Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-02-13

NOR But then. Mark was ever vail
ent champion of the lie. and once TOOK
up the cudgels With Carlyle IN uetehse
of liars. Whatever may have beeh
Marks motive in writing this last aru-
Gle, it is certain that he praetieed rlsid
economy in his use of the truth. The
Journal says:
sam Clemens alias Mark Twain, or,
Mark Twain. alias Sam Clemeus, back
in 1S60-61 was against the United states
government and the American tag. lie
is today in the same attitude. apparent
ly Judging from the quality OF ms ar
ticle in the February North American
Review. entitled TO the Person Sitting
in Darkness" 1t is Il personal assault
upon President Mckinley and the adj
mnistration policies. based either upon
Grass ignorance or mendacious malice.
1t is probable that the enemies of the
administration really believe that this
American administration can be ham
strug by the application of Clemens
shafts of Wit and satire. Wit however.
to be genuine. must have basis OF
truth and applicab ilty and if it has
not such basis, ii always deganerateS
into tiippancy. as We'll as utter disre-
gard for truth and fact. He has assem-
hled all the falsehoods uttered by the
supporters of the Philippine revolt in
this country and all the lying charges
against the administration as to the
disposition of the Cuban problem. and
swaddled them in his fabric of words.
which. instead of being signs OF ideas.
are. in this case. signs of the absurd
deficiency of ideas.
The anti-adninistration journals,
however, accustomed to Print W
charges without proof and to invent
policies never entertained by the adj
ministraton. are glowingly happy over
the disgraceful exhibition OF the pros
titution of Clemens mental apparatus
to the base purpose of SANDER and in
decency. They applaud the Ignorance
which in thai article assumes that the
president is an autocrat. acting indie
pendentiy of congress and playing the
role of a tyrant. bent on the forcible
annexation OF Cuba and defiance OF the
laws Of common humanity. He pro-
claims his sympathy With Asuinaldo
and denounces the president as treach-
erous to that person and crushing a
deceived and contidnS people" charac-
terizes our soldiers as doing bandits
work and "debauching Americas
honor" etc.
II is barely possible that Mr. Clemens
really knows that all the president has
done during the last two eNentfUl years.
h. has done under the authority of the
United States congress, ard that the
exercise of that authority has been in
dorsed by the people of the United
i States. II the humorist knows of any
better authority than congress he
! should have stated it. He knows none.
( Congress re srssents the people. He
knows also that PresidGnt Mckinley
| was the most conservative man in the
country in 1898, and that in sanction
he only yielded TO the tremendous pres
sure OF strong public sentiment. and
that the government has faithfully kept
the pledge made by congress iii April.
1883: has changed the face of the whole
island of Cuba for the better, in every
respect. and has taken every step pos
sible to stablish a stable government
! and has called the constitutional con-
3, yention which is now making and re-
vising a constitution free from any in
reference, and one which. under the
terms perfectly understood and ac-
/ guessed in by the Cubans. must be
submitted to congress for sanction.
The Greeks made the word SANDER
SYNONYMOUS with devil" These intel
ligent people We're not far out of the
way. The characterization is sound