Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-01-27

OF interest, tue ulDiIlIol VI CIeuit.
There is misfortune greater than
these-tlle 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 f1nanciers. 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 q continental.
You see how urgent 1t is that each
should guard bis lips. chasten his pen
and aspire to simplicity of speech. No
more perversion Of sense. circumlOcu-
ton, reticence, terglversation! These
hings serve only to complicate and be-
wilder. Be men. Speak the speech Of
donor. An hour of plain dealing does
more for the salvation Of the world
than years Of duplicity.
A word now about n national bias to
those who have q generation for die
ton and style. Assuredly there can
be no quarrel with the taste for grace
and elegance Of speech. am Of opin.
ion that one cannot say too well what
he has to say. But 1t 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 1t and make 1t forgotten in
its 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
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 principle: Be sincere.
moderate, simple in the expression Of
fno1lvNDo nj Tn, 20
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 a 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 we'll. and all is said. How
many people content themselves with
speaking and believe that 1t exempts
them from acting! And those who lis
ten are content with having heard
them. So 1t sometimes happens that
life may IN the end be made up Of few
well turned speeches. a few fine books
and few great plays. AS for practic-
ing what Is so magisterially set forth
that is the last thing thought of. And
IL we pass from the world Of talent
to spheres which the mediocre exploit,
there In 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 bah
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 do the most work. An engine
that expends all its steam in whistling
has nothing left with which to turn
wheels. Then let Us cultivate silence.
All that we can save In noise we gain
In power.
These reflections lead us to consider
a similar subject, also very worthy Of
attention. I mean what has been call
ed 1.-The vice Of the superlahve." II
we study the Inhabitants of a country
we notice differences Of temperament,
Of which the language shows signs.
Here the people are calm and phleg-
matte. Their speech is jejune, lacks
color. Elsewhere temperaments are
more evenly balanced. One finds pre-
cision, the word exactly fitted to the
thing. But farther on-effect of the
sun, the air, the wine perhaps-hot
blood courses in the veins, tempers are
excitable, language Is extravagant and
the simplest things are said in the
strongest terms.
If the type Of speech varies with eli
mate, 1t differs also with epochs. Com
pare the language, written or spoken,
of our own times with that Of certain
other periods Of our history. Under
the old regime people spoke differently
than ut the time Of the Revolution, and
we have not the same language as the
men Of 1880. 1S4S or the second empire.
In general. language is now charac-
terized by greater simplicity. We no
longer wear perukes, we no longer
write in lace frills, but there Is one
significant difference between US and
almost all Of our ancestors. and 1t is
the source Of our exaggerat1ons-our
nervousness. Upon overexcited nerv-
GUS systems-and heaven knows that
to have nerves Is no longer an aristo-
cratic privilegeAwords do not produce
the same impression as under normal
conditions; and quite as truly simple
language does not suffice the man Of
overweight sensibilities when he tries
to express what he feels. In private
life. in public. in books. on the stage.
calm and temperate speech has given
place to excess. The means that novel
lists and playwrights employ to galva-
nize the public mind and compel its at
tention are to be found again in their
rudiments. in our most commonplace
conversations, In our letter writing
and. above all. in public speaking. Our
performances in language compared to
those Of man well balanced and Sc
rene are what our handwriting Is COM
pared to that Of our fathers. The fault
is laid to steel pens. II only the truth
were acknowledged! Geese, then. could
save US. But the evil goes deeper; it
Is in ourselves. We write like men
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