Show POLITICS AND PERSONALITIES The Ogden Herald of last evening has a leader on the action of Captain Smith of that place in not speaking to some one who had been calling him all sorts of namesand starts its article with the following follow-ing comment It Among men of education experience and good sense in civilized lands it is noticeable that political antagonism antag-onism of the bitterest description is seldom sel-dom or never made the pretext for personal per-sonal animosities To a certain extent ex-tent this is true but not always In Utah to difl r from a man politically is to differ from him in every respect There is no fraternization on any subject sub-ject among political opponents in Utah The antagonism of politics in Utah is the antagonism of persons So intense is this antagonism that the English language lan-guage contains no word too vile to apply ap-ply to a political opponent as a rule Blackguardism takes the place of argument argu-ment and when one docs not assent to the conclusions which arc drawn from partisan premises hatred and malice enter into the controversy and do their worst For either party in Utah to abuse the other has been the test of loyalty to the Government or devotion to God Because men have differed on religious and political matters they have thought themselves justified in applying to those of a different political or religious faith any and all epithets no matter how opprobrious or how vulgar Dislike of I principles is transformed into dislike of the persons holding those principles Because Be-cause a man may not approve of a principle princi-ple or belief is no reason for abusing the man who entertains it Is not abuse of a person as distasteful for one cause as for another If a man circulates scandalous scan-dalous and untrue glories concerning a persons private life and character from some petty personal motive is not the person who is subjected to such treatment justified in ceasing to recognize such a man If the same abuse is made of a man for a public or political reason is the v r iI abuso more justifiable or less ungenlle manly If a mans character and good name are entitled to respect and consideration considera-tion in private life are they net equally so in public life If a mans private character is such as to cause people to withhold the common respect and consideration usually accorded to men in private life then if he presents himself to the public i asking their confidence or soliciting their attention to his views his character justly becomes a legitimate subject of criticism He has invited public notice of his character and he must sulmiit to public criticism of that character If a mans character is without blemish or reproach his own selfrespect demands that he shall ignore those who traduce it If this is so in private life why should it not be so in public life Is selfrespect to be laid aside when a man emerges from the secluded walks of private life Rather should it not be more selfassei ting i To what comment or criticism Captain Smith had been subjected sub-jected we do not know but it was such that to his mind he felt justified In refusing re-fusing to recognize the man who had made it Ye have seen what the Herald had to say about political differences and personal animosities and from that one would naturally suppose that however much it might differ from Mr Smith politically it would indulge no personal animosities Here is the comment it makes upon Captain Smiths conduct That implacable ostentable gentleman took our disquisition so much to heart that he seems to have fancied that every individual indi-vidual who did not belong to his paltry political po-litical party was deserving of his personal antipathies Shallow minds governed by barbarian instincts are often affected in this way The rancid fellow met one of his political po-litical opponents on the street hi this city and was accosted with the usual formal salutation saluta-tion but Captain Hancid could not throw tho mantle of civility over his embittered barbarous bar-barous bones and glowing madly in his opponents op-ponents face said in a tone of blatant frenzy I dont speak to you Is this to be termed a proper way of discussing political differences or is it to be classed in the category of personal animosity writing Such a manner of speaking of any one even a common criminal is unjustifiable and ungentlemanly There has been entirely too much of such discussion of political matters in Utah and it is equally contemptible whether speaking of a Mormon Mor-mon or of a Gentile A sense of common decency should forbid any one to speak in such terms but more especially in the press of either persons or politics Such a method of treatment can butmake bad matters worse |