The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-01-14
JOHNSON AND MAG0IRE.

! The people of California will find no
satisfaction on either side of the contro-
versy on the floor of the House of Repre-
sentatives between Congressman Johnson
and Congr ssman Mcguire. The episode
which is regarded as disgraceful to the
House, was in some respects disgraceiul
| to the State. IL resulted in no good to
either party and can have no other effect
| in the East than that of confirming the
| Judgment of those who in their ignorance
regard California as still in the wild and
woolly stage of intellectual development
When the two Congressman declared on
the floor of the House with theatrical de-
clamation their bravery and their inten-
ton to meet one another elsewhere they
simply made themselves ridiculous in the
minds of intelligent men. The age OF
dueling is over. 1t is we'll known that
loud talk on the floor of the House about
meeting elsewhere is meaningless bravado.
No courage is required for such declara-
tons. All who make them are perfectly
safe on the floor of the House of Repre-
sentatives, and the veriest coward might
| there declaim as bravely as Achilles him.
self. AS for the meetinss elsewhere they
are out of date. The man who would now
| fight q duel would render him self either
liable to the law or else make himself as
ridiculous on the field of honor as he was
on the floor of Congress.
On the main issue the sympathy of
the House showed itself to be unmis-
takably on the side of Mr.. johnson,
and justifably so. If there is any
thing which is charac erstic of the
| A hor
generous nature which willingly gives to a
man the privilege to redeem himself from
any folly or even crime into which he may
| fall.
There is very little among the American
people of that tendency TO kick man
when he is down which is common among
some races. We are a broader, nober
and ulster people. We believe in the
words of the dramatist: There is a fu-
| ture for every man who has the virtue to
repent and the energy to atone" Not
infrequently in our history have men who
Went wrong in their youth proven in man
hood that they had this virtue and energy
Of which the dramatist speaks, and it is to
tue credit of our people that when the
atonement has been made they have been
willing TO accept it in good faith and to
accord no little honor to the hero who has
risen above his past to working manhood
and marked out for himself an honorable
future.
1t is the old story of the Prodigal Son,
so often repeated in human history. The
sympathy of the world is with the re-
pentant son and with the generous father
| who forgives. The American people have
never respected those who care to drag
up the records of the past to torture those
who have repented and atoned. Human
virtue should be equal to human error,
and whenever man has sinned and has
shown that he has within him virtue
capable of atoning for the sin it is moth
ing more than justice that his virtue
should receive the recognition which it
deserves.
1t is to be hoped that the whole episode
will soon pass away from the memory of
men and be forgotten. No Californian,
at any rate, will have any desire to per-
petuate it. 1t is one of those outbreaks
which occur in the heat OF impassioned
debate, and it is more than probable that
both men regret it to-day more sincerely
than any one else. California will not
hold Congressman Johnson responsible
for sins for which he has atoned, nor
will 1t hold Congressman Mcguire in dis
repute because in the heat of passion he
has been betrayed into the false position
of attempting to dishonor man because
of long atoned-fo deeds. We call atten-
ton to the quarrel simply to emphasize
the moral of it and to. point out to both
parties the folly of their course lest other
Representatives might be tempted to COM
nit the same mistakes.