The age-herald., 1902-02-15
Washington Day byDay

One OI l1G I1OSl tAtNA abAC anu SfNAN-N of all displays of that hideous vulgar ity which seems inseperable from a cer- tain class of publications, has appeared in the form of a highly colored cartoon in a widely known weekly journal Of New York, representing President Roose- welt in impossible military uniform caricature of the German Emperor, and one of John Bull.
 The President is pictured as standing in stern demeanor in an open space of a forest. At his feet prone in abject humility is the German Emperor offer ing numerous petitions for favors and applications for goodwill among which is a prayer that the President suffer his young daughter to christen the Emperor's s yacht. In the background rushing from the undergrowth of the forest is John Bull waving aloft a warning to the Pres ident not to trust the Emperor, who is de- ceiving him and reminding the President that blood is thicker than water.
 That is not bad taste. There is no name for the outrageous representation. It is worse than brutal-worse than crime even worse than cowardice. And the only excuse for this reference to the abomnia- bly loathsome production is the hope of including some small element of the pub lie to hesitate to be party to such vil- liany; for every intelligent person knows of the class of publications which traffic in such faith and knows that every cent paid to them Is a contribution to moral depravity.
 The German Emperor, millions of whose countrymen are honored citizens of this country, is In the person of his brother about to become the guest of the Ameri- can people, and the American people in the person of their President are about to be guests of the Emperor. The Presi- dents daughter, whom every American reverences because she is a pure young American girl, is about to perform a gra- cious act of courtesy to the German Elm peror for all the German people, The Emperor has performed to the American people the highest courtesy within his imperial power, and our people are about to acknowledge it in the most charmingly gracious manner open to them according to their rules of government. There fore any act of discourtesy to our Ger man guest is the insolence of caddishness to decency It is as unpardonable as would be the throwing of a soup plate at the head of a gentleman whom one had invited to dinner in ones own house and with ones own family.
 The cartoon in its proper sphere is a great corrective of evil and it has done much for the better of our American life; but some of the most capable caricatur- ists of this country have been for years the chief opponents of the lowest grade of bad manners and worse morals.
 Habitualy, constantly week after week, the leading comic journal so-called of the country degrades it's columns with the grossest, coarsest and most slanderous pictured insults against the farmers and the Jews, two of the greatest forces in the material upbuilding of the nation, and now and then similar filings are made at devoted, if oyer-strenuous. Christians in their capacity as Christians only.
 Yet the American people give freely of their money to promote these constant outrages upon their own decency. Per sonally, the American who thus makes protest against the infamy of cartoonism knows of but one illustrated humorous publication in all this land which he would be willing to send regularly into any home.
 Having said so much in protest against the evils of cartoonism, it is the more pleasing duty to refer to a cartoon in a widely known offender against decency just out. This one deals with a highly diverting international controversy now being fought out through sheer wordiness and pictures a happy and laughing Uncle Sam seated in his ''cheer'' receiving three valentine cupids, representing respective ly England, Germany and Russia. Uncle Sam is made to say that he didn't know he had so many friends until he won the fight with the Spanard. The point is admirably made and so much superior to the design of the average cartoon as to be worthy of cordial praise.
 The fierce controversy between the Flu ropean powers as to which of them was Americas best friend immediately before and during the war with Spain is a source of amusement here, for every American knows as well as he can know any public fact that Great Britain alone saved the United States from impending humilia- tion and probable disaster.
 Great Britain alone saved the United States from the militana hostility of con- tinental Europe-sayed us from terrible disaster to our prestige and our fighting power. We were almost criminaliy unpre- nared for war, and it was Spain's unex- ampied weakness and not any great prowess of ours which gave to us the victory.
 Yet if it had not been for the splendid isolation of England" barring the way of the enemy, the United States in all it's unpreparedness for war would have had to face the world in arms.
 Those amongst us who do not remember still the appalling anxiety regarding the attitude of European powers at the out set of the war were either uninformed or are afflicted with deplorably poor mem- ory.
 Even after the fall of Santiago, and later still, it looked as if France would surely fight us in battle, as she had all along fought us in the cabinets of Eu- rope, and France as an active foe in arms meant Russia in that Identical relation.