The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1906-04-18

to learn in order to know what the real
world is and what has to be done BY
lthose who really live in it, the 25-cent
magazine may serve for a recreatiye
hour. If it pretends to be the literary
representative of the actual spirit and
tendencies of a people, it is outside of
consideration There are, signs that
this luxurious idler is beginning to sit
Iup and take notice The inroads of the
Io-cent magazine may have had some
thing to do with that Certainly travel
and literature and science and art are
splendid elements of life, but splendid
only as elements of life And no man
lives and no literature lives even in its
passing day that does not live in the
spirit of the time. Otherwise it is
dibletantism, the worst enemy OF the
soul and Of society. 81
The Io-cent magazine has certainly
Exposed itself to criticism, but its fault
has been of excess, not of defect, and
such a fault is, always pardonable, be
cause it disclosed what is praiseworthy.
1t has attacked graft and monopoly. till
| the knowledge it gave has become so
common as to: be little ludicrous. Ii
has howled SO loud that the ears ss
the public have become little weary.
1t has vituperated so indiscriminately
as to arouse sympathy for the objects
of its attacks. The American mind IS
quick to detect such things, and to make
every extreme the subject of its rnirtll.
Hence the growing flood of jest upon
the characteristic feature of the Io-ceI,
magazine. ~, +. .,.... ..-..a.. .,fg5,tf
Nobody means by that, however to
Idisparage the splendid work 1t has
done. Work like that Of Miss Tarbell,
Mr.. Baker, Mr.. Russell, Mr.. Steffens
and others. like them, has stood the
test OF criticism as to it's matter and
is not open to severe structures in re-
gard to the manner. But these public
servants have had their caricatures,
who have been useful, however, but
whom the people do not care to hear
any more. Mr.. Lawson has done good
service, but his blatant egotisIn, his
flanboyant attitudenizing, his rant.
ing and foaming at the mouth and tear
ling passion to tatters have made him
as unacceptable as bad actor in Al
good part. And Mr.. Phillips title of
TRADES worthy of the title, The Trea-.
| SOP OF the Senate" is outrageous when
one, thinks Of such men as Bailey, Doll
liver, McCumber, Hepburn and many
more superb representatives Of the
American people There are bad men
III the senate, there are evils in the
senate that need relentless exposure.
and thorough reform, but to fling mud
at the. whole United States senate IS
more than the American people will
stand. aud Mr.. Phillips with his irnpu-H
dent lie has been hissedsoff the stage.
The present tendency to criticise tho
work of the Io-cent magazine and to-
laugh at its extremes in the cause Of
reform does not near at all that the
people are turning their grievance into
La joke. Anyone who acts upon this
assumption will find it grim jjesting.
Nor does it mean any lack Of appre-
Iciation for Nj. Lawson's work in par
Iticular, and those of his imitators. The
lgratitude which he has earned has no
irebate,s because Of his eccentric way Of
learning il. Only, the tinhorn stage OF
this campaign is over as far as the in
tersst Of the people is concerned Two
things are demanded now especially one
lis the most careful and thorough con-
sideration Of the methods of destroy
ling graftSaf monopoly which are found
Iout to be essentially one and the same
thing, the other IS action iii tie light
lof such consideration. action that lets
mo guilty man or institution escape
whatever penalty has been deserved. but
(which shall also be constructive ofa a
lnew advance ii political. commercial
and social institutions