Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1906-08-30
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
POLITICAL APOSTATES.

ever, do men change either; though
not frequently they transfer their
allegiance from one party or church
to another. When this is done
quietly, unattended by any publici-
ty and promotion business, he who
seeks for motives is justified in con-
Guiding that change of mind and
belief has really taken place, and if
he comes in personal contact With
the proselyte, an interesting psyche
logical problem is presented for con-
sideration; interesting because of
is rarity.
The mind of man can be trained
by its early environment to trend
in any direction, to believe all
manner of palpable absurdities; to
accept as truth the widest impossi-
bilities. Let these ideas become
fixed in mind mature and it is
as difficult to dislodge them as it is
to straighten the trunk of hundred
year old oak tree that was warped
as il sprouted from it's mother
acorn. His belief becomes a mat
ter of faith, whether it pertain to
a theological dogma or a policy of
government, and any discussion of
these subjects is the merest Thin
blerigging of logic; he who is firm
in the faith is OF the same opinion
still. This is why the apostate is
ever held in contempt by those of
the sect which he deserts. They
doubt the deserter's honesty, and
there is usually good ground for
such suspicion.
When the individual politician
transfers mis- allegiance from one
party to another, the impartial,
unbiased expert, schooled in the
fine art of detecting hidden human
motives, if this transfer be accom-
panied by trumpet blast, at once
eliminates the possibility of this
being a genuine, honest mental
modification and at once proceeds
on the theory that the apostate is
actuated either by chagrin or hope
of reward-so narrow is the propo-
sition-as does the detective first
ascertain whether the defaulter
gambled or loved. If the party with
which he has trained turned him
down, - it is the former, he has
gafnbled and lost; if he abandons
the minority and swears allegiance
TO the majority party, it is the
latter-he has loved the gaudy bau-
bic, fame, and sacrificed character
on the altar of ambition default
er in either case.
There is a stock phrase, an ex-
ample OF sterotyped idiocy, which
such men use to sweep away criti-
cism and annihilate critics: "Wise
men sometimes change their minds !;
fools never do" they blurt out, as
if that settled the matter in their
favor, closed the incident. AS a
matter of fact, a wise man vas
cilates while investigating a sub
ject, but when a conclusion is
finally reached, his mind is fixed.
OF course, a fool has no mind to
change.
Last week two men in this state
announced a change of political
faith, accompanied by the usual
campaign trumpet blast. A. A.
Fraser, Of Boise, evidently having
given this subject some thought,
and, recognizing the truth of the
above remarks, sought to counterfeit
the impression of a lack of sincerity
which the big headline announce
ment in partisan paper of a sin
ner saved must inevitably create,
by prefacing his arranged for in
terview with this remark: 81
did not wish to say anything
about this publicly, it being my
desire to take a position quietly
in the ranks of the republican or
ganization. But he did not over
look the bet, just the same, to
make the customary awkward ex-
PLANTATION; for it is a noticeable
fact that these new converts are
never either fluent or convincing
in calculating the beauties of their
recently acquired theories. This
is simple, too; their mental trend
and training has ever been in &
different, generally opposite,
groove, and their minds rebel and
balk at the new and repugnant
role assigned.
The other convert to the tenets
OF the majority party, H G. Red