The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1903-05-06

against the lowering conception Of
public intelligence by beaten bosses,
by misleading leaders, by discounted
demagogues and by stranded cranks. -
AGREEMENTS IN MAJORITY.
After speaking on party issues and
the failure of party lines in properly
dividing the people or Improperly
uniting them, he said: eff | have
touched upon public subjects. I have
tried to do so without ofense. No
body of Americans can meet without
thinking of them. No gathering called
in the name and cause OF education
can well keep its mind from them.
No company from an extremely. prac-
tical portion of the land can greet the
representatives of the great State OF
Virginia without consciousness OF the
common needs of a common natlonall-
ty. From what have said have pur-
posely left out the party nouns and the
narty adiectives which have on men,
otherwise sane, the incensing effect OF
red rag on the horned and believing
terrors of field and of plain. My coun-
trymen, if We leave the quarrel words
out of our contests or out OF our
contentious, out of our speeches and
out of our journalism, we will 60 far
toward finding out that the things
wherein We agree vastly outnumber
and immensely outclass the things
whereon we differ. Take, for instance,
the lapsed question of bimetallism.
That was great and mouth-hlling
word with us as well as with you. l
never knew of human being who was
against it, if international agreement
made it possible, or who could tell
how such agreement could be brought
about. We learned that if we went at
il alone the nobler metal rose to a
premium and its parity with the baser
would become a barren ideality. We
learned that if we undertook it in
conjunction with other nations they
must be nations of our own class and
that such nations refused their CO.
operation. We could not undertake
it of ourselves. We could not propose it
to our peers among governments with
out drawing their respectful declina-
ton. Our politics had been better. our
lives had been sweeter, our friendships
had been finer, had we left such quar-
rel words as Silver Craze, Gold Bugs,
Coin Clippers, Plutocrats, Bloated
Bondholders and Roaring Repudiators
out of the contention. Take any 9TH
er of the subjects for instance. by
which with wind and tongue dema-
gogues have divided our people. Re
cur for moment to the tariff. Ihe
concern of it must be revenue for the
government. An auxiliary considera-
tion of. must be the wage Of the
people. Tie first must be enough, and
the second must not be reduced. 1t
logically follows that duties must con-
serve and preserve rates. That rule
followed out would produce business
tariff which it would be satire to
baptize With any party name; as much
of a satire as it would be politically to
christen civil or criminal code.
NEED OF CANDoR AND LIBER-
ALITY.
st might run the gamut of all ques
tions by which, since the war, South
and North have been at times divided,
and by which they have been divided
within parties as well as between them.
My object, however, will have been &C
complished If ] have suggested to the
friends with whom came and to the
friends that we have made here, the
fact that We all really agree rather
than actually differ on matters of
vivid and vital concern to our COM
monWealth and to our republic. LOO
little of our argument argues. Zoo
little of our debate debates. Too much
of our contention is about names rather
than about things. Too much OF our
controversy is around terms rather than
around truth. Too much Of our talk
is for victory rather than for veracl-
ty. Reform in these respects must be
inductive rather than direct. It must
begin with the chief sinners, our
statesmen and our Journalists. We
must import into our writings and
into our speeches more Of candor and
less of passion. We mast make our
words purposely plain rather than
deliberately ambiguous. The best
place for us to look for the best public
is in our own hearts. What there we
find to be true will be everywhere and
everlastingly true. The things other
men are thinking about are the things
we think about when we think within
ourselves. The statesman or the jour
nalist who does that becomes, by the
laws of universal nature, on conf
Dental terms with humanity. ITO
thine own self be true,'' was the in
junction of Polonius to Laertes. Know
thyself, was the Injunction OF a great
philosopher. Thereby comes courage.
Thereby comes strength. Thereby
comes the assurance, which made the
heart of Paul indomitable and the
words of Paul immortal: If God be
for us, who can be against us?' The
intense earnestness and the equal
simplicity which will follow from the
conjunction of our own heart with the
heart of the race will make oratory
unstilted, Journalism unsophistical,
statesmen fearless and free. 1t would
deliver us from the miserable spectacle
of Northern and Southern Senators and
hat