The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1895-05-23
4 WIDE SPREAD EVIL.
AN EARNEST PROTEST AGAINST
4 GREAT AND GROWING
BAD PRACTICE.
Little Respect for Authority.

ItfL u . Il Il ft{tOIt ~ ANtuS IL ODSSTIPT
This writer desires to say, bv way OF
preface, that he is little member Of
that political party which has been re-
ported, for some months past, a. being
thoroughly dead, and that he never has
been, and never expects to be, IN affili-
alton with any other political organiza-
ton. 1t has been said that the dead
party first killed itself by its own inter
nal dissensions then the surviving
parties combined and killed it again,
and they keep on killing it, through
fear of its revlvifcation
II the report concerning the party's
death be true, then | must be dead al
SO yet, am conscious Of a strong in
clinatiOn to give expression to some
thoughts upon a widespread evil of
our Il1ueS. j, therefore,, Use 10 ASK
Of the editor little space for a few
words.
By the way, this reminds me of the
amusing predicament IN which the late
DR.. c. F. Deems once found himself
The sad news of Ghost Eliot's death
having reached him, he sat down in
his New York sanctUm and wrote quite
a complimentary obituary of his de-
ceased friend, in which he stated that
the old gentleman not only made free
use of the Interrogation point, but bore
a striking resemb blance, in his physique,
to that crooked punctuation mark.
Mr.. Eliot enjoyed privilege denied to
mos men-the privilege of reading his
own obituary and after reading it, he
affirmed that, when he saw the Doctor
again he would get even with him and
let him know that the wasn't dead at
all
If the warfare among the political
parties must go on, insist in the
name of patriotism and humanity, that
it shall be conducted on a higher
plane We are drifting towards the
savagery Of wild beasts, by injecting
INTO our political discussions an ever
increasing superabundance of sharp
and offensive personalities. Even
our religious controversies are not free
from this grievOus fault. Cannot men
differ in religion or politics, without
exhausting the vocabulary Of bitter IN
vective and low blllingsgate in their
abuse of one another? We haye be-
come so afflicted with the evil eye,
that we can see nothining good or
prai.eworthy in a political opponent.
We magnify the wrong he does, and if
we cannot deny or disprove his noble,
generous deeds, we will at least seek to
besmirch them by putting bad motives
behind them.
A still greater evil however, is the
unreasonableness and injustice that
characterize our criticism Of public Off
GERS.
Did the Apostle Peter look down
through the centuries upon our age,
when he wrote the words, "they are
not afraid to speak evil of dignities 2"
Surely the words aptly describe many
of our speakers and writers. To the
speakers there come intervals Of rest
which they devote to the cultivation
of peace and good will among men ;
but for the writer's, as for the wicked,
there seems to be neither rest nor
peace.
The careless and reckless manner in
which we have spoken and written
concerning our public officers ha.
borne much bad fruit already, and will
bear much more hereafter Public
officers are Gods ministers, and we owe
it to God and our country to respect
their persons for the sake of their Off
cial positions, and to be just and tenn
perate in our criticisms of their official
acts.
Because of honest difference Of opin-
ion among our representatives, as we'll
as among ourselves, upon great imam
cial questions, our last Congress Iell
short of what we desired or hoped for
in the matter of wise legislation We,
therefore, began the work OF vltupera-
ton. and carried it on, through the
press, on the stump, at the crossroads,
hn 7frv-