Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-12-15

is trae. They can no longer take any
one seriousiy-a sad state of mind for
those who write or teach How light
ers to approach them in such an afti-
tude. To him who has preserved
enough honesty nothing is more repug-
nant than the careless irony of an ac-
Pobat of the tongue or pen who tries
to dupe honest and ingenious men.
On one side openness. sincerity, the
desire to be enlightened; on the other,
chicanery making game of the public.
But he knows not, the liar, how far
he IS misleading himself The capital
on which he lives is confidence, and
nothing equals the confidence Of the
people unless it be their distrust when
once they find themselves betrayed.
ploiters OF their artlessness. but then
their friendly humor turns to hate.
Doors which stood wide open offer an
impassable front of wood, and ears
once attentive are deaf And the pity
is that they have closed not to the
evil alone, but to the good, This is the
crime of those who distort and degrade
ly. We consider as a calamity the de-
basement Of the currency. the lowering
Of interest the abolition of credit.
There is misfortune greater than
these-the loss of confidence, of that
moral credit which honest people give
one another. and which makes speech
circulate like an authentic currency.
Away with counterfeiters. SPECTATORS,
rotten linanciers. for they bring under
suspicion even the coin of the realm.
Away with the makers of counterfeit
speech. for because of them there is
no longer confidence in any one or any
thing, and what they say and write is
not worth a continental
You see how urgent it is that each
should guard his lips, chasten his pen
and aspire to simplicity Of speech. No
more peryersion of sense circumlocu-
ton. reticence. regeneration, These
things serve only to complicate and be-
wilder. Be men, Speak the speech of
honor An hour of plain dealing does
more for the salvation of the world
than years of duplicity.
A word now about a national bias to
those who have a veneration for die
ton and style. Assuredly there can
be no quarrel with the taste for grace
and elegance of speech. l am of opin-
ion that one cannot say too well what
he has to say. But it does not follow
that the things best said and best writ
ten are most studied. Words should
serve the fact and not substitute them
selves for it and make it forgotten in
It's establishment. The greatest things
are those which gain the most by be-
ing said most simply, since thus they
show themselves for what they are.
You do not throw over them the veil.
however transparent, of beautiful dis
course. nor that shadow so fatal to
truth called the writer's vanity. Moth
ing so strong, nothing so persuasive, as
simplicity There are sacred emotions,
cruel griefs. splendid heroisms, pas
sionate enthusiasms, that look, a
movement, cry. interprets better than
beautifully rounded periods. The most
precious possessions of the heart of
humanity manifest themselves most
simply. TO be convincing thing must
be true. and certain truths are more
evident when they come in the speech
of righteousness. even weakness, than
when they fall from lips too well train
ed or are proclaimed with trumpets.
And these rules are good for each of
US in his everyday life. No one can
imagine what profit would accrue to
his moral life from the constant obser-
walton of this principles: Be sincere,
moderate. simple in the expression of
your feelings and opinions in private
and public alike; never pass beyond
bounds. give out faithfully what is
within you. and above all watch--that
is the main thing
For the danger in fine words is that
they live from life of their own.
They are servants of distinction that
have kept their titles, but no longer
perform their functions. of which roy
al courts offer US example. You speak
well, write well. and all is said. How
many people content themselves with
speaking and believe that it exempts
them from acting. And those who lis
ten are content with having heard
them 50 it sometimes happens that a
life may in the end be made up of a few
well turned speeches. a few fine books
and 4 few great plays AS for practic-
ing what is so magisterially set forth
that is the last thing thought of. And
if we pass from the world of talent
to spheres which the mediocre exploit,
there in a pellmell of confusion we see
those who think that we are in the
world to talk and hear others talk
the great and hopeless rout of bab-
blers. of everything that prates, bawls
and perorates and. after all, finds that
there isn't talking enough. They all
forget THAT those who make the least
noise Go the most work An engine