The daily sentinel., 1908-07-28

during the past week by what we be-
lieve to be a vital truth, writes Geo.
Harvey IN the Denver convention
number of Harpers' Weekly.
1t is this: Despite constant mani
| festat,on of seeming vagaries, the
| western man is the true American.
No honest man can fail to recognize
! the wholesomeness of the atmos-
| phere which envelops these big, lean
| bronzed, stalwart sons of Anak; none
can question the full sincerity of pur-
| pose sindicated by the hearty GRASP
of the hand. the straightforward
gaze from the clear eyes: none can
contemplate without regret the ut
| ter misconception of the spirit of
| this community which pervades the
east.
These men of the west are not fa-
natics; they are not even radical at
heart True, many are led away by
the siren songs of false prophets, but
from no evil intent and through no
fault of their own. They hear no
other voices.
The self-seeking demagogue is ON
nipresent and indefatigable. He is
out and about, speaking here, there
and everywhere, winning populariI
~ LII IliIlStil l1lS SDtClOuS WHlDl-
sizes, while the thoughtful student of
affairs groans from his closet over
'the ignorance of the Masses"
The inevitable consequence is that
which ever ensues from the constant
dropping of water upon stone.
Hearing nothing to the contrary, is
it any way surprising that thousands,
perhaps millions, of our countrymen
have been induced to believe that
practically all who live in eastern
cities are mere vultures seeking to
feast upon the product of others?
The reason why eastern men of
parts do not come west and allay i'm
pressions which are false is sufficient
ly obvious. They are not narrow, as
IS so often charged: they are simply
lazy and comfortably Indifferent t.
any obligation that il not pressing
and immediate. 1t does not suffice
to rejoin that western men of like
caliber do not make themselves
known in the east. Nothing would
please them better; but. unfortunate
ly, bitter experience has taught them
that they cannot get the kind of
hearing they care for. They can and
do occasionally go and speak in
Cooper Union, but how many of the
solid citizens whose attention they
desire and deserve are ever there to |
listen?
No. it is not the west that is re-
sponsible for the prevailing misap
prehension between the sections. 1t
is the east. And it is up to the real
ly broadminded and patriotic men
of the seaboard, whom we hear con-
stantly bewailing menacing condi- |
tions. to bestir themselves and come |
west in the flesh and respond in kind |
to the hearty welcome which invarl- |
ably awaits them.
For ourselves, we say emphatical-
ly that we have no apprehension of |
any serious disaster overtaking the
republic so long as these strong
hearted, pureminded men who have
been treading on our toes for the
past week continue to be as they are.
They are good men. They are not |
given over to prejudice; they want to
reason, and lack candor in admit
ting themselves to be in the wrong |
when fairly convinced. And while
they require information respecting !
their fellow countrymen, their need |
is for less than that of the thousands |
of fasteners who assume the what
is-the-use" attitude and classify all
westerners as cranks.
Again we say, the western man is
the true American. He has the fine
spirit, whose outputs are energy, fair
play and kindliness.