The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-08-06
NAMES y THINGS.

Is said 70 he the means
wherein We express thought. Some
cynical people say tn, anguaee =
Used 10 conceal thought There are
others vino believe that language Is
used for the Development II tnodsA,
I, is a fact thai with many persons
clear thinking is aided ~ the tornN-
la.ion of thought into words. PerHaps
IL is because of some underlying, AKA
perhaps unconscious recognition OF
this fact TIA II our first I'M
pulses in connection with ne" things
is TO classify them by giving them
NJ
This tendency ig sometimes unfoTtu-
nate, because it happens that Win
many Of us, when We have found &
name for a thing VIC disrpiss II: as
Stunning, apparently, that when We
have found the name that fits APPROX
imateIy well, We have solved all ques-
tions that may have existed with rel
erence 10 the subject. and that there
IcIildJIls Ii'tii'iiE '''"N ''N' 49,
or needs attention.
This often falls short Of accomplish
ing the thing that need 10 he accom-
plished. For instance, when we have
under consideration a man VIII" is
prominent in political affairs, If We
classify him merely as Il republican or
q democrat, and are for him or against
him, as we happen to feel in SYM
paihy with the general policy of one
party or the other, we may have miss
ed the target altogether. h man
whom we are inclined to favor be-
cause he belongs, in a way, to the po-
litical faith which we consider ours,
may be as shallow as a soup plate,
and as crooked as the Red river, n
utterly unfit for n public position
whatever, and the man whom we OPP
pose because we have classified him
as a member of the opposition party
may be a worthy citizen and al able
n upright man.
Religious names have counted for n
great deal in the history Of the world,
M bloody wars have ragged around
them. Yet. when VIC consider those
who have engaged in these controver-
sizes simply on their merits as human
beings, we find that the names which
we have applied to them mean very
little, that sometimes Catholics have
prosecuted Protestants. and sometimes
Vrntecta ntc h. va narGcrntpd ('1thnlicc.
that in these present times, when liv-
ing in the same locality and subjected
Ia like conditions. those whom VIC call
Mohammedans and those whom we
call Christians have burned and butch
cred, and suffered and struggled in
about the same way.
We apply about the same rules To
policies that we do to people and
things. a way of doing a certain
thing is suggested. and often. instead
we see, or think we see something
about 1t that warrants us in classify
ing it as belonging to a group which
we DO or do not favor, and We classi.
fy and approve or condemn on the
basis OF the classification. In nothing
Is this more clearly shown than in ou1
treatment OF economic questions anG
in the application of the term 80.
cialistic." There are men who may be
called professional socialists to whom
anything looks good provided the tern
socialistic can be applied to it. wheth.
er with or without much reason does
not matter. There are others who de
not approve of socialism in genera
who are ready ia condemn anything
If 1t is classified among the things gen.
orally considered socialistic.
For instance, take the question
whether or not a city should establish
a grocery store. Obviously that is 8
question which must he considered
on its w merits. and which SHOULD
be decided in the light Of the fact
pertaining to it alone. What city
What sort Of grocery store? What i
the need for hat particular kind @
store in that city? Is the city abb
To finance the undertaking.? Has II
or can II create the machinery wit
which to operate such a store sue
cessfuily? All OF these. and a scor
OF other questions must be
before there a be an intelligent de
cision reached as to the wisdom q
such an enterprise. But because q
our propensity for naming. classify
ing and Diminishing, many Of us ak
a shorter cut. One group Of peopl
would say that such a plan is socialis
tic. and because they are socialist
they approve OF the plan. Anothe
group oppose socialism, and they con
denim the plan because 1t is socialistit
What we call II has nothing to d
with Its merits. We need to cultivat
the habit OF studying things on thei
merits and less on account of tn
names which we may see At to Civ
them.
A SMALL SNUB FOR A GREAT