Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1899-04-27
[specIal washlngton Letter.l

/ Changes.
Especial Washington Letterl
Our Republican brethren appear to
be getting into sea of troubles both in
dividually and collectively. For them
the times are sadly out of joint
Mute wonder lurketh in men s ears
when they hear The railing accusation
brought against that eminent Republic
an statesman and orator Of Iowa, Gen
eral David B. Henderson, that he is
short on patriotism and lacking in
respect and rapturous love for Old
Glory. Yet It's true, and pity tits
| tbs true-that is, it's true that such
! charge is icing sent broadcast over
the land Of the free and the home of
| the brave, and. what's more, the gen
eral has taken the matter SO seriously to
| heart that he consumes two columns
and a half, fine print, in the Dubuque
Daily Times to 'srefute the allegation
and to defy the alligator. His dander
| is up to such an extent that he uses Ian
| guage which cannot be found in any
polite letter writer intended for cir
culation in young ladies' boarding
schools. He dances a war Jig on his
| accuser and brings witnesses distin-
guished witnesses to testify in his be-
half.
Charge Against Henderson.
The specific charge in the Indictment
against the general which so enrages
him is that be said, 81 hope the Amer
ican people will continue to wrap hams
in the flag, not to teach patriotism, but
| to teach ham eaters to eat American
hams. Ever since that famous Mis-
sourian, that prince of humorists, Mark
Twain wrote ''The Gilded Age, and
created Colonel Sellers, the popular idea
touching the Republican party is that
in lieu of Webster s sonorous and soul
stirring slogan, Liberty and Union, !"
it has hilariously and enthusiastically
adopted as its theory 1.-The Old Flag
and an Appropriation. General Hem
derson's accuser would have the werld
believe that the general has adopted the
battle cry of .sThe Old Flag and an
American Ham. The old flag is GER
tainly all right, and so is the American
ham. Whether they should be brought
into such close iuxtaposition as wrap
ping one in the other, is a question upon
which every American citizen has, or is
entitled to have his own opinion, and
that, too, without having his patriotism
questioned. General Henderson says
that he never used the language attrib-
uted to him, and with all who know
him his word goes ON a matter fact
He need not have introduced Hon. W.
E. Barrett or anybody else as a COM
purgator. 1t is no part Of my purpose
in these letters to defend Republican
congressmeA- they sadly need larrup-
ing, no doubt-but there are Republic
an congressman of whom personally |
am fond, while detesting their politics.
One of these is General Henderson Per-
sonally he is most lovable man. There
is no finer figure on the floor of the
house than this brawny Scot from Du-
buque, with his leonine roar, his spIen-
did iron gray name and his crutch-a
perpetual reminder that in his youth he
lost leg fighting for Old Glory. In the
times that tried men $ souls. he proved
his faith by his works
General Henderson is a radical Re-
publican He is fiery orator | have
no doubt that in the heat of dehate-er,
rather. in the frenzy Of debate into
which he works himself, in the ''whirl
winds of tempestuous fire. in which he
envelops himself while speaking-he
frequently says bitter things for which,
when he has cooled off, his tender heart
reproaehes him. for no man that l ever
knew has tenderer heart. His is a
most ardent temperament He is the
ideal oratorical broadsword's S man. /
never hear him speak that / do not think
of the grim dragons who rode with
James Graham CT Claverhouse and of
the highlanders who raised the siege of
Lucknow. His chief virtue as a debater
is that if he gives hard knocks with
delight he receives them in good part
and never whines when somebody gives
him rib roaster, as do some representa-
tives that / wot of. do not believe
that his accnser would knowingly bring
a false charge against General Hender-
son, and as the general wrathfully de-
MES the accusation, | am fain to believe
that the whole rumpus grows out of one
of those mistakes which will sometimes
occur even in well regulated families.
LacI< of Patriotism.
Wonders will never cease. Certain
editors. mot having the fear Of God be-
fore their eyes, but being instigated by
the devil. = to borrow the felicitous and
energetic formula of the common law
indictments, actually and amazingly
have the presumption, cheek, impu
dence. gall and effrontery ia charge
prudish, venerable, learned Massaehu
setts with having fallen lamentably
short of her full measure of patriotism
during and since the Spanish war. To
this complexion has it come at last that
Massachusetts should be rudely accused
CT monstrous sin of omission Massa
ehusetts. which contains Faneuil hall,
the Cradle of Liberty the Old South
church, the famous Common, the har-
Dor wasre the immortal tea episode oc-
CURED. the path over which Paul Re-
we're made his celebrated midnight ride,
Bunker Hill monument, the river
Charles, Salem, where they, in the elder
day, were wont to burn the witches;
the graves Of Warren, cid John Adams
and Of John Quincy. his son: of Samuel
Adams, Daniel Webster. Rufus Choate,
Cotton Mather. Hawthorne, Prescott,
Longfellow. Whittier. Lowell, Charles
Summer, William Lloyd Garrison. Wen
dell Phillips. Benjamin T Butler and
of most Of the descendants Of the May
flower
Tell it not in Gath, proclaim 1t not
on the streets Of Askelon, that in
grave crisis of her country's fate Mas
sachusetts was recreant to her duty of
patriotism Massachusetts, which has
been engaged habiiually ii the pleasant
duty Of saving the republic single hand
ed and alone. except when she was in
cubating the Hartford secession consan-