The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-01-24
THE SPIRIT OF TREASON,


| From the New York Sun.
| During the last twelve or fifteen years
there has grown up In this country a COM
! paratiVely small body of political critics
| VINO nave been industriously ut work TO
weaken and destroy the American senti-
| ment. They have treated 1t as childish
| feeling indicative of low stage of civi-
med development In every case where
this passionate American patriotism has
been aroused by foreign opposition. so tha t
| IN its enthusiastic expression 1t has swept
4 away party lines, thesc DlOodless critics
have gone counter to 1t and have jeered at
| II. They have posed as beings superior
| TO such impulses, and consequently with
| out any prejudice in favor OF this coun.
try. They have assumed that II must be
| wrong in the positions 1t takes with ref
| erence to England more especially, since.
| In their view, II Is SO far inferior in its
| enlightenment. In the Behring Sea case,
| for instance, they took the English side
| squarely. The Evening Post, the super
| cilious organ and exponent of these degen-
| crates. argued that case on behalf of Eng
land ami against this country with Il
| tireiess casu!sty. II 1t had been hired by
| the British foreign office to 90 the JOB
| II could not have been more faithful to
English interests and more violently op-
posed to American interests. 1t has fol-
lowed Ike course with reference TO
the Venezuelan question. From the be-
| ginning il has scoffed ut and derided the
Monroe doctrine: ana one OF the principal
| reasons for its professed admiration Of
| Mr. Cleveland was that IL believed him
| to be equally contemptuouS of American
tradition and sentiment. Finding him un-
eypectediy OH the American SIDE. the t.v-
ening Post now covers him with abuse.
=: -
,.l
very well as teachers Of philosophy, theol-
ogy. Latin and Greek, chemistry, phys
| les, history and rhetoric are now assum-
| ing to instruct the public in questions o!
politics and foreign policy. as to which
| usually there Is no other set of men so
ignorant as they. They are terribly
| afraid of war. They have not been
| trained in the fierce competition which
| hardens the moral muscle of other men
but have lived aSrt In seclusion and un-
der protection. They are easily bluffed
and easily hoodwinked So long as Eng
| land keeps stiff upper lip, they are sure
to knuckle under. They are distrustful
of this country, ana hence they are
prone by natural inclination to side with
its critics. At any rate, they are ready
to sacrifice SO small thing as the Mon
roe doctrine seems TO them in order To
avoid trouble. In their own special and
| narrow field they may see far and deep;
but their view of contemporary public
questions is superficial, and regarding
them they are easily deceived.
I'll -
This cynical and abnormal revulsion
against patriotic sentiment extends TO
some of the clubs. They contain sub
stantially all the men who make a boast
of having destroyed in themselves the
natural impulse to it. For such feeling
they assumed to substitute judicial criti-
csm but. really, they only replace it
with an assumed contempt for all things
American, which they imagine TO be indie
ative of superiority to prevailing iniu
ences. Such vain manifestations are mere
ly comical in ordinary times. but at a time
like this. when we stand in direct opposi-
ton to England, and an actual appeal to
arms for the settlemnt of the principle
In dispute Is possible, that nonsense must
stop. Ii Is traitOrous now to take sides
with England and aginst this country in
that dangerous controversy.
-:lI:-
We are committed by the president and
by congress and by the unanimous con-
sent and approval of both political parties
to a policy from which We cannot veer
Our stand has been taken, and our posi-
ton Is as unchangeable as 1t Is impreg-
nable. This country, accordingly. must
present solid front to England: and
whoever seeks to weaken the demOnstra-
ton by dividing American sentiment is a
traitor who invites war rather than pro-
notes peaceful issue of the controversy
The towards. copperheads. Anglomani-
acs, Mugwumps. and Citlanders who are
shouting on the English side are few in
number. but they are enough to produce
irritation by insulting the spirit of Ameri-
canism and encouraging Lord Salisbury
In his arrogance. So far as their feeble
abilities go, they are making themselves
the allies of England and the enmies of
their own country. As it Is. they are
public nusances and If it should come 10
war they will be something worse.