Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1905-11-03

Ever since Adam tried to shirk rc
sponsibility for an undiscriminatino
appeute FOR apples by laying the onus
or the wrong ON Ewes shoulders man
mas been tempting the laughter of the
gods by attempting the impossible in
thc same way. He is always trying to
saddle blame on "the other fellow" II
Is proclivity Of the whole race to
save their face" by laying the blame
or their failures on somebody else or
something else. 1t does not much mat
cPr what 1t may be. They will lay It
on anything from garden worm up TO
the Almighty, and do it with an air of
insisting that others must believe them
and even that they believe it them
serves. 1t crops out in all sorts of
places and ways. If you have a friend
VINO Is given to strong drink you can
never persuade him that he is in anv
Danger, that he cannot "quit any time
he wants to-" and especially that If fs
MS own fault when he finds himself
mistaken in the other two particu-
lars He will glibly lay the blame on
the dram seller, though he knows as
well as he knows anything that there
would not be any dram sellers If there
were no dram buyers. Or he will sad
die the blame on somebody who tempt-
ed him with diabolical knowledge uf
the best moment to do so or on some
Dody who angered him-his wife, very
likely. If he be one who comes to grief
In all his business ventures he can al
ways furnish scapegoat other than
himself. More than likely he will Law
Dlame on some friend who refused to
lend him few dollars just when good
fortune needed only the bribe of those
dollars to determine her to lump into
his embrace. He will never admit
that the refusal was because the friend
did not have the dollars, still less that
MS own deeds had justly convinced
the friend that these dollars If loaned
would follow the others into the limbo
OF ghost dollars. Men in masses are
like individuals. When those intrust
ed with public affairs botch them hope
lessly or, intrusted with public money.
graft 1t into their own pleasures or
gains the voters always insist that all
the blame should be laid on these
weak vessels. They will never admit
that the primary fault was their own
In not knowing or caring enough about
what kind Of men they trusted. From
the dawn Of their schoolboy DAYS
when they were forever trying to get
some other boy punished for their mis-
deeds, they display industry and ingen-
uity in laying blame on somebody else
that If expended in doing what they
know In their hearts is duty. would
have brought a fair measure of suc-
cess. When cornered beyond their in
genuity to escape they NAV plead
guilty If they think they can thereby
escape the penitentlary or hanging, but
rarely or never otherwise. And vet
every one Of us ought to know that in
the last analysis no mothers son of rs
can really escape the law universal of
cause and effect. In very truth we do
know 1t, as men and women, as bust
ness men, as voters and every other
wise, and yet we are forever wasting
breath In trying to wriggle away from
the law. If we could simply translate
that knowledge into habitual action
better conditions would come of them |
selves. AS whole this may be be-
yond our mortal reach, but precisely in
proportion as we approximate it will
we promote betterment for all.