St. Paul daily globe., 1894-05-06
THE CAMpAIGN LIAR.

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THE CAMPAIGN LIAR.
Why Is it that men who. in the or
binary affairs of life. would scOrn TO
speak an untruth, are among the most
persistent and unblushing liars during
the progress of political campaign? A
man may be all exemplary Christian, a
careful business man, punctilious to a
fault in all his dealings with his fell
lows. and yet utterly unreliable and UNI
worthy Of credence in times Of political
exc:tement-a libeler of his neighbors
and a propagation Of the basest calum-
MES. His attention may be drawn to
the falSity of the statements he Is max
ing. Ii he is in company with his ad-
versaries he will insist that he is speak
ing the truth; il there are none but
friends within hearing he passes 1t of
with laugh, adding: "lts a good
enough Morgan till after election"
So universal has the practice of lying
In political campaigns become that no
man of experience pretends to believe
half he hears. Though a candidate
may be as chaste as ice, as pure as snow,
he cannot escape calumny. Acts per-
formed by him with the best of motives
are distorted into manifestations of the
most odious SelhShness. II he treats a
man with his habitual courtesy, he is
said to be trucking for votes. Ii he
condemns public wrong, he is accused
of having had a sudden spasm OF virtue,
even though he may have uttered the
same words thousand times before.
If he commends men or policies, it Is
only in order that he may obtain sup
port at the polls, not from any inherent
love of rectitude or of honest men.
He is never given credit for honesty
during a campaign, although his con-
duct and his utterances may differ in no
respect from his acts and his speeches
in times when neither he nor his party
is aspiring TO popular favor.
While there is no doubt cause for
much distrust Of men during times of
political excitement, it is unjust to ac-
cuse all of insincerity or prevarication.
There are politicians who treat their
adversaries fairly and never seek an
advantage through Justification or Sian.
der. But this is not the rule. If the
public believed all that has been said
regarding the private character and Off
cial conduct of many of the late candi-
dates for Office in st. Paul. these men
would be forever ostraclzed from all de-
cent society. No man with any regard
for his family would introduce one of
them to its sacred circle, nor would he
transact any business with them, what.
ever its character, for fear of being de-
fraudsd.
Fortunately, the people are beginning
to appreciate the true value of campaign
ISLANDERS, and pay little heed to them.
If mans general reputation is good
if he averages well with his fellows
ne will lose little support by reason of
any accusations that may be brought
against him in the heat of political de-
bate. The people do not expect perfec-
tion in their servants. They require
that they shall be honest and co,npe-
tent; further than this they do not care
to inquire. They pay no heed to his re-
ligion. He may be Christian or Jew.
pagan or atheist; it will make no differ
ence. As long as he bears an honorable
reputation among his neighbors and
holds correct views on matters of pub
lie concern. he receives the cordial sup
port of the party to which he may be-
long. The campaign liar is poweriess
to change a single vote by his inven-
tions. But he is not powerless to work
harm. The ISLANDERS uttered by him
rankle in the hearts of the candidates
long after all other incidents of the
campaign are forgotten. Perhaps they
are remembered by his acquaintances,
and lead to suspicious the most unjust
and humiliating. They may not take
the form of actual distrust. A hint of
wrong'loing is sufficient to set the
tongue of scandal wagging, and TO ruin
mans repu tation forever.
The campaign liar mas much to an
swer for. He can plead no eXtenuation.
A lie always remains lie. whether it
be uttered in the heat of political dis
cussion or in cold blood. The response
bility Tor it cannot be evaded. Although
the campaign lie has lost much of its
po. ency. the fact has only had the effect
of redoubling the efforts of its invent
ors and stimulating their ingenuity
But the public revolt against resort to
such methods is emphatic, and gives
reason for the hope that the day is not
far distant when lying as political ex-
pedient and liars as political instru-
ments shall have passed into innocuous
desuetude.
In the local campaign the GLOBE set
an example which its contemporaries and
public speakers would do we'll to emu
late. No accusations against candi-
dates as individuals were made which
were not fully substantiated. and as
the result they were defeated at the
polls. Candidates may stand for a
wrong system or policy of a political
party, while not personally objection
able as citizens, and it was on these
lines that the GLOBE conducted its
portion of the late campaign. The
consequence was that its work was
effective. and aided in producing ex-
cellent results when the popular YER
dict was rendered last Tuesday.
THE Cleveland riots which began on
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