The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-04-17

the muck-rake in his hand: who was
| offered celestial crown ror his muck.
| rake, but whoc ouid neither look mn
nor regard the crown he was offered
out continued to rake to himself fhe
| filth Of the floor
In Pilgrims Progress the Man with
the Muck-rake is set forth as the ex-
| ample of him whose vision is fixed
on carnal instead of on spiritual things.
fet he also typifies the man who in his
life consistently refuses To see aught
that Is lofty. and fixes his eyes with
solemn intentneSs only on that which
| IS vile and debasing. Now, it is very
necessary that we should not finch
From seeing what is vile and debasinc
There IS flth on the floor, and il must
be scraped up with the muck-rake.
| and there are times and places where
| this service is the most needed of all
| the services that can be performed.
But the man who never does ANYTHING
| else, who never thinks or speaks or
| writes, save of his feats with the
muck-rake, speedily becomes, not n
help to society, not an incitement TO
good, but one of the most potent forces
| for evil
There are, in the body polite. eco
nomlc and social, many and grave evils.
and there is urgent necessity for the
sternest war upon them. There should
be relentless exposure of and at
tack upon every evil man, whether
politician or business man, every evil
| practice whether in politics in business
or IN social life. l hail as a benefactor
every writer or speaker, every man
| who, on the platform, or in book.
| magazine, or newspaper, with merci-
| less severity makes such attack, pro-
vlded always that he in turn remem-
bers that the attack is of use only if
it is absolutely truthful. The liar is
no whit better than the thief, and if
hlm mendacity takes the form Of SIAN
der, he may be Orse than most
thieves. 1t puts premium upon knav-
cry untruthfully to attack an honest
man, or even with hysterical exagger-
alton to assail bad man with untruth.
An epidemic of indiscriminate assault
| upon character does not good but very
great harm. The soul Of every scoun-
drel is gladdened whenever an honest
man is assaiIed, or even when q scoun.
| ulcl Is dSSdl1CO.
| Now it is easy to twist out of shape
what I have just said, easy to effect
to misunderstood it. and if it is slurred
over in repetition, not difficult really to
misunderstood it. Some persons are
sincerely incapable or understanding
that to denounce mud singing does not
mean the Endorsement of whitewash-
ing; and both the interested individ.-
uals who need Whitewashing and those
others who practice mud singing, like
to encourage such confusion of ideas.
One of the chief counts against those
who make indiscriminate assault upon
men in business or men in public life,
is that they invite a reaction which
is sure to tell powerfully in favor of
the INSCRIPTIONS scoundrel who really
ought to be attacked, who ought, if
possible, to be put in the penitentiary.
If AristideS is praised over much as
just, people get tired of hearing it; and
over censure Of the unjust finally and
from similar reasons results in their
favor.
Any excess is almost sure to in
vite reaction; and, unfortunately, the
reaction, instead of taking the form
of punishment Of those guilty of the
excess, is very apt to take the form
either of punishment Of the unOffend-
| ing Or of giving immunity, and even
| strength, to offenders The effort to
make financial or political profit out
of the destruction of character can only
result in public calamity. Gross and
reckless assault on character, whether
! on the stump Or in newspaper maga-
| zine, Or book, create morbid and vic
| iOus public sentiment, and at the same
| time act as a profound deterrent to
| able men of normal sensitiveness and
| tend to prevent them from entering
| the public sedvice It any price AS an
| instance in point. l may mention that
| one serious difficulty encountered in
getting the right type Of men to dig
the Panama Canal is the certainty
that they will be exposed both with
out. and. am sorry to say, sometimes
within congress, to utterly reckless as
saults on their character and capaci-
ty.
At the risk of the repetition let
me say again that my plea is. not
for immunity to but for the most un-
isparing exposure of the politician who
betrays his trust, of the big business
men who makes or spends his fortune
in illegitimate or corrupt ways. There
should be a resolute effort to hun,
every such man out Of the position he
has disgraced. Expose the crime, anC
hunt down the criminal: but remem'
ber that even in the case OF crime
if it is attacked in sensational. lurid
and untruthful fashion the attack may
do more damage to the public mint
than the crime itself. 1t is because
feel that there should be no rest in the
endless war against the forces of evi
that I ask that the war be conducted
with sanity as we'll as with resolution
The men with the muck-rakes arr
often indispensable to the weil-bein:
of society, but only if they know
when to stop raking the muck, and tt
look upward to the celestial crown
above them, to the crown of worth.
n.