New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-11-19

II Is not quite clear that the following letter
was designed for publication, but it seems pet
Ter to take o small risk of violating an lntehueu
confidence than large risk of Disappointing
valued correspondent:
To the Editor of The Tribune
Sir: It is usually intellectual treat anu q
moral tonic to read your editorial columns
Hence any abrupt departure from propTlely Ia
either of these respects cannot ran 10 stIlhe ~
most appreciative readers with SURPRISE IL Ho1
Your editorial this morning. Still still Dem
ocrat" ends with the old old story OF lhe lrisii
1udge-pat enough and pert enough for your pui-
nose without its unusual establishment OF pro
family. You and 1 have heard that story toIu.
or have read 1t, twenty or hfty times ou' go ~
always the word very has sufficed TO give II
point, and. so far my memory recails, tlio
other word has never found place IN II wien
narrated in any refined circle; Homer oS on 9h &c
editorial tripod. seems to me TO nave houueu "
little this time Cordially yours
CRANDALL ]. NORTH.
Pastor Trinity Church.
Astoria, New-York City, Nov. 16, laO4'
Mr. North rightly assumes that we have hearu
and read the story Of the Irish judge many times;
our reference to it as "old, but always young
implied as much Unlike him, however, we CAN
not honestly say that in our experience the Woru
very has almost always sufhced TO give 1t
point Undoubtedly terms Of imprecauon ought
to be sparingly used like italics and 1ntenslVes
iii genera, and there are times and occasions
when they ought not to be used at all. II our
recent emplOyment-quotatiOn we should call
it-Of a word commonly indicated by TWO Il 8
with a dash between them offended a consider
able number of our readers, 1t certainly was
mistake an essential part of our business being
to avoid giving unnecessary offence but we
are inclined to think that If we had decided not
to use the word under discussion we should con-
currently have decided not to use the story
Does it really get on the moral nerves of any
body to be reminded once in while, under ap-
prorrlate conditions, that Admiral Farragut eN-
claimed Dbl the tOrpedOes"? All! but that IS
fact of momentous history which must be
accurately reported whenever any report OF 1t IS
made. Well, then, was it sin in the Rev. sgd
ney Smith canon of st. Pauls, in circulating his
immortal equatorial reioinder to repeat literally
what Jeffrey said to the bore who insisted on
dragging the North Pole into every converse
ton? Perhaps it was. At least we sincerely re-
spect men who are honestly sCrupuOus in such
matters, though we may not share their scruples
Our correspondent objects to the word we used
as an establishment Of profanity" What Is
profanity? We certainly did not break the Third
Commandment, though perhaps we should plead
guilty to having violated the injunction: Let
your communication be yea, yea; nay, nay"
But, strictly interpreted, is not that fearfully
hard rule TO live up TON fact, far beyond the
capacity Of frail mortals endowed with the fac
ulty of speech? Moreover, who among us shall
impose just discrimination? When a man or,
more likely, n woman who has pinched finger
or stepped on a tack eXcams, "COnfound it!'
or "Jehosaphat!" or Caesars ghost" must it be
acknowledged that the exterior manifestation
necessarily disproves an inward state of grace?
Where is the line to be drawn? We are humbly
grateful that the drawing of it is not our prov
ince. But hereafter, as heretofore, we shall en-
deavor to make a conscientious use of our typo
graphical resources and always to err on the
cot n ci1n