Delaware gazette and state journal., 1896-08-06
TRluMpnOF THE HALF-WITIED.

Editor The Gazette: The result of
the recent convention at Chicago may |
be treated under this title. It's results |
remind me OF u boy who having heard
that some friend of the family was In |
half mourning, put tho question,
"Who Is half deadY" That is tho
present condition Of the Democratic
party and the honest part OF it has gono
into half mourning during its period OF
temporary retirement from public in
fiuence. The half-witted half is digging
it's own grave; yet it is singular to oh.
serve how many of the half-witted men
who have taken part in the dissolution
of the Democratic party are on one
side of their brains extremely bright
and able. They remind one Of Jekyl
and Hyde, one day doing honest yeo-
man service in Congress for their
States, the next picking the pockets of
their own people or rather lending.
themselves 10 that ignoble service by
slaughtering their own credit. They
remind one also of Carlylo's classi
tication of the fools; one-half nat
ural fools, the other half con-
demned fools, and to onp or the
other categories Carlyle relegated pretty
much the whole human race. We
might limit that classification to the
sections of this country in which in
dustry is now subject to the arrested
development which characterizes some
of the inmates of lunatic hospitals.
Some of our States are like men who
are full of energy, vigor and adaptation
to the production Of wealth and vol
fare, but in consequence of the arrested
| development of one ganglion of the
brain of their representatives they can
accomplish nothing, or yet accomplish
very little. Texas is an example of such
| State. 1t was represented in Chicago
| by an Ex-Governor, a most admirable,
excellent and efficient man ON his full
witted side, but suffering from arrested
development and mental hallucination
on the other side.
| Again, Texas was represented or mis-.
represented by Mr.. Bailey, one of the
most interesting young men who has
ever appeared in Congress--g look
ing, vigorous, forceful and half edu-
cated-or using the expression which
l have adopted, but not in an offensive
or imbecile sense, he is but half wittod.
One of his speeches in Congress proves
great research, earnest study and an
earnest purpose to serve his State
honorably and well, but he is an ex-
ample of arrested development. He
has only got half way in hie alphabet
on the money question when he hap
pened TO be chosen for Congress- There
he has come undor the influence OF the
subtle and able attorneys of the silver
mines and there they have stopped
him in half witted State and are
using him to cheat his own people for
the profit of this silver faction.
Now look at Texas-a State which
might displace New York and become
the empire State of the Union; YET
Texas il in condition of arrested de.
velopment due to the half-witted energy
of her representative. men. She has
deprived herself and her citizens oi
credit, and with unlimited power tt
mako progress she yet limits herself tc
miserable, inefficient railway system,
depriyes herself of capital and is stun
bling along slowly toward a glimmering
conception of what is the matter. o.
all the States in this country Texal
! has the greatest interest in maintain
ing the gold standard of value, because
she produces more of the crops ant
products that the gold standard nationi
; REQUIRE than almost any other State il
the Union. She finds the countr.
struggling with 0 monetary system,
half good and half bad, and in o half
) wittod way sends men to Congress wh'
: would make it wholly bad. She vote
, through young Mr.. Bailey and som,
: others for bad money. That is to say
she let's Mr.. Bailey vote for the fre
coinage of silver when she could com
mand all the gold she could possibl.
] want for her crops. She tells Mr.
! Bailey or rather she let's Mr.. Bailey g
to Congress and vote for force bill b.
! which her British customers who bu
, hor cotton and indirectly buy her bee
! and who might buy a great many othe
products if she only had the capital t
0 develop them, may force silver dollar
worth only fifty cents $50 cents) il
gold upon her as full legal tende
( for hundred cents 100 cents). Singu
lar but true.
One may put the case somewhat il
0 this way, The men who propose t.
q force bad money which is worth afte
: it il melted only half what it purport
: to be worth in the coin upon a hal
, educated community, can only y
classed us half witted and may cboos
r which half of the community to whic
: Carlyle delegated everybody they be
!. long to- No half measures will serv
in overcoming such delusion. Th
IS only way to treat them is to treat ther
n gently in u polite and conciliator
J. manner, to tho end that the half {
Q their brains which has been subject
o arrested development may become equ;
II to the other half and thus lift them OF
Q of the lunatic asylum into which the
= have voluntarily entered and for th
10 time locked themselves.
g Who but half-witted man woul
take bad money when he could gt
n good money? Who but half witte
b man would force fifty $50 centsI wort
10 of silver on his own people when the
l. can take hundred cents (100 contt
!; in gold for all their crops? Am / NJ
10 right in naming this half dollar part
J, the party of the half witted? How ca
l. anybody classify them in any other way
|. An inmate OF one of the hospitals (,
}. tho imbecile and feeble minded wi
7. had one of these half-witted BRAIN
IN lately became interested in the mont
question on the sound side of his heai
], He read all Stewards speeches. \
ID body but half -witted man would ev
le have done that, and he tried to g
Is through Senator Jonos', but he ga
TO il up. Then ho went to the superi
tcndent and told him that bed -four
out way to fix the matter abo
prices. He said, "What these peop
g. | make belipvo thny ara after who a