Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1893-11-06

1oor Vi republican meeting and listen
and hear that the Democrats are scoun.
drels, Our public men microsconized
and the truth distorted. Who believes
tenth part of what he reads or hears in
the autumnal elections? Men who at
other seasons of the year are very care
tul IN their speech become peddlers of
scandal. VI
In the far east there is place where
once year they let the people do as thew
lease and say what they please. and the
place Is full of uproar, misrule and wick
edness, and they call it the "devil's
ray The nearest approximation to
That in this country has been the first
tuesday in November. The community
ut such times seems to say, go to. now;
let us have a good time at lying" Prom
lnent candidates for Office are denounced
as unprinclpled and renegade. A smart
lie will start in the corner of a country
newspaper and keep on running until it
has captured the printing presses of the
whole continent. What garbling of
speechesl What misinterpretation of
motives! What misrepresentation of in.
dividual antecedentsl
The trouble is that we have in this
country two great manufactories-man-
utactories of lies-the Republican man.
ufactory of lies and the Democratic
mandatory of lies-and they are run
day and night, and they turn out half
dozen day, all equipped and ready for
full sailing. Large lies and small lies.
Lies private and lies public and lies
prurient. Lies cut bias and lies cut
diagonal. Long limbed lies and lies
with double back action. Lies COM
plimentary and lies defamatory. Lies
that some people believe, ard lies
that all the people believe, and
lies that nobody believes. Lies with
humps like camels and scales like
crocodiles and necks as log as storks'
and feet as swift as an antelope's and
stings like adders Lies raw and seal
loped and panned and stewed. Crawl
ing lies and jumping lies and soaring
lies. Lies with attachment screws and
ruf1ers and braiders and ready wound
bobbins. Lies by Christian people who
never lie except during elections, and
lies by people who always lie, but beat
themselves in a political campaign.
confess l am ashamed to have for
eigner visit this country in these times.
| should think he would stand dazed,
and dare not go out nights? What will
the hundreds of thousands of foreigners
who come here to live think of us? What
disgust they must have for the land of
their adoption The only good thing
about it is that many of them cannot un-
derstand the English language. But
suppose the German and Italian and
Swedish and French papers translate it
all and peddle out the internal stuff to
their subscribers.
BALLOT BOX DISSIPATION.
Nothing but Christianity will ever
stop such a food of indecency. The
Christian religion will speak after awhile.
The billingsgate and low scandal through
which we wade almost every autumn
must be rebuked by that religion which
speaks from its two great mountains,
from the one mountain intoning the COM
nand, Thou shalt not bear false wit
ness against thy neighbor, and from the
other mount making plea for kindness
and love and blessing rather than ours
ing.
o Christian men, frown upon polit-
ical falsehood! Remember that polit-
ical lie is as black as any other kind of a
lie. God has recorded all the falsehoods
that have been told at the city, state or
national elections since the foundation
of this government, and, though the per-
petrators and their victims may have
gone into the dust, in the last day judg-
ment will be awarded.
The falsehoods that Aaron Burr
breathed into the ear of Blennerhassett,
the ISLANDERS that Lieutenant General
Gage proclaimed about George Wash
ington, the misrepresentation in regard
to James Monroe, are as fresh on Gods
book today as the lies that were printed
last week about our local candidates.
"And all liars shall have their part in
the lake which burneth with fire and
birthstone, which is the second death"
Again. counsel you as Christian men
to set yourselves against the misuse OF
money in political campaigns OF the
of dollars already spent this
autumn. how much of the amount do
YOU suppose has been properly used'
You have right to spend money for the
publishing of political tracts. for the es
tablshment of organizations for the
carving out of what you consider TO be
the best; you have a right to appeal to
the reason of men by argument and sta
tistics and by facts Printing and renting
of public halls and political meetings
cost money, but he who puts brlbe INTO
the hand Of voter or plies weak men
with mercenary and corrupt motives
commits a sin against God and the
nation. ~.
Bribery is one of the most appalling
sins of this country. God says, "Flre
shall consume the tabernacles OF DID
e,v" Have nothing to do with such a
ain O Christian man! Fling it from the
baIlot box. Hand over to the police the
man who attempts TO tamper with your
vote and remember that elections thaI
cannot be carried without brides ought
never TO be carried at all. Again ask
vor as Christian men to set yourselves