Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1898-05-19
Local Items.
Three GrieYous Errors.

We see during these times of excitement
many things that were better had they be
KEEP, hidden. For instance; We note argu
ments intended to imply or to prove that
some particular person or class is not patri,
otto, or not SO patriotic as they should be, or
not so patriotic as others.
Again; we find men professedly with the
Administration and generally very careful to
applaud every successful move, but who are
either SO completely dominated by their par
tsan feelings, or arc wholly insincere, and
who take occasion to say unkind small
things about the conduct of the war.
There are yet others who are playing"
war feeling as they would the races; that is,
their utterances prove them to be shallow
and insinccre, in the, that they decry and
belittle the enemy; call them towards and
ignoramuses; say they have neither brains
nor courage aud if they are to be believed,
we have bu, the pretense of war on our
hands as the Spanish yes els are tubs, their
guns hollow alders aud their gunners incom-
pctant and cowardly.
Those three things are calculated to vex a
liberal or well informed American and are
of sufficient prominence in public prints and
in general discussion to warrant word on
these subjt
As to the first: there is somethingso Phar.
isacal about it that it begets q feeling Of dis
gust. It is no unusual thing 10 find self.
constituted patriot critic sitting in judgment
whose forbears, so recent as the second gen
Grafton, first saw the light east of the Atlantic
while he upon whom he emptics the walls of
his patriotic wrath has had his blood purified
by descent, through thrice as many genera
lions breathing the air Of American free lon.
What rot this is!
politics. The eyes Of the world are upon US
and while sympathetic monarchial Europe
notes with regret the instability of the Span.
ish government, they are hoping to be able
to discover lack of cohesiveness here.
Could they but become certain that pro-
longed war would disrupt our institutions;
that our partissnship could be depended
upon 70 outweigh our patriotism and inter,
nal dissenslons through party feeling weaken
and discredit our conduct of the war, we
doubt not that more than one of them would
rejoice and to that end give present material
support to Spain. STAND by the President"
then, should be the earnest and sincere motto
of every one; partisan politics should be laid
away in camphor until after this most serious
thing that has ever come to the Nation has
been determined and finally disposed of.
As to third outside of the fact that there
is no warrant for the statement that We are
at war With people who lack courage, who
would care to make boast of having
whipped cowardp
There is enough standing against the
Spaniard to render him an object of con.
tempt to an American without laying TO his
account the charge of cowardice; it is no,
necessary, In order that q proper dislike OF
our enemy should possess us. that we &c
outside Of facts, and this we DO when we
say that he is coward that We should
heartily abuse him is not only natural, but
proper, but in doing 30, stick to facts-there
are enough Of them-and do not belittle our
own victories by the false assumption in ad-
vance that he is a coward, an incompetent
and in every way an unworthy toe.
To review: do not essay the role of the
Pharisee; others may have record that, as
against your plalitudes, may set down "far
more exceeding weight" of Americanism
han mere vaporings and professionalism
10 for you: forget for once that your highest
luty is to your party and be manly enough
10 refuse to make political capital, for or
against the administration; respect the cour-
age OF the foe while you cordially hate him
for his many weaknesses and crimea