The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-03-23
More Malicious Than Merry

When a man has spent a number Of years
in any community where he has failed to
ma g himself agreeable or popular it seems
to be part of human nature that he should
20 off to some other locality and talk disre-
pectfully, and even maliciously, of the peo-
pie among whom he lived and who, for come
reason generally dependent upon his own
personal defects of character, failed to fancy
him in the extravagant way he desired.
This is popularity of certain class of
mankind. To the credit of the human race
be it said that such conduct is not general.
Whether the people among whom a man
has lived, fancied and fattered him or not,
they at least tolerated him at whatever
expense to their own feelings, and for that,
if for no other reason, they have a right to
expect of him, if not courtesy, at least
abstinence from outright misrepresenta-
ton.
According to his own statement to Cor
respondent "Gathn in Washington a few
days ago, a young man by the name of
hampton once lived in Kentucky, where he
printed newspaper, which he admits was
not brilliant success. That seems to have
soured him toward all that is Kentuckian.
His chief delight now appears to be found
in RECALLING credulous strangers with won
derful stories of the fabulous atrocities con-
stantly going on in the land of Daniel
Boone. This is rather a severe penalty he
is visiting upon the hapless mountaineers
for their neglect to more freely subscribe
for his sentiments as he writ 'em," and to
lnterject advertisements on the basis of
tariff for revenue" That seems to have
been an objectionable offense which he
cannot forgive. Nor does he take into ac-
count that the sentiments he had for sale
may really not have been worth the price
put upon them. Still he continues to retail
his stories of the horrors SO easy to imagine.
but so difficult to actually discover Native
Kentuckians he represents as a species of
cowardly cutthroats compared with whom
the ancient assassins were knights of chiv-
alric valor.
Such disgruntled emigrants as Mr.. Lamp
ton it is who take fitting and dyspeptic
view of their surroundings and then hur-
riedly pass on to the next settlement to
relate marvellous narratives of what they
think ought to have happened but which
Uney COuIQ NOT WdlL 10 sec. 1ney are the
historians who distort the color and char
acter of a country and its civilization into
such grotesquely repulsive shapes as to
cause the eyes Of law-abiding people to
dilate with horror. In making such state
ments to Gath" Of the bloodthirstiness of
Kentuckians no doubt this young man
thought that he was merely INDUCING in
bit of picturesque facetie. Chronic jokers
always so consider their own most absurdly
exaggerated misrepresentation. They
regard them as only fun, and do not expect
any one to believe them. But the fabricat-
| ing humorist doesn't take into account
that everybody does not personally know
him, and therefore cannot appreciate what
robust liar he is. Else his statements
would never damage those to whom they
refer. Yet it would be good thing if he
could be made to understand that a state
ment is not essentially humorous simply be-
cause it is a grotesquely impossible lie.
When next Mr. hampton visits the land
of those bloodthirsty and treacherous Ken
tuckians that he pictures with 80 much
vivid horror he deserves to have sanguin-
airy band of them suddenly appear from
behind chinquapin bush and literally sat-
urate his raiment with diseased eggs.