The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-08-10
STOP CALLING NAMES.


Our advice to our allies in the fight FOR
honest money to deal gently with the err
ing has been generally taken in good part.
We may even indulge the concert that IL
has greatly softened the asperities OF the
campaign. The very estimabie New iork
Evening Post. which likes to prove It's
doctrine orthodox by apostolic blows ana
knocks" admits that Mr.. Bryan Is man
of excellent character and not a boss
blatherskite" and other valued Journals
which in the first flush of anger were dis
posed to treat the silver men as II they
had seeded from the Union have settled
down to decorous argument. Even Har-
pers Weekly has had a change OF man
ners. A correspondent at Bloomington
says he counted 100 epithets in recent
discussion of this grave question by the
journal of civilization" but In the last
Harper's the issue was presented In Ian
guage BETTING u great representative O.!
public thought. We cannot say that the
advocates Of free silver have succumbed
SO quickly to rational example. They
still seem to think that the question can
be decided by the application of sixteen
epithets to one gold man. The advocates
of the existing standard are always tools
of Wall street" or paid "agents Of trusts
and corporations" to free silver editors.
They are not willing to admit that a man
dear to him as his family and cast aside
all hope of political preferment in The
future for the sake of a principle has not
sold himself to the devil. We can assure
them that they are wrong.
We once advised the New York editors
to come west and see the people whom
they were fond of calling anarchists"
We now advise the western editors
IN aitInria1 ms and visit
the lairg Of the gold bug" We
assure them that many who advocate
the gold standard are as poor as the poor
est farmer in Kansas; that others would
shoot the man who would offer them q
bribe; that a vast majority Of gold bugs
never saw Wall street, know aught of its
deviltries. despise stock gambling. and
are plodding, SOBER church-going. home-
coming American citizens. They will not
be deferred from doing. their duty because
our genial and urbane friends of the far
west call them hard names. They will
answer abuse with arguments and threats
with votes, and they will remember their
erring brethren in their prayers.
1t should not be hard to convince the
American intelligence that the language
of the pothouse is not suited to the dis
cussion Of matters whose gravity Is every
ma de for a natural American exuberance
for language. We playfully call the Demo-
Gratis who met at the Coliseum "pOpO-
Gratis" There is no offense in that. They
call us gold bugs" and while we should
prefer the more stately designation OF
sound money advocates" we are willing
to let the other fellow have his joke. Bnt
to denounce man as criminal because he
disagrees with you on q question which
4, ln1 at,S Of nv ppp
tions is contemplate. un-American and
intolerable. 1t is as il one were to say:
1.-The sun is 63, ,00O. 900 miles from the earth.
and II you don't believe 1t you are
black hearted rufiian and ought to be
hanged to a lamp-post." Suppose the
Texas journalists who abuse the gold
bugs" were to come to Chicago or go TO
New York and face to face with their
opponents repeat the epithets which they
now hurl through the columns of ,neir
papers Would they need the protection
of the police to the railway station? Sup
pose Professor Andrew Dixon White at
tempted to make good' the denunc!a-
ton which marked his hysterical letter,
in the camp of Red Dog, Texas Would
he not be led austeraiy to cottonwood,
while the assembled reDudiationists Load
ed their six-shooters? Then why do the
Texas editors and Professor Andrew Dix
on White feel privileged to insult the
honesty and Intelligence of their oppo-
nents at long distance, through the mails?
\ \ \
If half that has been said about the de-
signs and morals of the American people
in the last month were true we might
well trenble for the future of republican
institutions. Thank heaven, 1t is not true,
1t exists only in heated brains ana OH
reckless lips. The election is three
months off. In the meantime the ener-
gies of both sides could not be better eni-
ployed than in cultivating the amenities
of debate among civilized tribes. Keep
cool" should be the motto of the hour.