Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1908-09-09
THE QUALITY OF MERCY.

1t Is astonishing how bitterly peo-
pie will resent cruelty to the brute
while condoning the worst of all cruel
ties. the gossip of the scandal monger
Men will be stirred to unreasonable
anger by the sight of an over-driven
horse or beaten dog, but their sym
pathies are not moved by the misery
of one Of their own kind attacked by
the tongue of gossip. There is always
excuse for the tale bearer. The idlest
chatterer of the street has always
found defenders. A fouler cry never
emanated from evil minds than the
insinuation that where there is SO
much smoke there must be fire." Yet
this is the basis upon which evil re-.
port is predicted. The eye of sus-
picion spares not the young or the
old. All are subject to Its surveill-
ance, and back of it is the wagging
tongue, dripping with suggestion, and
the pointing finger, crooked toward
the guilty and the innocent with inn
Partially. The sins Of the father are
visited on the son in malignant in
nuendo and back-door whispering,
and men stand by and say, sit is no
affair of ours"
That the slanderer exercises re-
straining INFLUENCE upon men and
women evily disposed there is scant
doubt, but the number Of homes
wrecked and lives ruined by the influ
ence is incalculable. The gossip is
omnipresent and is found in both
sexes and all classes of society. Joy
over the revelation Of wrong doing is
prol,ortionate to the social scale of
the offender. Some towns have the in.
lection worse than others, it is true,
and every village has its whisperers
who are such by common acceptance.
1t might be thought that the profes.
sional gossip would soon lose his or
her influence. but such does not ap.
pear to be the case. On the contrary
those who make it part of their bust.
ness to keep track of their neighbors
doings, down to the minutest detail
are quoted with zest and authority
which give them almost unlimited
power in the making or marring OF
reputation. It is not infrequently the
case that those who are loud in pub
lie denunciation Of the gossip are
themselves inveterate gossips-in the
privacy of their homes or the homes
Of their friends. Thus the circle OF
the trustworthy is constantly mar
rowed, until the perplexed in need Of
friends know not where to turn.
No sin in the category is more We
hemently condemned by Holy Wri,
than that of bearing false witness
yet 1t is topic rarely touched upon
In the pulpit or by the religious press
The menace Of it may not be fully
recognized, but it is poison to the
happiness and good name of any com
muntty. 1t has divided more families
SAAsSsSSAV0 anu Gil
Filtered more lives than any other in
nuence save the saloon alone. Yet i,
is tolerated, condoned, even laughed
ae as an idle pastime calculated tc
give the idle something to do. It is
as merciless as death as relentless al
. phantom. 1t plays with reputation
as a zephyr with the leaf, and chuck
les over the havoc 1t has made with
the remorselessness of satyr. II
the total of its achievements could
be visible to the senses or the eye
as are the ravages of cancer or fever
horror would be written on ever,
countenance.
Mercy is of choice quality, but
1t plays a small part in the dealings
Of men with men.-Cedar Rapids Re
publican.