Life — June 14, 1900 — page 13: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

513 + IsIt? jf the following is a compliment to our Presi- dent, it gives us pleasure to reproduce it. The concluding sentence is certainly a tribute to somebody : Abuse of the Administration. by men like General Lew Wallace, who is a Republican and one of the original McKinley js most unreasonable. ‘They knew all about the individual whose personality and debts they were unloading upon the country, when they made him President. ‘They knew his limitations— that he was in fact very much like themselves—not to be trusted out of sight. McKinley is a typical con- nervative citizen. If one were looking for a man to represent the political ethics of his party, the’ search wouhl stop with McKinley. He is a smug hypocrite, and personifies the cant’ and pietism of his fellow church-members. — He has the artfulness of the ccclesiastic and the trickery of the political dema- gogue. As an expositor of sham patriotism and of piety and pretense, he has no mate. He voices more completely than any other individual, that ready- made article called Public Opinion. He is prepared to repeat and to swear to all the conventional Jies of our civilization. There are some things about. the American people, ax about every other people, that make them appear silly to the eyes of a despiser of shams ; and .all this correlated contemptibleness is concentrated and consecrated in McKinley. They ight elect Dewey or Roosevelt to show their admira- ersonal bravery ; or Jefiries in recognition of ical prowess; or Mark Twain for his genius; or Rockefeller for his wealth, It is even conceivahte that they might elect Bryan because they belie fit for the office. But ‘the re-election of McK would be attribute to humbug, pure and simple. I am not sure that any other kind of a President could give us a successful administration. George E. Macdonald in Truth-seeker, NewcasrLe Uron Trwg, 10TH May, 1000, Tue Eoror. LIFE, New Yorx. EAK SIft: 1am giad to note that a Canadian has (also) called attention to the map which, in # former letter, 1 ventured to describe as misleading. We have nothing to say about what you describe as the “+ atuptdity and {justice of the Phillpplne campatgn,” as we give your people credit for knowing more of the merits Of the case than ourselves, and we do not look on you as a nation of cowards, Hara and thieves. We, however, are always giad of intelligent criticism, and had you confined yourselves to the rights or wrongs of this struggle, we might regret if prejudice appeared to mislead you, but we would not resent an honest mistake. What we do resent, and take to be a clear proof of preja- dice, ts that, although 1t ts not the soldier's province *to Teason whe" (Thetra but to do or die"), you had no word of praise fur the successful manner in which our men held their own against enormous odds, when acting on the defensive, and yet, when the position tato some extent reversed, you misinterpret the sirength of the two forces, profess to belleve that we are Aghting the Hoers only, and Accept as * gospel’ the stories told by our friends ()' who will continue to support the Boerw so long as food, arms, sad men casi Le.exchanged for gold stolen from the Unt: janders I wonder what these friends () would say if 17¢ proposed arbitration to assess the amount of consequential damages sustained by their action, and we succeeded in making & haudsome profit out of the award? ¢ Yours very truly, Northumbrian. Our. sympathies and best wishes are un- equivocally with the Boers in this South African matter, but ‘* Northumbrian ” is in error when he implies that we look upon the English as a “nation of cowards, liars and thieves.”’ We refuse to accept Cecil Rhodes and the Honorable Chamberlain as fair samples of any English-speaking people.