32 True Americanism 



be the man whose Americanism is most sincere and 

 intense. Outrageous though it is to use a noble idea 

 as the cloak for evil, it is still worse to assail the 

 noble idea itself because it can thus be used. The 

 men who do iniquity in the name of patriotism, of 

 reform, of Americanism, are merely one small divi- 

 sion of the class that has always existed and will 

 always exist, the class of hypocrites and dema- 

 gogues, the class that is always prompt to steal the 

 watchwords of righteousness and use them in the 

 interests of evil-doing. 



The stoutest and truest Americans are the very 

 men who have the least sympathy with the people 

 who invoke the spirit of Americanism to aid what 

 is vicious in our government or to throw obstacles 

 in the way of those who strive to reform it. It is 

 contemptible to oppose a movement for good be- 

 cause that movement has already succeeded some- 

 where else, or to champion an existing abuse be- 

 cause our people have always been wedded to it. 

 To appeal to national prejudice against a given re- 

 form movement is in every way unworthy and silly. 

 It is as childish to denounce free trade because Eng- 

 land has adopted it as to advocate it for the same rea- 

 son. It is eminently proper, in dealing with the 

 tariff, to consider the effect of tariff legislation in 

 time past upon other nations as well as the effect 

 upon our own ; but in drawing conclusions it is in the 

 last degree foolish to try to excite prejudice against 

 one system because it is in vogue in some given 

 country, or to try to excite prejudice in its favor 



