The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1911-03-01

the BIOunu.
We cry out like whipped children
against extravaganza in public ex-
penditures, industrial restraint,
heavy taxation, delays OF
courts, miscarriage of jus
tice and all that train of public evils,
but we have. neglected our public
duty so long we are as ignorant of
the causes as we are of applying
remedies. Yet in one election day
we could clean up the platter restore
our temple by asserting our sover-
eighty and resuming the reins of
government. Our system provides
every facility except brains, public
opinion and honesty, (Which no sys-
TEN could supply for carrying out
all reforms, and it is cowardly to
stand and whine and try to shift re-
sponsibilities. Either do your duty
or take the consequences like men.
Changing systems is not going to
help reforms begin within the, man
not within legislative halls. You are
good reighbor, citizen and friend,
not because the law forces you to be,
but for a thousand times better reas-
on. because you want to be. and this
is the onlv true reform. The forum
of conscience is the temple of re-
form, moral suasion its only apostle,
ard force its deadliest foe. 1t may
be a social privilege, indeed the zeal
Gus might deem it a duty, to reason
with and try to convince in kindly,
respectful and most tolerant way,
fellowman who you think is wrong
on a question of public Importance,
but right there your mission and
privilege end; not a hairs breath
further may you venture. Right
there his rights of conscience and
freedom of mind begin and raise a
barrier you are bound to observe and
respect and, If the poor deluded dew
II persists in going right on to hell,
as we mot always wisely or JUSTLY
so much fear, we are unfortunately.
absolutely helpless, but altogether
blameless. The savage desire to
ram things we only believe and at
which he revolts, no difference why, |
down a fellows throat, hardly COM
ports with the spirit of tolerance up
on which republics are founded. Be
sides, how do we happen to know we
are right and he is wrong? Is it the |
spell of the happy delusion that we
are directly inspired and absolutely
Why that's the craziest
kind of fanaticism A coterie of re-
ligious bigots so cock-sure they were
right and all unfortunates who diff
fered from them were not only
wrong but as good as id, once
called upon Oliver Cromwell, some
what of bigot himself. The case,
however, was so extreme he said: |
Brethren, / beseech you, in the
name of Christ. to imagine it posi-
BILE that you might be mistaken"
Broad-minded, big-hearted toler-
ance is not only noble, just and wise,
but it is prudent. Every age has
stoned its prophets, revised its theo-
ries and reversed its judgments. Sci
ence has whipped its weight in wild
cats and each cat had nine lives full
of prejudice. 1t is said the word
religion" has ten thousand differ
ent meanings. A ferret after GU
rious facts recently discovered that a
single word appearing several times
in a short article by an eminent
English writer, was susceptible of
five hundred different constructions.
That greatest of French ministers,
NJ. de Tallyrand. who passed with
lndiminished power through the
evolution. republic, empire and re-
stored monarchy a cynic in morals,
atheist in religion and an arch de-
,eiver in diplomacy, declared that
language was given man to conceal
his thoughts. Plato says we only
know that we don't know" The
old Armenian charging
he Calvinist with the doctrine of
oreordination, predestination, in
ant damnation and perhaps other
singular, irritating theological cpl
bets, with similar suggestive end
ngs, riled in the heat of debate,
hook his trembling fist right under
lis scornful adversary's defenseless
lose and shouted: your God is my
Ievil!" Who was right and how
an you tell? When Lord Sandwich
some doubt as to what was
eterodoXy, Bishop Wharburton ex-
lained that orthodoxy was his doxy
nd heterodoXy was the other
elbows doXy. We know that
he "heterodoXy of to-day is
he orthodoxy of Tomorrow" {
hen how can We be so sure? (