The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-04-14
1.-THE man With The MUCK-RAkEE''

his trust, of the big business man who
makes or spends his fortune in HE
Sitimate or corrupt ways There
should be reSolute effort to hunt
every such man out of the position he
has diSpraced. Expose the crime. and
hunt down the criminal; but re1nem-
her that even in the case of crime. II
il is attacked IN sensational, lurid,
and untruthful fashion. the attac's
may do more damage to the public
mind than the crime itself It is be-
cause feel that there should be no
rest in the endless war against the
forces of evil that ask that the way
be conducted with sanity as well as
viii resolution The men with the
muck-rakes are often indispensable TO
the welI-beinG of society; but only II
they know when to stop raidng the
muck, and to look upward to the celeS-
tial crown above them. TO the crown
of worthy endeavor- Their are beau
tiful things above and round a5oat
them: and If they gradually grow 70
feel ,aat the whole world is nothing
but muck. their power if usefulness is
gone If the whole picture is paint
ed black there remains no hue where
by to single out the raScalS for dis
tinctiou from their fellows Such
painting finally induces kind Of NOR
al color-blindness and people Affected
by il come to the conclusion that no
man is really black, and no man real
" white, but they are all gray. In
othed words. they neither believe IN
the truth of the attack nor in theShon-
esy of the man who is attacked: theS::
grow as suspicious of the accusation
as of the offenSe; il becomes we'll
nigh hopeless TO stir them either to
wrath against wronSdoing or to en-
thuSiasm for waat is right: and such
mental attitude in the public gives
! hope to every knave- and IS the de
spair of honest men
To assan the great and admitted
evils of our political and industrial
life with such crude ana sweeping
general condemnation means the scar
; ing of the public conscience There
results a general attitude either OF
cynical belief in and Indifference 10
| public corruption or else a .dlstrust-
| full inability to discriminate between
the good and the bad Either attitude
is frauEht with untold damage to The
country as whole The fool who has
not sense to discriminate between
what Is good and what is bad IS We'll
nigh as dangerous as the man who
does discriminate and yet chooses the
bad There is nothing more distress
ing to every good patriot, to every
good American, than the hard, scoE.
ing spirit which treats the allegation
of dishonesty in a public man as a
cause for laughter Sucn laughter Is
worse than NIhe cracking Of tacrns
under pot. for 1t denotes not merely
the vacant mind. but the heart in
which high emotions have been cho-S,
ed before they could grow 20 fruiHon
There Is any amount OF good In the
world, and tnere never was time
when loftier and more =disinterested
| work for the betterment OF mankind
was being done than now.
Materially We muSt strive to secTre
broadened economic opportunity foE
all men, so that each shall have a
| better chance to show the stun OF
iof which he is made Spiritually and
ethically We must strive to bring
about clean and right thinking We
appreciate thart things Of the body
are important: but we appreciate also
that the things OF the soul are i'm
measurabIy more important The
foundation stone Of national life Is
and ever. must be, the high individua.
character Of the average cittzen-
Little Johnny Jones' Company OF
IEriday, April 10th, Grand oPers
House. Ss-5S2:S555ss>s