The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-01-24
4 LIME DEEENSE.


 |. United States Minister Bayard's ex- cuses for his utterances in England, which evoked such storm of in dignant criticism on this side of the wa. ter, are lame and pitiable. It seems strange that a man of his calibre should have so egregiously blundered He has been so long in public affairs and has held such prominent official positions that he ought to have acquired discre- tion, and he has been justly hauled over the coats by his countrymen. MT. Bayard's defence of himself, as told in the correspondence between him and our State department, just made public, is very unsatisfactory. It will be re- nlembered that the language attributed to him in reports of speeches made by him in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Bos- ton, England was called for by a reso- lution of the house of representatives. MT. Bayard in his defence recites the circumstances under which the speech es were made, but only shows that he sorely lacked good judgment. MT. Bay ard is a gentleman of very dignified polished and courtly appearance, self Icontained and urbane, and made a very favorable impression in New Haven when a guest of Yale a few years ago; ! and his unfortunate utterances in Eng 1 land have brought him no end of dis comfort, no doubt. The tongue is an unruly member, and tact, discretion and good judgment are indispensable in United States minister, especially in a minister to England, the highest I diplomatic title ever conferred upon an l American. MT. Bayard is entitled to his free trade and anti-protection opin l ions, but he is not called upon, when serving as an ambassador for the Unit ed States, to deliver public addresses denouncing a system which so large a part of his fellow countrymen endorse ] SyStClll QAdCl WiiiSii tiiC AieeIAol iet5 l reaped abundant prosperity, and which has received the approval of many of our wisest and greatest leaders and statesmen, and has been embodied In the legislation of the nation. As an ex- I change well remarks, Mr. Bayard was not commissioned by our government, and is not under pay, to fill the chair l of a lecturer on economic policies and reforms. Fortunately the resolution for impeaehfng MT. Bayard was never pressed. His offense was not grave enough for that; but he certainly de- serves censure for his indiscretion and offensive language, which have amazed | friends and foes alike.
 | MT. Bayard's utterances which have been so strongly reprobated are as fol- lows:
 | In his Edinburgh address he referred to protection as a form of state social | ism' which "llas done more to foster ! l ity of fortune, to corrupt public life, to banish men of independent mind and | character from the public councils, to lower the tone of national representa- ton, blunt public conscience. create I false standards in the popular mind, to familiarize it with reliance upon state 
 aid and guardianship in private affairs, | divorce ethics from politics, and place politics upon the low level of a merce- nary scramble, than any other single causes
 The other utterance for which MT. Bayard was called to account was this:
 "The president stands in the midst of a strong, self-confident, and often times violent people, men who desire to have | their own way, and who need to have
 that way frequently obstructed. and I
 tell you plainly 1t takes a real man to govern the people of the United States" {" That was uttered in a speech delivered in Boston, England. Mir. Bayard's sor- " explanation is that it was impromp-
 tu and that he did not know a reporter
 was present.
 |
 Contentmenths better than money and