapon, nobody
need in future ever swear at all. "Just
as much patisfaction," he quantity OBJ
serves, dis derived from saying Pork
and beams as from emitting string OF
swear words"
The English writer, however, sees
some defects in the clergyman's scheme.
and has these suggestions to offer:
Will the American nation in general, liv-
ing as it does at high pressure, consent to
adopt the very harmless explosives invented
by the worthy cleric? 1t must in fairness
be remembered that not every characteris-
tic transatlantic exclamation is necessarily
profane, and. therefore, Objectionable. The
dictionaries tell US that swearing consists
in appealing to heaven to attest the accur-
acy of what We are saying; and, further
that oaths can be divided, like most othel
things, into two classes, one being promis
sorry. as 6Oken by princes to rule prop
erly; I'd assertory, which arc by fal
the mol n oon variety. If the essenc'
of an oa| Se calling on outside power
to witne lark. or to assist the speak
or. then hot be commended for a mo-
ment TIL sat Casarr' or ''Great hail
stones"'- American ejaculations-ar,
really to :, COMPOUNDED with ordinary
''swear a.' A favorite transatlantic
exclamati Is "By golly"' borrowed orig
inally froi the negroes; but can it be sale
that CALI upon non-existent and en-
tirely chin rical divinity of this sort per.
son is real guilty of invoking outside pow
ers? The hme thing may be said with
equal trut bf ''By goshr' Still, it will b.
allowed BIT these EXPLANATIONS have q
somewha unpleasantly suggestive souni
about the and we, therefore, can heartily
commend The nautical exclamation, "Shivel
my top khts!" as good substitute, espe
cially # naval men. "Jin,iny Cripps!''
and "R hickory"' are also CALCULATIONS fol
which good deal may be said. They dc
not er1 on the side of excessive intelligibility
but ley perhaps sound a little less trivial
than the "Beefsteak and onions" of the
revete nd reformer.
n he mistake that both the Clergyman
and tho English writer make is in as.
stunning that all swearing results from a
stAte of mental excitement or indigna.
tion, and that it is necessary to fine
stme forcible expletive by which the fl
may be suddenly blown off, whereas the
fact is, as any observer Of human nature
knows, much of the swearing is thu
, meaningless idiotic jargon Of people whit
, never express themselves forcibly under
any circumstances, and have not ever
the poor excuse that they have beer
stirred to wrath. And for such az thesl
, the proposed remedy falls short.
POPULAR expectation is being disappoint
ed at the revelations of the census simpl,
because it has been unreasonably high. Tn
growth of the nation in the past ten year
has not only been as great as could b.
, looked for by rational persons, but has beef
greater absolutely as we'll as proportionate
" than that of any other large county,
st. Louis Globe-Democrat.
t The plain truth is that the census o
Q 1880 is failure-the inevitable result Q
t running the bureau as political ma
g chine. There is every reason to believ
IS that fifteen to twenty per cent Of tn
N l.