The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-07-04


American history. which he proposes
shall be called "Blackwood's History o;
the extracts which the professor offers
in evidences:
All American history is written to prove.
not that Americans have performed great
| because they were performed by Ameri-
| cans.
The popular idols (American made) have
been manufactured generally Of the very
| coarseat and commonest clay: and even
when permitted to remain on their pedes-
tails they are objects at least Of as much
ridicule IS admiration.
These character sketches are given
just as portrayed by the British maya
| zine:
Grant-A grisly fanatic.
Stanton--A presump'uous fanatic.
Captain wilkes-An impudent pirate.
Seward-lnfiated nonsense.
Sumner-Doubly forsworn.
Lincoln--An Insignificant lawyer.
I.incoln's Cabinet-Conspicuous only for
imbecilc pretensions.
OF Lincoln these additional remarks
are made:
Nothing except the honesty Of purpose
| ascribed to him to distinguish him from
the swarm Of politicians and generals
| that have been engendered by the cor
| ruption of the defrnct Union
II would have been Impossible for him
| to have emerged. under British institu.
| tions. from the mediocri,y TO which ma
ture had condemned him,
OF American institutions in general
we are informed that:
The purest despot.sm now existing. with
| the exception, perhaps, of some African
systems In regions to which Speke and
Grant have failed to penetrate.
The spoiled child Democracy, which az
ter playing strange praEks before high
heaven. and figuring in odd and unex-
pected disgulses. dies as surely from lack
Of vitality as the Oldest of worn-out des-
potisms.
a system that has become rotten and
offensive while yet it preserved the ap-
pea RANGES of life.
The end of the Union seems more likely
to be ridiculous than terrible
4 nation whose conduct in war has
never been marked by single generous
deviation.
The most corrupt system ever known,
and the inability OF which to produce any
kind of political merit is one Of the won-
ders of the world.
The vainglorlous people who have so
often cheaoly detied us.
A people who are content to follow with
senseless shouting the pipmy im2cstors
who are conducting them into such fright
full quagmires.
OF course, these opinions represent
the distortions of exceptional prejudice
greatly intensified by temporary ex-
citement; and are not to be admitted
into the same category with, say, Pro-
fessor Bryce's review Of "The American
Commonwealth" which Is careful,
rational, sincere and for the greater
part accurate study of our institutions.
But the trouble Is that while one En-
glishman takes the pains to compre-
hend Professor Bryces exposition,
thousand or more Englishmen draw
their knowledge Of the subject from
lust such scatter Drained comment as
that cited from the file Of Blackwood's.
If In this country some Of us retain a
faint feeling Of occasional resentment
because of the outrages perpetrated on
this soil by the great grandfathers of
the present generation Of Englishmen,
1t Is. no more than and not one-half
so much as the resentment openly ex.
pressed at the time by scores Of emil
nent English statesmen. Of whom it Is
enough to name Chatham and Burke
On the contrary, the feeling Of malev-
olent disrespect shown to this nation
by England only thirty-tive years ago
was both unmotherly and unprovoked
1t was more than that: 1t was pusil-
Luminous and cowardly, since 1t took
advantage of our then inability to ac-
cord to 1t the attention it deserved.
We trust and believe that England
today is in a more becoming mood.
But we don't yet feel called upon to
go into delirium Of JOY over the visi-
BILE evidences Of her maternal affection
and esteem.
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