The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1899-07-14
ABOUT PUBLICITY
1t Is Disinfectant-:traugsA Action of the
Mind Which Makes Criminals
Fear Publicity.

Publicity has the qualities OF a dIsln.
fectant. What few people know Q
guilty man may persuade himself, Is
not only safe, but, possibly, not SO
very wicked. But, by q strange action
of the mind, the same man begins to
feel quite differently about the Same
act when Everybody knows it," Or,
perhaps, it Is when the wrongdoer is
Just on the eve of Everybody knowing
1t that he begins to realize his guilt
with trembling. 1t seems to be a uni
versal law that anybody is In awe OF
everybody, though anybody may cast
about him In the street, or ear, or In
a hotel lobby, and fail to be impressed
with superior virtue in any of the hu-
man units his eye rests on. 1t Is hu.
mainly which is so grand, so awful IN
the true meaning of the word
Probably the penalties which "ths
people" iufict are not what criminals
most dread. says the Mail and TX
press No one is burned, few are i'm.
prisoned, rarely are the fruits Of ex-
tortion taken away. The offender may
still walk the streets and wear good
clothes. But for all that the punish
merit Is terrible. TO be known all
over as an unworthy person, to feel
sure that, on land and sea, sncer Is
In every mans heart, to be assured
that from the verdict there Is no ap-
peal and no escape, except to become
little and Unknown" what Is more to
be dreaded. No display OF wealth Ill.
gotten can blind mems eyes The dis.
play and use OF the wealth are blows
on the iron that has entered the soul
Wealth. whose requirement the peo-
Pile have judged in any case. is. in
fact, lantern over the mans door to
show exactly where he Is when he goes
In and when he goes out It is within
the knowledge of the street boys how
he bought his carriage The steward
on the steamer looks mt his tip and
laughs in his sleeve. The birds tell il
all around Europe Publicity grows 10y
what it feeds on. Everywhere The
whisper runs, Here he comes" and
the echoing whisper tells what he is
there for. A successful" scoundrel Is
interesting. He is supposed to differ
FROM his kind. There is fame and
there Is infamy. as there IL the unsh.
room and the toadstool
Why should young mcu stumble IN
to the temptation? 1t certainly does
make great difference how you get
II. We are all on the watch. A bad
gain never ceases TO smell Publicity
Is the attempt of nature to diSinfect It,
but IL is not wholly successful The
stencil is always there. 1t is Lady
Macbeth's hands over again. yet every
generation furnishes n new crop Of
fools who attempt the impossible
washing. Publicity resolves itself iuto
intelligence. When all the world
knows thing it knows the right of II.
There Is an agreement Of Judgment
that is overwhelming
The thing has been seen Cd all sides
and in every possible light. Dcceptions
no longer deceive. The whole country
laughs Mt man. Whatever he may
say, we all laugh. His excuses are a
joke. His 1ustifying assertions are
lies. The laugh is on from East to
West. Such derision Is next to that
OF Him "who stitch In the heavens"
1t must be frightful TO endure. A cell
to hide one would seem n mercy. The
public enemy who was secretly prey.
Ing on lis all as if we were the fools
awal;es to find that humanity is no
fool We mark him everywhere. We
are fierce in our exultation and every
point of II Is. Eve found him ont" We
are amused by his anger. II he curses
the press we enjoy his impotent roar
all the more. He cannot hnrt us. for
we are legion. He cannot catch the
wind and put it back in bag. The
thing is out and ont forever.
Thank Gsd for this power! II Is
Righteousness on the earth. 1t is the
defense of the innocent 1t is the
Judgment day In miniature. Because
man executes this rrtribution on earth.
we ought to believe in the logic of Il
final Judgment Without dogmatiSm
we may say that it viii he hut II little
more OF that publicity and ''thc secrets
of all hearts shall be revealed" The
sublimity OF language is reached in
the sentence, "'rhou hast set my secret
sins in the light of my countenance."
The processes of civilization them
selves proves the doctrine Society on
the earth uses heavens own weapon
for It's defending. The reason is be-
cause man is made In the image OF
God"