The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1906-04-19
SAYS WORLD GROWS BETTER
wonld Not Shield Rogues But OBJ
jects To Wholesale Denunciatlons
Now So Popular In Magazines.

the filth of the floor.
"In Pilgrims Progress the man
with the muck-rake is set forth as the
example of him whose vision is fixed
on carnal instead of on spiritual
things. Yet he also typifies the man
who in this 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 debasing. There is filth on
the floor, and it 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 a help to society,
not an Indictment to good, but one of
the most potent forces for evil.
Should DenOunce Defamation.
''There are, in the body polite,
economic and social, many and grave
evils, and there is urgent necessity for
the sternest war upon them. There
should be relentless exposure of and
attack upon every evil man, whether
politician or business man, every evil
practice, whether in politics, in bus
mess, 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 merciless severity makes such
attack, provided always that he in his
turn remembers that the attack is of
use only if it is absolutely truthful.
The liar is no whit better than the
theft, and if his mendacity takes the
form of SANDER, he may be worse than
the most thieves. 1t puts premium
upon knavery untruthfully to attack
an honest man, or even with hysterical
exaggeration to assail bad man with
untruth. An epidemic of indiscrim-
mate assault upon character does no
goo but very great harm. The soul
OF every scoundrel is gladdened when
ever an honest man is assailed, or
even when a scoundrel is untruthfully
assaulted.
Sensation Ineffective.
Now, it is easy to twist out OF
shape what have just said. easy to
affect to misunderstood it, and if it is
slurred over in repetition, not diff
cult really to misunderstood it. Some
persons are sincerely incapable of un-
Outstanding that to denounce mud
singing does not mean the indorse-
ment of whitewashing and both the
interested individuals who need white
washing, and those others who practice
mud Singing, like to encourage such
confusion of ideas. One of the chief
counts against those who make in
discriminate assault upon men in bust
ness or men in public life, is that
they invite reaction which is sure
to tell powerfully in favor of the I'M
scrupulous scoundrel who really ought
to be attacked, who ought to be ex-
posed, who ought, if possible, to be
put in the penitentiary. If Aristides
is praised overmuch as just, people
get tired of hearing it; and overcen-
sure of the unjust finally and from
similar reasons results in their favor.
Excess Brings Reaction
"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 un-
offending or of giving immunity, and
even strength, to offenders. The
effort to make financial or political
profit out of the destruction of char
acter can only result in public calam.
itv. Gross and reckless assaults on
character, whether on the stump or ir
the newspaper, maagzine or book,
create morbid and vicious public
sentiment, and at the same time act
DIS profound deterrent to able men OF
normal sensitiveness and tend to pre-
vent them from entering the public
service at any price. AS an instance
in point may mention that one ser
ious difficulty in getting the RICH
type of men to dig the Panama cana
is the certainty that they will be ex
posed, both without, and, am sorr!
to say, sometimes within, congress
to utterly reckless assaults on thei
character and capacity.
Sanity Necessary to Success.
cat any risk of repetition let M
say again that my plea is, not for i'm
munity to but for the most unsparint
exposure of the politician who betray