The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-08-24

and pay which will net you seventeen dollars
per week, and secure your property and the
blessings ofs free Government to your pos
ierityl To do less would be unmanly.
HOW WE MANUFACTURE GREAT MEN.
The astute Lord vERULAM long ago gave
"a, In his pregnant phrase, q brief philosophy
Of greatness :-SSome men are born great,
some achieve greatness, and some have great
ness thrust upon them" Although we Ameri-
cans are by no means lacking in the great by
nature, the Sgrand In SOUL" or the men who,
by sheer force Of viii, achieve the pinnacle of
fame and influence, yet it must be aclSnow-
ledged that we are particularly happy in
dressing little men in borrowed plumes-in
waiting small men to cloudy heights, or erect
ing statues, that look well enough upon the
ground, upon pedestals 30 lofty that It puzzles
the mass TO trace the shadowy outline. We
should have patent from the office of nations
for the process Of manufacturing great men.
Even as he who does much with narrow
means claims the highest credit, we demand
al honor for building so spleDdidly out of such
Insignificant materials.
There was a time-now in the duh realm OF
long Rgo"-when we were content to follow
the lead Of those upon whom nature had set
the zeal ofsuperior genius, and who had i'm
proved their gifts by perseverlng study or
rigorous exercise-When we allowed the real
sun to shine, and did not labor to supplant its
beams with lights manufactured in the labo-
? ratory-when we rendered homage to the
genuine gods among men, and strove not to
fashlon others Of ordinary clay, to whom we
might transfer the praise. We fabricate
Second WAsHrNGToNs" now as we com
pound cure-all-pills, and blazon them to the
world with the same amount of quack adver-
tisements.
The giants OF olden days, should we believe
the story, have their counterparts in this day
and generation; and although our demand for
the deeds as evidence remains unsatisled, we
are confidently assured that we have among
Us characters fit to stand with all the mighty
men in the golden ages Of the world. But in
manufacturing greatness, our artisans do not
c0ntlne themselves to compari sons with the
famous men of the past. There is not dis
tiDguished person of the day, renowned in the
red paths Of war or the calm achievements of
peace, who is not invoked for the purpose of
showing the superior qualities Of the indi-
vidual who Is being worked up TO greatness.
a successful general is "yOung NAPOLEON"
A writer of trashy novels is "equal, and in
many respects superior, to DICKENS and
THAcKERAY" All this is very ridiculous,
but the disposition to exaggerate is becoming
so general that the creation of greatness out
Of nothing will soon be set down as one of our
national characteristics.
But the process. How is il perlormed2
The mode varies with the kind of article
desired Suppose party of eager politicians
feeling exceedingly hollow from having
been Tor years among the outs"-want a
" great man" to serve as a kite to carry them
TO the public crib. They are perfectly as
sured that one of their own men will not do,
however long he may have been in public
Office or political life. They want a ae,o
man-wherein they differ from sagacious
people Of other nations, who prefer to trust
an old servant of the household with the keys,
than one picked up in the street, even though
the Inter may carry "character" in his
pocket. If the individual whom they select
has an epaulette upon his shoulder or
sword at his side, il will be his strongest re-
conmendation-for the managers have the
most profound convictions Of the gullibility
and ignorance Of the Democracy. The epau-
lette is the first ingredient In the " second
WASHINGTON" Then biography is neces-
ssry 10 let the people know who the new can
didste is, taking particular care that the book
shall show a great deal OF what he is not
Then money; then a newspaper here aud
there 20 raise the dag; theu convention,
with several shao ballots. aud unanimous
nomination, and the great man IS before the
people.
lscat statesnen. OF cOur~e, gr mInIl,c-
trcd BY a somewhat different prsaess. Tho
p, acipal aim iu Ibis case, Is 10 get the iudi-
Vicual who il GO be worked upon 10 "sayr thn
country Before the saving eau take place,
however, the country must be put in danger.
OF at least, the idea that our most cherished IN
stitutions are upon the brink ola precipice must
be sedulously inculcated, in order that the
great statesman" may place them once more
on sure and solid ground. In other words, the
pins must be set up before they can be knocked
down, in this game, as in another which Is
less dignifled.
In literature the thing is accomplished on
the patent medicine principle, as everybody
knows, and therefore we need not 60 into
detail as to the modas operGadi. The number
Der Of DIcKENsEs, THAcKERAYs, BULwERs,
WALTER scoTTs, and writers who combine
.ns best qualities OF all those great knights Of
sne pen" who are yearly carried up TO glory
1iN'n ene wings Of the booksellers advertise
nsns, 1only equalled by the number of
soiunss winch the mass Of readers forget a
month after perusaA @Great poets y bovSsver
need something beyond the adve,t;so,,eu,
They require the aid Of MO.ns, 4, e.s,.li
Society" existing somewhere In tAo "..,'i
sphere Of Boston and New'Yorl. ae,.,..~.l- ',s1''
20 which IL Is not easy to gain.
We have many thousand versifers in tn,.
country, who can elaborate something tba,
wears the aspect OF pOetry-the hue Of Ii,
rose, if It she'd not the fragrance. There !