The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1902-12-13
HE DOESN'T WANT THE JOB.

many SNltFStlllillNt ears. Ill us
ing the slang word Job" in con
necton with the prcsidency.-'I am not
II candidate. | do not expect to be II can
didatc, and | don't want the job" he de-
| clarrS
This expressive monosylable Job.
when applied to the highest office within
| the gift Of the American people it must
be conceded. sounds harsh and unwar-
ranted.
1t SmarkS of til" shop or the stable.
and doesn't seem in harmony with the
lproprirtrS of speech. when prcdicatcd OF
the exalted Presidential office
Ordinarily. its use in such Il connection,
would Indicate. if not positive coarse
ness. at least habitual carccssncSS of
speech. altogether out of Keeping with
the supposed high tone and quality of
men. educated in the language and man
mcr Of the forum.
But We are moi To condemn the amiablc
Senator harshIy.
While Il tree is known Icy its fruit, and
men. wise or otherwise are Judged by the
company they keep. and the language
| they use, still. custom sanctions the use
of many slang words. which once to ears
polite were considered vulgar and I'M
lpHrloNahIr.
This word Job" is one Of rArm.
y Statesman out of Il job" has come
10 be Frequently dcScripiv" of Il Con-
gresham not returned by his ronstitu-
| cntS
As term of rrproarh applied either
to men or things of little value. Il Job"
lot is widely current as pertinent and
expressive.
In politics. the term "io'r' frequently
implies some schrm" or plan to get money
dishonesty. or at public expense. Il fat
job" meaning II sinrcurr with big pay
and little work. or rcmunrrativc place
secured through influence known in poll
teal parlaucr as Il pull
We can he assured however that the
Senator used the word Job" in sense
entirely different from those Just indie
atcd.
| He doubtless used the word humorous
| IT, intending to convey the secondary
idea Of responsibility attached to the
| Presidency. AZ imposing Il heavy load or
severe task upon the man who assumes
its duties.
While the word does not seem to be en-
titled to Il place in the vocabulary of Il
| member of til" most august and digniii"d
drlihcrativ" body in the world. still its
use. even by Il man hrdgrd about hy
Senatorial dignity. can lac successfully
| defended. upon the ground. that some
of the most expressive words in the Eng
| liSh language are slang terms. ana
lind current usr among educated people.
And after nil. t" whom are we to hook
for final authority in the Us" Of words.
| +" Tn" photographers. and the educated
| few. or 10 tn" millions vino speak the
| i.HSliS.l liNe VlHt
That is Il drhatahIr question. ana each
sid" of it has able defenders.
An educated man Of E,lkiuu. at the
| tim" connected with ~ leading New YORK.
| firm of steel and metal importers. called
ON President Lincoln IN tho year 1851.
| reIativ" 10 II Government contract.
He should have gone 10 ihr Secretary
of War, rs tn" Head Of the Department,
executing such contracts as Ms.
Abraham Lincoln however didn't >nun
him, or dismiss him abruptly.
Laying his hand on his visitors shout
der. and smiling kindly on him. NJ. Lire
coin said. MY DEAR SIR. YUT .\IiE
IN THE WRONG SHOP. ,ou <l,nu!l
call on Secretary Stantou.'
The Elkton gentleman afterwards crit
lied Mr. Lincoln severely for using Il
slang phrase in diSmissin2 him. ana
which he insisted was course and uniig-
niticd.
| The fact is, that Mr. Lincoln used 4
phrase, c"llouuially current ON the street.
and which exactly described the >itua-
ton. Had he paraphrasrd the expires
sion. and told the visitor that he was in
the wrong office. the phrase would
have lost half its force and been COM
paratively meaningless.
| So in the case of the slang word '.juh"
as used by Senator Hanna. it conveyed
exactly to his mind the meaning he wish
ed it to convey to his nearer.
Richard Grant White. ii phiIologiSt of
high repute and II recognized authority
on the legitimate use of words. defines
slang ''aS Il vocabulary of genuine
words, used with an arbitrary Signifca-
ton. and generally with humorous i'll
tent. 1t is mostly coarse. although in
some cases, it is racy. punernt and preg
nant of meaning"