The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-09-16
XIV.
Retrospective.

XIV.
Retrospective.
Show. me those invisible, impercep-
descends; show me the way back to
the serene altitude of clean conscience,
and I will undertake to enlighten you
upon the secret of every great histor-
ical event, tragic or otherwise. If you
will search history carefully you will
note that the basic cause Of all great
events, such.as revolutions, civil strlfes,
political assassinations, foreign wars
and race expressions, lay not in men g
honor so much as in some one man g
dishonor. A man, having committed
himself in the eyes Of his fellow-beings,
but ever and ever he silently mocks
himself and dares not look into the
mirror Of his conscience.
Honor is comparative, as everyone
will agree. It is only in the highly
developed mind that it reaches it's SUI
perlative state. Either this man be.
comes impregnable to the assaults OF
the angel Of the pitch robes, or he
ness which surrounds her. The great
greed of power, the great greed OF
Wealth, the great greed of hate, the
great greed. Of jealousy, and the great
greed of love, only these tempt him.
Z Now, of dishonors, which does man
hold in the greatest abhorrence9 This
question needs no bordering. 1t may
be answered simply. The murderer, the
thief and the rogue-we LOOK upon
these callously. But Judas! Treach-
cry to our country! This is the nadlr
Of dishonor; nothing could be blacker.
We meyer stop to look into the causes,
nor does history, that most upright and
impartial Of judges; we brand instant
ly. Who can tell the truth about Judas
Iscariot, and Benedict Arnold, and the
host of others! I can almost tolerate
a Judas who betrays for a. great love.
There seems to be a stupendous ellm-
nation of self in the man who betrays
for those he loves, Drawing. the conse-
quences, the ignominy, the dishonor, the
wretchedness; otherwise L should not
have undertaken to write this bit of
/ history.
To betray a friend, that is bad, to
betray woman, that is still worse; but
| to betray ones country!-to com
nit an act which shall place he1
at the mercy Of her enemies. All, the
| ignoble deaths of the men who were
guilty of this crime. And if men have
souls, as we are told they have, how
the souls Of these men must wrlthe as
and behold the horror and contempt IN
which each traitors name is held there
Have you ever thought of the legion
of men who have been thrust back from
the very foot Of this precipice, either
by circumstances or by the revolt OF
conscience? These are the men who
re-establish themselves in the eyes OF
their fellowbeings, but who for ever
silently mock themselves and dare no1
look into the mirror Of their con
sciences.
In this world motive is everything
A bad thing may be done for gooc
purpose, or, the other way around
This is the story. Of crime, the motive
Of which was good.
Once upon time there lived a sol
der, a gentleman born, courtier, {
man of fine senses, of high integrity
of tenderness, of courage; he possessed
splendid physical beauty, besides es
tates, and a comfortable revenue, o.
all this he was the father Of girl VIII
worshiped him, and not without reason
What mysterious causes should set t.
work to ruin this man, to thrust hin
from light into darkness? What ste
led him to attempt to betray his coun
try, even in times of peace, to dishono
his name, a name his honesty ha
placed high on the rolls Of glory? Wha
defense can he offer? Well, I shall TN
dertake to defend him; let yours be tn
verdict.
Enforced idleness makes crinina
of a poor man; it urges the man O
means to travel. Having seen his ne
tive land, it was only natural that m
defendant should desire to see foreig
countries. So, acc ompanied by his chic
he went abroad, visited the famous car
: itals, and was the guest Of honor a
his country s embassies. It was de
| ]ightful period. Both were as happ
as fate ever allows a human being
be. The father had received his ho1
orable discharge, and until recently ha
held a responsible position in the wa
department. His knowledge had prove
l Of no small value to the government
3 for he was a born strategist, and hi
: hobby was the coast defenses. He ne,
!. er beheld plan that he did not reprt
, duce it on the back of an envelope, O
. any handy scrap of paper, and the
c pore over it thru the night. He had con
! mltted to memory the smallest d
-! tails, the ammunition supplies of eac
8 fort, the number of guns, the garriso
the pregnable and impregnable side
He knew the resource Of each, too; tn:
is to say, how quickly aid could be 8
> cured, the nearest transportation route
what forage might be had. He ha
q even submitted plans for siege gu
4 One day, in the course of their ira
5 els, the father and daughter stopped
Monte Carlo. Who hash It heard Of TIL
!, city Of fever? Who that has seen
= can easily forget it's gay harbor, i
: beautiful walks, it's crowds, it's musi
j its hotels, it's white temple of forum,
. = Now, my defendant had hither
q ignored the principality Of Monaco. IT
3 tales of terror which had reached h
i ears did not progresses him in it's fave
:, :, But his daughter had friends there, al
g . she wanted to see them. There wou
= be dances on the private yacht, and di
! ner, and teas, and fireworks. On t
- third night Of his arrival he was Join
e by the owner of the yacht, a millio
% aire banker whose son was doing t
= honors as host. 1 believe that there W
% a musicale on board that night, and
!, the banker WASH t particularly fond
70 this sort of entertainment, he inveigl
" his soldier friend to accompany him
e sightseeing trip. At midnight tn
- entered the temple of fortune At fl
T. the soldier demurred; but the bank
n told him that he hadn't seen Nor
81 Carlo unless he saw the wheel 90 arou1
o So, laughing, they entered the halls
The passion for gaming is born in
~ all, man and woman alike, and is CT
y coded by wise analysts to be the m,
IL furious of all passions and the most la
ing. In some, happily. the serpe
" sleeps forever, the fire is fore1
Ie banked. But it needs only the opp
vs. tunity to rouse the dull, ember il