Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1914-05-15
4 MATTER OF LANGUAGE

language was invented to conceal
thought he had in mind the language
of diplomacy. A diplomat may be
described as an educated and polish
ed horse trader skilled in clothing all
his utterances in language that may
be construed as meaning anything
the constRuer wants it to mean. 1t is
because the United States has had
many diplomats at foreign courts who
have shocked the trained diplomats
of the cid world by saying what they
meant in understandable English that
ours is sometimes called "shirt-sleeve
diplomacy"
Perhaps it is because our govern
ment has to some extent used the
language of diplomacy that the
American people do not clearly
understand some phases of the Mexi-
can situation. For instances, some
people fail to grasp the proposition
that when we invade foreign coun-
try, seize public buildings, run up
our flag, kill couple of hundred
soldiers and citizens of that country
and have several of our own soldiers
killed, we are not necessarily at war,
unless the country in question
chooses to consider it as war.
But it is easy when you remember
that the language of diplomacy is
an argot that bears something of the
same relation to plain English that
the language of alice in Wonder
land" does.
When, for instance, John Smith
steps on William Jackson's toes and
then makes faces at William when he
demands an apology, and Mr.. Jackson
climbs over the fence into Smiths
yard, punches Mr.. Smith in the jaw
chases him around the barn and
| grabs Smiths hen house and turnip
patch and declares he is going to
keep them until Smith apologies and
| pays for a new pair of pants Jackson
| tore in climbing the fence into
Smiths yard-that's peaceful pos
session." in the language of diplom-
acy, provided that Jackson declares
as he vaults the fence that he isn't
mad and explains that he is surpris-
ed and grieved to think that Smith
would object to being punched in the
| jaw and having his hen house aid
| t11rpin match orahhQd IT ia then IN
to Smith. All is peace and serenity
| if Mr.. Smith chooses to regard it that
way. But if Smith gets peeved and
cracks his heels together and declares
| that, although he may be smaller and
| just out of the hospital, he is game
to give Smith the best he's got in the
shop, or picks up a brick and beans"
| Neighbor Jackson, that, as we say
| in diplomatic circles may be constru-
ed as an act of hostility, or even war.
From the standpoint OF the diplo-
mat, we are not at war with Mexico.
| We have merely climbed the fence
and with becoming grief and sur
| prise cuffed our neighbors and seized
his chicken yard and kale patch We
insist on an apology and pay for
trouble and damages. Our neighbor
is a little shrimp and he ought to be
in the hospital, but We can't afford
to give him too much rope in the
matter of stepping on our toes and
giving us the laugh when we object.
The neighbors say we're right but for
that matter we didn't care a whoop
what the neighbors think, and there's
no danger of the police butting In.
We don't want to cuff our neighbor
any more, but that's up to him.
Stripped of diplomatic slang, that's
about the situation. What our gov
eminent says about it is just what
we're thinking about it, If the gov
ernment's diplomatic verblage is
translated into plain English.
/