The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-09-29
Plea for Courtesy
in POLITICAL Debaie

|
SO denominational journal, recently at
tended political rally In acountry town.
[ me speaker, he writes, was heraidcd
| py naming posters which pronounced him
| tne Brilliant Orator from New York.
| lie came with the Endorsement and under
| the appointment of the Central Commit
! zee. Inc meeting was under the auspices
| OF the local Club Venerable men, repre-
sehtihg the solid citizens. sat upon the
platform. A public-spirited physician of
! the village acted as chairman and pre-
sented the speaker with courteous words
| through rain and mud the farmer people
Tor SIN miles and ten miles around had
| come; SoOdly representation of women
| Were present; school teachers students.
the best that an intelligent country COM
| munity could yield were in attendance
| All parties were represented. An intel
iectual, oratorical treat was expected by
| aii' enlightenment on a dark subject by
| Few. 1t was literary event in that
countryside looked forward to. Children
| IN large proportion, boys and girls, came 10
hear. They came not with bare of trum-
pet or bang of drum. There was no un-
| easy demonstration, no lawless expression
| or a rowdy element. The audience
dropped in quietly, soberly as to n Sun
| day meeting. There was no rudepess, 10
| profanity, no coarseness. The men took
| OF their hats like gentlemen and sat with
their wives and dauehters.
"The speaker was evidently a man CT
| considerable mental training The flow of
MS language was easy, the swing of his
| sentences rhythmical, his pronunciation
| accurate and his grammar proper To the
| thouShtlul 1t was a momentous occasion,
looked at in its psychical and ethical sig
niiicance The village hall was filed with
four or five hundred representative minds,
many of them honestly perplexed in the
presence of problem which they con-
| fessed to be too intricate for their solu-
| tion. Here was an occasion which might
| be made profitable to all, memorable to
some. The present writer recalled some
OF the fattering things that Emerson and
| DINERS nave said of the American town
| meeting and made mental comparison be-
| tween this orderly meeting of the repre-
sentatives of both parties coming to hear
| one side, with the slouching, noisy, pro-
fame hat-wearing and cigar-smoliing
ward meetings in Chicago, with which he
was familiar both as speaker and auditor.
| But the speaker began with a much worn,
irrelevant and somewhat coarse story and
| proceeded to characterize the opposing
party as apes, monkeys. fools, them
| chaps,' cranks, demagogues and similar
| rhetorical epithets. Scripture was quoted
with insolvent levity; Bible texts made to
| enforce far fetched jokes and partisan re-
torts. The devil. hell, damnation and
other theological stage properties Were
freely handled. The address was not with
out argument. and some important ques-
| tions did not 20 without recognition, but
| the arguments We're presented In such a
| confident and dogmatic way, with the COM
placent air of one who knew it all, and
knowing 1t, it was so easy and plain that
| 1t appealed only to child intelligence. For
| two long and weary hours this Orator
| from the city, a man who had. according
to his showing, hob-nobbed with the great
| Travelled extensively, was familiar with
| people of culture and refinement, insulted
the intelligence. brutalized the sensibili-
| ties and blunted the sense of fairness OF
that audience. To the credit of the audi
ence let 1t be said that they did not laugh
| at many jokes, and but slightly responded
| to his oratorcal climaXes.
| "This polished orator of the handful
closed his address with an elaborate de-
| scriptlon of n mad dog intercepted on his
| way to eat up lot of women and children
ON the picnic ground, by giant athlete,
who choked him to death, which athlete
was made to represent the presidential
| candidate In the interest of whom he
! spun, VI cou'S st '',e ''au uos Which tn's
Ian.lua'e q. - " .nohe ls .he o.her parry.
m,,a., nu. a, " 'i,loi'e ,,''o the parry
| reason to believe that he Is too typical
| a. character. His like is to be found on
both sides and it is all the more humiliat-
| ing to contemplate this spectacle when be
| speaks In the interest of what seems to .he
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|
| eva bay. dwslt tbus ,org m tbis nio-
| trra not heoo,,sa "a 10 an nxo.nt;onoI nno
| hua bocousa IL is a common ono II is .ru.
tba Snaakor bod donroniat tad tho intoIlnc'
| tma, ava ,,oroi ~, In ,bo, oommrri-
| H., ,nl ,nroral 49,, tonharh or no,,,.
| to.v NOD h,nr,.od ST. ar, ,.a,.aronnos al
| ~ uh;oh 10 ,.or,. ,ad. hut ~. saddle.
| th;,a 10 tb,t bo 1id this not In rasnon.a
10 the iocul can Vi ,ne eounlrysiue, put
unuV' ~, m,, ~ Wv
| mn " ~ .'., .n, ~,
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| ma, si'''s. y" pm. VI p...'sai u'7'.,
| ethieai anu aeS'n,'ic s."'''al"s' 'nle
speech was no lar apoNe .ne cal.uonS eN,
pioiteu ny our 'iet,opoiit"', u"i'leS ''nu
| thrus. ny men, ih.o ou' no''ies enei
i'o'i'i's' inue,"' nii,'''.eI u, eul I'M
| nlasuZ'he aitIcic' ple',e io1 ,ne ta,to'i'
anu the ePlslal, as ,ne hvru,u ,,,,. neip W
advance tne Iisht cause. WIN su'n nc
Wouiu strike the popular ili,iiu anu save
the country IRON catas'rophe, noa heip
| lean people are not TO be swayea by