The evening times., 1899-03-29
it is not probable the Senate will ever con-
sent to the proposed injustice.
Misdirected Sympathy.

Misdirected Sympathy.
In observing the general courses of af-
fairs in this world most thinking people are
conscious at intervals of conviction that
there is great deal of pity wasted on un-
worthy objects. For instance, whenever
murder of peculiarly atrocious character
is committed there are always well-mean-
ing persons who expend sympathy on the
murderer. They carry him bouquets and
exhibit wild desire to talk to him and
comfort him, or. il the criminal is a wom-
an, they deluge the executive with petit
tions for the communication of her sentence
The recent excitement in regard TO Mrs.
Place is good example of this. There was
more or less abuse OF Governor Roosevelt
! because he refused to spare her life. but
nobody apparently thought of abusing the
jury which condemned her to death. the
judge who endorsed the verdict, or the
doctors who pronounced her sane. Yet
Governor Roosevelt had no more right to
disregard the facts than any of these other
/ men. Almost anyone, in reading the ac-
count of that case, must have seen that the
woman had lived starved, neglected, un-
happy life, and that the primal cause OF
her crime was probably the thwarting of
| her very natural desire to have her son
with her But there are numerous other
murderers and murderesses who have been
| actuated by motives quite as reasonable
as hers, and they got no sympathy. The
Place affair was forced on the notice of the
public by the extreme grewsomeness of the
circumstances If murder is to be punished
| by death, the criminal who is particularly
| cold blooded and fendish In his methods
certainly should not be favored above 9TH
erS.
There Is another kind of pity which is
wasted on people who do not need it. A
case in point is that of the lady who was
overheard telling her little boy that he
must be very good to his poor aunt because
she had no husband to take care Of her.
| The little boys father few minutes later
came in and begged the spinster aunt to
lend him five dollars. The lady lent the
money, but she did not feel that she was
exactly subject for sympathy on the
grounds cited by her sister-in-law. OF the
same sort is the pity some people seem
obliged 10 feel for those who differ from
ton, or temperament In at least ma
jority of such cases the object of pity
would not change his lot if he could. 1t Is
well to find out whether person is un-
happy before wasting any great amount Of
sorrow on him.
Misplaced pity also exists in another
form II is wasted in great quantities on
people who are really in no trouble at all,
! but who think they are. In such cases 1t
| actually does harm. We have all seen fam
ilies in which some one individual always
gets what he or she wants, by sheer self
ishness, because there will be such an out
burst of woe if the request is not granted
Such people are always feeling hurt if they
are not accorded the first place in the con-
sideration and affection of their friends
They get the consideration. though seldom
the affection. II they happen 10 be reduced
in fortune and have to live on a
thousand dollars a year they make
more ado over il than others would
If forced TO subsist on half that sum
II they are obliged TO work for their living
they take ii as personal grievance, and
usually do about half as much work as is
| expected OF them- IL tneSe lndlNlQualS nau
been taken in hand at a proper age and
made 10 understand the true nature of this
continual begging for sympathy and pity
on the part of an able bodied man or wom-
an. it might have done them good, but
there is no telling Perhaps, in order to
effect a thorough cure. one would have to
begin, as Holmes suggested, with the
grandfather. Owing TO the peculiar nature
of American chivalry, these persons are
frequently women, and one cannot wish
American reverence for womanhood TO be
less than it is even if it does produce some
abnormalities. One remedy will be. how
ever, 10 teach girls not 10 demand service,
but to give it, especially to those older
and more burdened than themselves, and
if a child is taught TO be helpful to others
there is little chance thar il will develop
into selfish, egotistic complaining char
acter in later life.
The New York correspondent of the