The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-18
"a,,ns AmeNles . nsa Sams "

"GItIas AweFiea . Hsd SamS"
Tho virtir,ia pity Win which Eurrte
How looks down upon these tnite,l
States frcalla tho saV n lhr cvnlc about
'the misfoftunes " 0uf friends OnlT
Tho qualification In The preannt case II
Open. not Rpcrct. 4 few months aen
Europe. NJ NJ loaai Tho Continent, was
'vicwing with alarm the relentless
American progrrss and competition
Now n Il u satisfaction 90 these pcr-
turbed spirits Ia helievo that all Ameri-
can buaincas mon arc corrupt and mono
doth good Was II SCHopFNHArER or
n disciple ~ HE who pleasantly described
tho United states M a country that was
'rottcn before II was ripe In the
steady war Of commerce all means seem
fair; and the brethren across the water
are welcome 10 thank Con that they are
not as tho Americans arc.
II Ia iiEt 10 say that many Of the
dispatches q Ia the other side give
an almost utterly untrue account Of the
meat scandal, and that many Of them
might have been written by the curious
young meGalomaniac who composed
"the Uncle Toms Cabin" Of the slaughter
house. Even an excellent and constant
friend, the London Spectator, seems to
think that Mr.. ROOSEVELT Is fighting
single handed all sorts of monsters.
The sober truth is that while the
methods OF some of the ~sociologists and
the settlement workers are essentially
romantic and high pitched, and give
sometimes a pennyworth OF fact TO an
intolerable deal Of inference, the Amer
actually inclined to believe the worst.
II demands reform Of the conditions
complained of at Chicago-conditions,
by the way, that affect, by sociological
surmise, some s per e n of the meat
slaughtered. Mr.. ROOSEVELT is fighting
no solitary fight. Though many conser-
vatives feel that a local and temporary
wropgdoes not require a Federal remedy,
yet there is practically nc opposition to
a thorough Federal inspection; and the
packers themselves and the cattle raisers
behind them are ready for almost any
Federal meat inspection law, provided it
is put upon the statute books at once.
In short, the corrupt" nation has
cheerfully injured itself in reputation
mainly on account Of domestic and
exported ex~aggerations and the large
and general foreign ignorance of the
real character of the American people
and has injured itself heavily in pocket
by its quick indignation with the presence
or suspicion of unhealthful treatment
Of meat products at Chicago. 1t might
have been wiser, and it certainly would
have saved money, to hush the matter
up. That is not the American way.
Here publicity bellows with a million
voices. An inconvenient way, some
times, but In the end n that makes for
justice, though it does some injustice
meanwhile. Foreign observers do not
understand with what pitiless swift fury
democracy acts when its feelings are
aroused. They do not understand that
as a mere matter Of political, partisan
or social gymnastics, II for no other
reason, every scandal, real or imaginary,
every official and almost every private
must be aired in the sight
Of the world. Nor do even the foreign
well wishers q, of America appreciate
what q change has come over the old
American spirit Of bounce" and boast
fumess. With the growth Of national
prosperity and a deeper conscious
ness Of national strength has arisen a
keener perception Of whatever is or
seems wrong in the national life. Now
adays about every American is a re-
former. Even. the politicians who have
long been in the bond Of ~iniquity roll
up the whites of their eyes and shout
for reform. The enthusiastic and a
gerative American temperament some
times magniaes evils, discovers evil
none exists, and kicks up a ire
mendous ado about nothing in particu-
lar. It is a good fault. 1t is part Of
The necessary ~4.unceasing vigilance
"The process Of blackening the Ameri-
can business reputation In the European
press continues unremittingly," said
The Suns London correspondence yes
Well, business is business, and
establishments are not likely to
dote on each other. The true friends of
America and of democratic republican
self-government abroad should not be
iisheartened, but encouraged, by each
new manifestation of the unsleeping,
reeolute American determination to be
clean in politics and in business. At
whatever cost in money or good mann
among the nations, the United States
means to punish wrongdoing and dis
The innocent will suffer some
times; zeal will distance discretion, but
this is the text which the American peo-
pie are bound to follow: THE congrega-
ton of hypocrites shall be desolate, and
Are shall the ta%bernacles Of
bribery