Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1900-11-02
Malicious and Conteinptib1e.

! It is bad enough to be igno
rant; it is worse to be contempt
bic. The pitiable object who il
guilty of both these short com.
ings usually escapes the condem-
nation of decent society, whiol1
is disposal to be lenient with
incapables. But there are times
when the ''insignifcance of the
accuser is lost i'll the magnitude
of an accusation" In the last
issue Of the Times appears an
article which abuses the editor
of the GAZETTE for defending
the record and good name of the
Oregon and other volunteers
who saw service i'll the Philip
pines. Readers of the GAZETTE
will recall the article published
in our last issue under the cap
ton, "Their First Meeting"
We ask that they read it again.
We believe that their unani-
nous Judgment will be that the
article contains nothing that
would warrant the malicious
squib which appeared in Satur-
days Times under the heading,
(which Is Right"
The GAzETTE's article gave
Mr.. Stuart's address as respect
ful and unbiased consideration
as the most ardent supporter of
Mr.. Bryan could ask. It took
issue with Mr.. Sanders Oh none
of his contentious, except his
attack Oh his comrades in arms.
That we did not make the arti-
Gle stronger i'll this respect is be-
cause we had not the language
at command with which to do it.
The Times takes issue with the
GAZETTE and endorses the utter
ances Of Mr.. Sanders. thereby
making Itself a party to the
viiest calunnv ever uttered
against our volunteer soldiery.
We said that it was to the credi..
of the better element of Mr..
Bryan's supporters to say that
they did not endorse the TRADE
of abuse and invective hurled at
the Oregon volunteers by the
young man Sanders, nor his dis
paraging comparisons of our
civilization aud national char
acter with that of the Filipinos.
The Times had no reason to
take ofense at this for there was
nothing personal in it. There
was no intention to class that
paper with the better element.
When the Times says we were
out of employment when war
was declared against Spain or
during any portion of that con-.
fliet, it lies. During the past
six years we have not enjoyed to
exceed two weeks respite from
honest, manly labor. At the
time the Corvallis boys arrived
in Salem to enlist, we were
working in that city, and in or
der to secure a few hours leave
to visit Cor Wallis in which city
we were making arrangements
to again take up our residence
we were working nights. Had
we been disposed to accept the
starvation wages which the
Times has the reputation Of pay
ing its employees, we need never
to have gone elsewhere for work,
for Mr.. Irvine expressed his
earnest desire to secure Off SER
vices as foreman of his Office at
that time. The only difficulty
was the question of wages.
The Times condemns the ed,-
tor of the GAZETTE as a skulker,
because he did not enlist, and in
doing so brands every young or
able-bodied man in the country,
including his own brother
whose courage and patriotism
we have no reason to doubt-as
a shirk- and a sneak.
We did not see service. We
were not ih the war. But our
army record is as good as W. J.
Bryan's, and we were as near
the Philippines as he ever got,
yet the standard bearer from Ne
braska has had more to say upon
conditions Ill the islands than
all the men put together who
took up arms against Spain.
Our authority for what we have
said is published in another col
umn. The statements CLEANED
from these boys have been sup
plernented by facts gathered
from the report of the Philip
pine commission. We don't
believe Mr.. Brvan has secured
| his information from any more
reliable source.