The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1906-04-19

lous scoundrel who really ought 70 be
attacked, who ought to be exposed.
who ought. If possible, to be put in the
penitentiary. II Aristides is praised
overmuch as Just. people get tired OF
hearing It; and overcensure OF the I'M
just finally and from similar reasons
results in their favor.
Excess Invites Reaction.
ANY excess is almost sure to in
yite 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
unoffending 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 calami-
ty. Gross AID reckless assaults on
character. whether on the stump or
in newspaper, magazine or book Gre
ate a morbid and vicious public senti.
ment. and at the same time act as
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 seri.
GUS difficulty encountered in getting
the right type of men to dig the Pan
anna canal is the certainty that they
will be exposed. both without, and,
am sorry to say, sometimes within,
congress, to utterly reckless assaults
on their character and capacity.
Asks Sane Fight.
Eat the risk of repetition let me say
again that my plea is, not for inn
munity to but for the most unsparing
exposure Of the politician who betrays
his trust, Of the big business men who
makes or spends his fortune in ille-
Ultimate or corrupt ways. There
should be a resolute effort to hunt
every such man Of the position he has
disgraced. Expose the crime, and
hunt down the criminal; but remem-
Der that even in the case OF crime, IL
it is attacked IN sensational, lurid
and untruthful fashion, the attack
mey DC more damage TO the public
mind than the crime itself. It is be-
cause l feel that there should be no
rest in the needless war against the
forces of evil that ask that the war
be conducted with sanity as well as
with resolution. The men with the
undertakes are often indispensable
to the well-being of society; but only
II they know when to stop raking the
muck, and to look upward to the ce-
lestial crown above them, to the crown
Of worthy endeayor. There are beauti-
full things above and round about
them; and If they gradually grow to
feel that the whole world Is nothing
but muck, their power of usefulness
is gone"
Warning to Wealth.
In closing he uttered note of warn
ing to the rich man as follows "The
men of wealth who to-day are trying
to prevent the regulation and con-
troll of their business in the interest
OF the public and by the proper gov
eminent authorities will not succeed,
in my judgment, in checking the prog
ress Of the movement. But If they
did succeed they would find that
they had sown the wind and would
surely reap the whirlwind, for they
would ultimately provoke the violent
excuses which accompany a reform
coming by CONFUSION instead of by
steady and natural growth.
"on the other hand, the wild preach
ers of unrest and discomfort, the wild
agitators against the entire existing
order, the men who act crookedly,
whether because of sinister design or
from mere puzzle-headedness, the
men who preach destruction without
proposing any substitute for what
they intend to destroy, or who pro-
pose substitute which would be far
worse than the existing evils-all
these men are the most dangerous OPP
ponents of real reform. II they get
their way they will lead the people
into deeper pit than any into which
they could fall under the present sys-
tenn. IL they fail to get their way
they will still do incalculable harm
by provoking the kind of reaction,
which in its revolt against the sense
less eyi! of their teaching would en-
throne more securely than ever the
very evils which their misguided fol-
lowers believe they are attacking.
Sympathy Is Needed.
More important than aught else is
the development of the broadcast SYM
pathy of man for man. The welfare
Of the wage WORKER, the welfare of the
tiller Of the soil, upon these depend
the welfare of the entire country;
their good is not to be sought in pull
ing down others; but their good must
be the prime object of all our states
manship. Materially we must strive
TO secure broader economic opportu-
nifty for all men, SO that each shall
have better chance to show the stuff
Of which he is made. Spiritually and
ethically we must strive to bring
about clean living and right thinking.
We appreciate that the things OF the
body are important; but we appre-
ciate also that the things of the soul
are UNNECESSARILY more important.
The foundation stone of national life
&c and eyer must he tho hi0h ipdi