Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1899-02-23

D6ub, tue one 10 tue Don6ut VI tue
people whom they serve, and the
other at their expense. l have in
my time had rather wide range
of experience, as soldier, merchant,
farmer, editor aud public servant,
and / can truthfully say that l have
found as much industry, devotion,
conscience and honesty in the public
service as in any other walk in life.
It will be a sad day for our state and
country when it is otherwise. 1t is
the duty of the editor to be ever on
the alert for cheats and frauds,
whether in private or in public life.
The negligent, the indolent and the
dishonest official should be whipped
with scourges out of the service of
the people. But the rule of evidence
which everywhere prevails in Amer
lea that q man is presumed to be in
nocent until he is proven guilty
should obtain In the case of an off
cial as well as with other accused
persons. Too often it does not, and
q mere accusation is taken as set
Ting the matter adversely. If edi-
tors were as careful in printing sto-
ries that the envious, the incompe
tent and thevicious hatch up against
Office holders as they would be in
the use of similar one against a
lawyer, a banker or a minister, then
there would be little if any cause Of
complaint. Remember, in this con-
nection, that to many men in pub
lie life their reputation is their all.
Losing that they are bereft indeed.
It should be borne in mind, also,
that there is no more honorable po-
sition than one conferred by the ap-
probation of ones fellow men.
There is no higher study than that
of political economy, the science OF
government, and throusa that
science the betterment ol man ana
the general amelioration Of his con-
dition. There may be, there no
doubt is, a class OF politicians who
are in politics for mone.y-for con-
tracts, for trades, for the banter of
place. to enrich themselves-but
these are upon a plane of u cir own,
and are well recognized. The avo-
cation that took the best years of
the lives Of Washington, Jefferson,
Hamilton, Madison, PITT, Bright,
Golden, Gladstone, nontesquieu,
Theirs and other me- of that stamp
can but ennoble anil elevate. Say
not that these men we're sui generis.
Oh moi Nops UI our contempor-
aneous statesSnen have beeD as bit
terly assailed, aSviciously maligned.
The attacks on Washington were
merciless, those ou JeffersoR none
the less so, and the Sage of How
arden was lampooned with ten thou
sand fiery tongues of scorpion hate,
and yet there is not a name among
them that is not sung and honored
by posterity. am often impelled
to say-a good thing for a public man
without any particular rhyme or
reason at the time, simply because
do not wish to wait to do him credit
till he dies. Lilies at the casket are
all very well, but few laurel leaves
about the brow of the living warm
the cookies of the beating heart, and
make life worth the having. In
this connection l may say to the
men in this audience, generally,
don cease to praise your wives be-
cause you have been married year
or two Or three. If you have, from
the habit of being too well treated
by them, come to think it just
matter of course, and to take it
daily, without a word of love and
praise, without the occasional tender
caress that you we're wont to give,
o, man amend your waysl You
may love your wife all right enough,
but you do wrong not to tell her 80.
Give her that praise she is entitled
to even stretch the truth a little in
that direction as you used to de-
when you were courting. What
harm? Watch the glow Of her eye,
the Tightening Of her step. Stoop to
kiss her once in a while; pat her
cheek or lovingly put your arm
about her tired form. Teach your
children and all about you that the
wife and mother mist be as highly
honored and as cheerssally obeyed in
the household as though she were
Queen Victoria. Cherish her, my
friend and brother, for she is the
best friend you will ever have on
earth, and soon you both will be
gliding down the incline together
which leads to the brighter land,
where let US hope the earthly mar
riage may be succeeded by celes-
tial bliss of oompanionship above
and beyond anything which we
have conceived or dreamed Of.
We Americans are great boasters
Perhaps not more SO than English
men or Frenchmen, but. still, great
boasters. Just before the Spanish
war began / was riding on train
with gentleman of more than aver
age intelligence, who insisted that
we had the greatest army in the
world, the greatest navy in the
world, the greatest library in the
world, and 80 on ad ifyinitum. He
was very earnest and seemed to
question my patriotism because l
ventured to say that some Of his
propositions would bear examina-
tion and inquiry, for instance that,
perhaps, the 100000 volumes of
the Paris library might constitute it
a greater library than our library of
congress, even though the latter is
housed in a more modern and beauti-
full building, and that the art oollec-
ton in the Louvre was certainly
superior to anything we have in the
ms d a