The record-union., 1898-03-01
INEXCUsABLE IGNORANCE.

We find the following in the editorial
columns of the Willows Daily Jour-
nal:
War and accident make or ruin
many. Two weeks ago, outside of his
own circle. no one in the country ever
heard of Sigsbee; to-day his name is
famous all over the land. The same
can be said Of Fitzhugh Lee; he had
about passed out OF the minds of the
older people and was unknown to the
younger. To-day every boy in the
country is familiar with his name; and
If cur fleets should be so fortunate as
to clean out the Spanish navy we will
have a new lot of heroes 20 build mon
uments to and more birthdays to be
celebrated.
It would be pleasant to entertain the
belief that the pitiful paragraph was
not written by an American citizen, and
especially that it did not have its birth
in the thought of the Journal" What
ever its authorship, it's printing ar
CUES for the ignorance Of the writer
and as well for his colossal impudence
in a day of common enlightenment Be-
cause the man who penned the lines
may not have heard of Captain Sigsbee
is no proof that Outside Of his own
circle no one in the country ever heard
of Sigsbee, nor that the same may
be said of Lee"
We are nation of 100000 of peo-
pie. Such a charge as that in the
quotation, If true, would mean that
they are mostly an ignorant and un-
lmpressible lot. In that vast body of
humanity there are some hundreds of
thousands OF good men, heroes, schol-
airs and men Of distinguished charac-
ter. Of whom it is probable, accepting
his own statement, the author of the
libel never heard. That class Of writ
ers, indeed, are very unlikely to hear
OF men who by character, labor dis
covery, scholarship and high attain
ments attain prominence OF which such
writers never hear. since they mistake
notoriety for merit and fame.
To say that during the past two and
a half years, nearly three. in which the
instruction in Cuba has been a fore
most topic Of news no one outside his
own circle has heard Of the American
Consul General at Havana who was a
distinguished American officer before
the rebellion, IS to confess Grass igno-
rance of incidents In current history
that have almost engrossed public at
tention. But it does not argue that
General Lee is not recognized by mil
lions Of his countrymen as one of the
most sagacious, patient and fearless of
American officials, one in whom the
entire land places implicit confidence
and reposes the honor of the republic
without single quavering doubt.
Neither war nor accident made Fftz-
hugh Lee what he is but his native
ability to discharge one of the most
important and trying trusts ever re-
posed by nation in public servant
IL Captain Sigsbee was known only
within his own circle two weeks ago It
must be a circle of exceeding breadth
stree ali fairly informed Americans
are well aware that he won his com
niand Of the Maine because of distin-
euished service In the photographic Of
flee where his high ability and tech
nIcal knowledge won for him the com
mendation of the Navy Department
and promotion out of order. For dis
tinguished service to his country the
American Congress sometime ago voted
him a gold medal. For his inventions
of deep-sea apparatus Germany con-
fer'ed upon him the cross of the Diplo-
matte Order Of the Red Eagle, a badge
of honor rarely presented to one not
born in the fatherland. But It is not
surprising that some people of limited
news reading do not know it.
1t may be very unfortunate that there
are people in the United States frank
to confess that they have no knowl-
edge Of public men and honored c!ti-
zens Of their country. who have not
been made notorious by pictorial and
sensational illumination in the lurid
press. and that there IS a large class
OF people whose cnly knowledge of their
fellows is drawn from such sources.
But the fact does not detract one whit