The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1909-11-12

ard, the gambler, the thief, the mar,
/ the hbertine. the prOfane swearei,
: etc, have no claim to the title OF
gentleman; neither should they be
/ so called or ciassed.
I Now, I am aware of the fact that
| 1t is not always safe to walk up 10
+ any man and say, "Sir. you are no
! gentleman" especially if the one so
/ addressed happens TO be the larger
/ OF the two. Nevertheless, on paper. !
/ affirm that many calling themselves
| such have not an iOta Of right 10 the
title
I am aware, too. that it is custom
| airy, and for poIiteness sake, admlssI-
( bic 10 address any assembly or gath
erinc OF men IS gentlemen For
/ instance, we say. gentlemen of the
! jury" gentlemen Of the convention,
etc. though we may be aware that
some of them are far from being
such to say the least.
Now. il has been cOntended by some
that Q man may have refined man
neTs even though morally corrupt
Now, this appears to me little far
fetched-au untenable hypothesis
VIII oil and water Mix Can cor
rUyL tree bring forth good fruit.
Can a fountain send forth both
sweet and bitter water" No. Then,
it is morally impossible for man OF
corrupt morals 10 keep himself long
ON his guard. so as to prevent his
morals from communicating his man
neTs.
Nov, let us examine the right OF
those who practice any of the vices
mentioned above as to theIr claim 10
the title of gentleman First. the
murderer But 1 doubt that any one
VIII defend him. so I pass MIN over
The thief Would you call the man
who stole your purse or your watch
gentIemau2 The HaT2 He Is FAR
worse than the thief. since he can
steal your reputation. Or EOOd name,
though many miles may separate him
from his victim. The gambler He
is invariably both a liar and a cheat,
if he follows the business long. other
wise he would have to quit, since he
would never succeed, for his assOcl-
ates resort to both those methods IN
order to fleece their dupes- The
dTunkard? 4 drunken gentleman!
WaIlowing in the slime and filth OF
the gutter. covered over with his own
sDew, FaUgb, The libeTtiDe2 OF
all contemplate scOUndrels, he Is the
worst. True he is patted on the
back and called "a smart fellow by
other scum. until he takes liberties
with some one near and dear 10 them.
Then the tune changes. Gentlemen
these? But enough. They dare not
come out in the open in defense OF
their claims.
Now. Mr.. Editor. since Webster
makes the requirement of an 'educa-
ton" and refined manner pTeTe-
Cuisites to gentlemanship, it neces-
sairly follows that no one is
gentleman born" no matter what his
ancestors were before him, since We
are never born with an education nor
with refined manners. For this rea-
son. I take the position that gentle
manship is an acquired habit, not
fixed principle And since it can be
acquired, it can also be forfeited or
lost. Therefore, a man is a gentle
man lust 50 long as he conducts him
self in a gentIemanlike manner, and
no longer. Yet, a man cannot be
DrCfane bIackguard today and. gen
tleman tomorrow. Change the habits
02a q sTrserETTv,ss U1y-t..7IrTJ ofsS--l--a@sss-
change his coEss yet, since genrle-
manship is something that can be &C
quired, it is worth striving for by all
men.
But to return. If those who practice
any of the vices enumerated above
are gentlemen" any coon" is a
'gennimen," and the word loses all
its significance and should be discard
ed as senseIess. Then the laundress
was not far astTay when she said
aus cUllud ladies has 'cided not to
wash for you white women dis year.
Now, NTr. Editor, if it be COntended
that 1, too, am without the sacred pre-
cincts of gentleman" because of IL
literacy land this essay will establish
that fact), I can but plead that it has
been more my misfortune than my
fault. since at the age when l should
have been at school the war was rag
ing and I was in hiding from both
contending parties. Yet / lay the
fsttering JUNCTION to my soul that at
any rate I do not practice those vices
which I have been cOndemning N
others.
D. ". WHITWORTH.