Untitled article

Pacific Press Publishing Company · New York · June 5, 1890

FromThe American Sentinel, Vol. 5, No. 23

In defense of the Bennett law, Governor Hoard cites the fact that some persons who could not understand English had been seduced into signing what they supposed were contracts to sell patent rights or something of that sort, while in fact they had signed promissory notes for large amounts of money, or perhaps mortgages on their farms. Well, we have known that to be done all over the land, to people who could not understand any language but English. If the Governor’s argument means anything, it means that people who can speak, read, and write English are thereby made safe from being deceived or swindled. That is giving rather more virtue to the English language than it had ever yet been known to display. But perhaps the idea is intended to be conveyed that the Bennett law gives to the English language this virtue. If so, then the argument has at least one merit, it is the only real point that has yet been made in favor of that law.