Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1912-02-28
Anonymous Letters.


1t scarcely seems credible that in
this age of advanced civilization
and enlightenment there are persons
who would resort to anonymous
methods of communication, and yet
this practice, which somehow sa-
vors of the blackness and treachery
of the darker ages of the worlds
history, prevails to some extent
ever at the present time. Life is
hard enough at best without any
one going out of his way to make
it harder, and by some strange CO.
incidence the shafts of malice are
generally directed against those
who deserve them the least. 1t is
not to be expected, of course, that
we can make friends with the whole
world, but it is pity that in the
comparatively small circle of our
friends and even in the somewhat
larger radius of our acquaintances
there should be any one whose en-
nifty we may unwittingly incur.
The man who knifes his victim in
the nighttime and the mali who
dares not sign his name to the un-
worthy communication which he
pens are cast in similar molds.
Cowards at heart, both seek to hide
their identity; the one under cover
of darkness, the other under cover
of an anonymous attack. The one
draws the life blood, the other the
hearts tears of his victim, and both
glory as only degenerates can in the
utter helplessness of those whose
welfare they threaten.
The degree of satisfaction which
the writer of anonymous epistles
gains is questionable, to say the
least. We suppose that such per-
son looks not so much for personal
satisfaction from his act as for the
opportunity to ,wreak poor sort of
vengeance upon one who has been
so unfortunate as to arouse his en-
nifty. Does the worker in the dark
believe for a moment that he accom-
plishes anything for himself by his
covert acts? Does he think that his
own side of the case is strengthened
by his cowardly deeds? Does he
honestly believe that he can by his
contemplate letters, which he him
self silently admits are too con-
temptible even for him to father,
influence the recipient to change his
course? If he believes any of these
things his awakening must come
some day, and when it comes his
very acts themselves will be his worst
accusers.
To those who are so unfortunate
as to receive anonymous communi-
cations of any kind the most sensi-
BILE and at the same time the wisest
thing to do is to destroy them as
soon as they make their appearance
and to dismiss them from the mind.
1t is easy enough to destroy the
letters themselves, and in some cases
the dismissal of their contents from
the mind is not difficult, but in the
majority of cases, and particularly
where the recipient is a person of
emotional temperament or of seri-
Gus inclination, it is almost an i'm
possibility to forget. The sting of
the words burles itself deep and acts
as a continual reminder of an act
as uncalled for as it is unmerited.
1t takes a man whose nature is as
adamant as rock not to receive an
impression of some sort from the
receipt of such a letter, and after
several repetitions of the offence he
begins to lose little of his faith in
mankind and something of the
sweetness goes out of life. He
feels the blighting touch of the enc
my in the dark. He does not fear
to meet his foe face to face, but he