The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1897-05-06
PRICE 81 90 PER YEAR.
Criticism M.
ny rur EDITOR or THE ARsN,


suade himself that anything is fit; then
he will espouse it as a fact, and defend
1t with words and swords Perhaps the
thing in question is only plausible or
eNpedient Perhaps it is positively
false fact. Perhaps It is the sheerest
fallacy, trieked ont in some disguise of
desire. Perhaps the instructed con.
science spurns IT, but the covert wish
or hope or ambition Of the man of Eng
lish kind is sufficient to transmute the
fact, however poor and rotten it H. into
the radiant image of truth and the
golden vision of humanity.
a large part of the history of Anglo
Saxondom since the sixteenth century
has been involved with this casuistical
disposition of the race There is scarce
" fact in our race career which is not
IN part, the product of this ethnic trait
to trump up something and exploi, it as
the thing important to civilization and
progress this while the really impor.
thnt thing is overlooked, denied md
scandalizcd The reason of this il that
the factitious fact is always easy, and
the real fact is always hard. Tho hard
fact, however, is the fact of progress
and truth; the Fictitious fact is the fact
of sham and lullaby and retrogression.
Ont of these conditions the strong
tendency and practice Of the English
speaking race to reform something far.
Oft, but never to reform the obvious and
necessary thing. has shown itself. To
grapple with the nearby fact and to
re'create it is always hard. it involves
individual exhaustion and race anguish
to do it. To deal with the far off, neb.
nlous fact is easy; for that may be lied
about and reformed with mere ink, II
1t be the eastern question, anybody can
do 1t; newspaper can do 1t; Il "journ
alist can do it well, n politician can do
1t better; crank can do II best, II il
be Armenian, there Is no telling the
amount OF horror and reform which an
Englishman or an Anglo. American can
feel over that. If it be Turkey, about
one hundred and twenty million of us
stand aghast, II II be Crete, let no man
doubt that we are sorry for the Crotans
and would fight for them. II IL be
Greece we burn with Indignation. II
1t be Venezuela, all men can manage 80
small an affair and all are eager TO try.
II 1T be Hawaii, behold how deeply a
nation concerns itself the throne Of
Lilinokalani IL an issue. IL IL be Cubs,
let the fires Of patriotism kindlc on
every height; Hispania delcnda est,
IL Is great thing, In men and races.
to care for the oppressed. 1t Is good and
great to succor. Magnanimity and IN.
triotsm are the noblest virtues Of man
kind. No thought unphilanthropic or
little fits, bat-like, through the shadows
OF THE Editors Evening Let us in
deed sorrow for slaughtered Armenia,
Let MS sympathize with the Greeks and
Cretans. Let us ask for justice In the
matter Of the Schomburgk Line. Let
us think more Of the Hawaiians than
we do Of the American adventurers
who English.like) have snatchcd the
islands Let ns, in particular, wish
that Cuba shall be free under her own
flag; maybe, under the stars and stripes
But first Of ALL let us deyontly at.
tend to our own business We have
enough to do on this line. Great Britain
also has enough to do. She always 40
strong to reform and rectify the world,
would better begin ut home under the
very shadow Of Westminster and the
tower Has she no house Of lords? Has
she no London with Its purlieus, the
basest and darkest and most depraved
in the worldy Has she no collieries,
with their sooty millions going down
daily into the earth to toll unblest for
mankindY Has she no peasantry to be
liberated and lifted upY Has she no
manufacturing cities with their heaped
up millions Of human beings struggling
for bread and little lifey
Az for America, have we moth.
ing except Greeks and Cubans on
which to exercise our patriotism and
philanthropy Are their no causes in
these states sufficiently great. no qnes-
tions sufficiently profound, to demand
and absorb the energies Of both govern.
ment and peopley Where, for example,
Is the American citizen. aforetime free,
independent individual. spontaneous
where Is he going tor Where has he
almost goney What Is becoming Of our
splendid New. World democracy, born
ON Bunker Hill and ylorifed in primi.
tive Kansas? What Is becoming Of the
unreasonable products of industry in
this nation! Who Is consuming them.
IL 1t the toiling millions, or is 1t the
idle fewY What IL the financial cOndi-
ton OF this republic and this people, Is
II good, or is II bady Will the corpora-
tion submit or will it ruler wifi the
railway dominate. or will 1t serve,
Will the telegraph reign or yieldY Will
the great municipality be republican
and Just, or will II be imperial and cor.
rupty viii the people, in word, sur-
vivs and he free. or will they 20 under
and be slaves again
These matters ought to suffice for
public interest. They ought to absorb
the energies Of both people and govern
ment. We are told, In these days, that
all II quiet on the Potomac. Perhaps
20; but not all is quiet In the bosom Of
mankind. As for the thoughtful man
who loves his country and 10 proud to
bo chilli Of the yor,,1,ltn la x,,<,,,lJ