The Nevada journal., 1857-05-01
Political Honesty.

don't expect any very great amount of
honesty among politicians. A person
who should attempt nowadays to
judge public men by the strict rule of
integrity, would be laughed at as old
fashioned, and innocently ignorant of
the ways of the world. The people are
apt to think land in most cases correct
ly) that public servants are always
ready to sacrifice public interests TO pri-
vate aggrandisement. Their profession
of adherence to the principles of the
particular parties which they happen,
for the moment, to belong to, are looked
upon as insincere, and their enthusiasm
in advocacy as artificial and gotten up
for tbe occasion.
All this has happened to a certain
extens, m the. past, among the public
men of our own and other nations but
during the last few years, and particu-
larly in California, dishonesty among
politicians has become so notorious, and
has been so unblushingly avowed, that
all traces of even the semblance of pub
tic virtue seem to be rapidly wearing
away. Time was when politician, al
though the genuineness of his profess
ions might be somewhat doubted, was
nevertheless compelled by public opin-
ION to preserve some show of.decent con-
sistency in his political course. AL
though he might be actuated by pure
ly selfish ambition, regardless Of patri-
otism AMI the duties of publ;e position,
yet he endeavored to give no tangible
evidence of his true motives to tAa world,
and to compel his enemies to be satisf-
ed with mere vague, unsubstantiated
insinuations. Nowadays, however, so
little faith seems to be had in the hon
esty of the people themselves, and so
little respect entertained for public opin-
ion, that rascally poiiticians make no
attempt to conceal their sinister motives
and insincere professions, but openly
and boldly proclaim them, expecting
rather to be applaudid as adaptable, than
denounced as shameless.
A few years ago it was looked upon
as objectionable, and as something that
could not be satisfactorily explained,
for politician to suddenly desert one
party and join its antagonist. When
the old Federal and Republican parties
were finally destroyed, and new parties
arose from their ashes, such men as CLAW
and Calhoun and Webster were anxious
lest their new political associations
might not be deemed consistent with
their old But, now, we see politicians
turning with the suddenness of Chinese
puppets, bowing to the people, and ex-
pecting to be applauded like trained
monkeys.
We have no particular objection to a
little innocent humbuggery in politics.
seeing that this same quality is consider
ably mixed in with nearly all the rela-
tons of life, whether private or pub
lie; but what we object to, is the
publishing of it to the world = thus ta-
king away every chance upon WHICH a
charitable person might ground a sus-
picion of honesty. We believe a good
deal in the doatrine assume a virtue,
if you have /. not" 1t makes the
thing look better Barnum's auto-bio-
graphy was a failure; people didn't
mind being humbagged, although II ey
suspected it at the time, but they
wouldn't stand being told of it. Such,
We hope, may be the fate of these vul-
gar, unromantic politicians, who have
made SO public an exhibition of the Sc
crets of their trade. i brings the bust
ness into bad repute.