Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-04-04
ADJUSTING A PLEDGE.

New York Summary persons with
thoroughly honest intentions fail to
make the distinction between what q
man said and what a man meant. 1t Is
my belief that these good citizens wish
to do me justice, and the mere fact
that they think that am about to
break solemn promise is OF COM
paratively no consequence.
The first and most important thing
Lis to forget that / ever made q pledge
The second is that it must be clearly
understood that I never meant what
said, as every sophist in the Outlook
can explain The complement to this
fact, Of course, is that must explain
myself This is no easy task for an
outsider. even though the Outlook says
that it "has better appreciation Of my
intelligence than to suppose that had
in 1904 or have now the slightest idea
of defining third term except IN the
way in which we have defined 1t" That
is to say, under no circumstances,
meant under some circumstances.
All thoughtful and farsighted citizens
now see that meant that. TO any
fair minded man seeking the interests
of social justice under no circum.
stances might appear binding and
admit of no loophope mo" usually
means mo-" but as the Outlook says,
did not mean "no' in the sense of no
I meant mo, not until 1912"
OF course the harm l may do to my
conscience Is negligible. My attitude
Is neither inconsistent nor quibbling on
the one side, neither adjusted nor
twisted on the other; it is based on my
belief that self-respect and public ex,
ample taken together make the surest
basis for intoxicating my conception OF
honor. -. .g.
Suppose I had ham and parsnips for
breakfast and they gave me ptoma1ne
poisoning and made me sicken unto
death. and I said: under no circum.
stances will I ever eat ham and par
snips again, for I regard their poinon,
ing effect ond not their form" Does
that mean I meant never to eat them
again? Not at all. Under no circum.
stances, meant that would not eat
them again until they came my way
Any attempt to make it appear other
wise is a gross misunderstanding OF
logic I can, of course, make no ex'
haustiye argument in this space, but
the details can easilyz be worked out
Il is urgently necessary that | ex'
plain and clarity exactly why have
decided this vital question of break
ing q pledge. 1t has been settled by
me in an earnest desire to stand by my
own cause and the cause Of other prac.
tical men. A genuine effort was made
On nv part to discover if the demand
that 20 back on my promise is uni
yersal. The other day, for instance, a
governor told me six times that ne
wanted me to become a candidate.
Another. cowboy, for whom have
the highest regard and admiration, told
me right out that he would vote for
me. These were but examples OF the
dozens who have spoken for ninety
million people.
Now. Of course, in any case like
mine the personal equation must be
sacrificed, If refuse to consent,
what will become of circulation? And
60 I cannot repeat too insistently that
"nnder no circumstances" means 'un-
der some circumstances" and I main.
tain that any pledge, however binding,
can be properly adjusted by competent
authorities with a sincere desire to
keep their word.