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No life without humbug.It is strange at the prima vUta observation, that the American people,. so eminentlypractical in ever3r respect ami living fully ^ up to the rule 4* time is money,” should at ( the same time he bo fond of public spectacles, flimsy demonstrations, noisy processions and all sorts of humbug. Poor old Abe Lincoln, who had the quiet life of a country lawyer, having been elected President of this country, and going now to be inaugurated in his office, the Philistines | from all corners of the land congregatearound their Dagonand worship him. Ilcrein Cincinnati the post-masters, collectors,judges, marshals, commissioners, in rpe, begged together about $1,500. to hire some carriages, give a banquet in the evening, drink champaign, and sing hymns to Dagon. They disturb the people in their usual occupations, nay even the children in their schools, start an absurd tumult, and the masses run and gaze. Why? Wherefore ? To what purpose? None can answer these questions. Why did the patriots not pay for the noise from their own pockets? Why can our big men not entertain the president elect on their own expense? Why all this noise? Nobody can answer.We can not say what Mr. Lincoln has done for this country in poIiticsS, warfares, science or art; being a foreigner we can not be expected to know ever}* man’s biography; hence we can not tell why these extraordinary demonstrations, processions, banquets, Ac., should be made. Wait till he has done something, then show him the honor due to the man; but even then do not imitate the man-worship of the Philistines; how not down to Dagon. So we should think; rational men must think. Of course, office-hunters are prompted by other motives. But■that the masses should thus blindly be ledand confused by the seekers of office, is a%poor testimony of the common sense of the multitude.It strikes us that there is no life without humbug. The multitude must have a spectacle occasionally, and will run whenever and wherever a noisy demonstration is made. There.is a tendency in the American people for diversions and spectacles; but it has no great influence upon anybody. Now they run to see and hear Mr. Lincoln. If in two weeks he should say’ or do anything they dislike, they would drag their own idol into the dust and decry him in the same ratio as they formerly deified him. It is a poor policy to honor a man publicly without knowing by settled precedents what he will do hereafter, jost as poor as to decry a man we honored heretofore. Therefore we consider all those man - worshiping demonstrations unprincipled and unbecoming honorable men—of course the office-hunting Philistines always excepted; they must bow down to Dagon. The private citizen should never forget his own dignity as a man, and a republican chief should never accept of any public demonstrations which only de-j grade the citizen, and do no honor to anybody, especially not to him who knows he has done nothing yet to merit any public demonstrations.Certain men who are the real benefactors of humanity, such as George Washington, Jefferson. Franklin, or Cromwell,and others in politic*; or Bacon, l*aac Newton, Humboldt, and others in science; none of them received honors in advance of tlie actions ; [.neither of them was fond of public demonstrations. But this is an age of humbug and spectacle, and myriads of thoughtless Philistines arc glad when they hear some noise, or see some flimsy display’, and must always have some Dagon to worship; because they find not dignity enough in themselves to live without noise; not sense enough to do without humbug. The madness of reck-less demagogues having led this country to the brink of destruction, certainly will find.pleasure in public demonstrations, to heat up the declining fire of sectionalism, they are excusable. But it would not do fori, peaeable citizens.Some of our friends might like to know how the presidont looked and we can tell them, he looks like Der Londjunker das ersie Mai in dtr Stadty which is in good English, “dike a country squire for the first time in the city.”, He wept on leaving bpringfield and Invited his friends to pray for him; that is exactly the picture of his looks. We have no doubt he is an honest man and, as much as wo can learn, also quite an intelligent man; but he will Jook queer, in the white house, with his primitive manner.
Newspaper Details
Cincinnati Israelite
Cincinnati, Ohio, US
Fri, Feb 15, 1861
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Amyrose Y.
NY, USA 09 Feb 2022
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