The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1864-08-31
From the New. York Daily Times.]
The Public Service and the
PEbIic Veal.

The refusal of Mr.. Moses Taylor to &C
eept the place of Assistant Treasurer offer
ed him by Secretary Ftssenden, owing
We believe, TO his unwillingness 70 with
draw his attention from the various pri
! vate enterprises in which he is engaged
suggests one or two considerations, pos
sessing now n great deal of interest
Th4re is no man of intelligence and patri
otism at the North who does not acknowl
edge that Government is not only one o.
the most important of human pursuits
but that too much talent, integrity, learn,
ing, experience and wis iom, cannot be
brought to it, and that the happiness OIL
nations and tie progress of mankind in
civilization is in the highest degree de.
pendent on the manner in which it is car.
ried on: And there is nobody who &C.
knowledges this, who will rot only ac-
knowledge that, like all other arts, it has
to be acquired by the usual mixture OF
study and practice, that it needs much
knowledge and much experience, and the
entire devotion of his time and. attention
to it to enable any man to succeed in it.
To be well done, therefore, the work OF
Government has to be made the business,
the whole and sole business, Of some class
or other. 1t can no more be carried on
successfully by men whose training and
pursuits draw them away half lifetime in
other directions, than the. profession of
the law or of medicine. In England and
the South the class which takes up Gov
ernmcnt as a calling, has been and is the
aristocracy Of birth and wealth; and no.
body can deny that, in both places. the
ideas of the end and aim of Government,
held by this class, have been admirably
carried out. Their theory of the best
form of policy, and of the great objects
of political institutions, differ widely from
ours; but it is impossible to deny that,
such As it is, it has been properly practi-
ccd. The problem before them has to
construct and perpetuate, under given
conditions, the strongest form of oligar-
chy; and the world knows what skill,
courage, t%cnacity and fertility of resource,
they have brought to its solution.
Our aim here at the North has been
something very different, and, as we be
iieve, very much higher, but it must be
acknowledged that we are far behind the
oligarchists in the efficiency, accuracy
ard finish of our machinery; and the rea-
son is that we nave no governing class
whatever. We have a class whatever.
We have a class-and we all know wha.
kind of a class it is-which devotes itself
to the work of el~ectioneering, but we have
no class which makes legislation a prcfes
sion, as the Southern planters and En-
glish gentry do, and devotes its whole
time and attention to its pursuit, for its
own sake and for the sake of the honor
and fame it brings, without reference to
the pay. Our Congressional delegations,
as well as our i~ncumbents of all public
Offices, change every year or two, and are
nearly always filed by new men, often
with but scanty education of any sort,
generally without any experience, and
very frequently needy, and absorbed in
the miserable and degrading task of ma
king enough money while in Office to keep
body and soul together when they are
turned out of it. How i'll fitted these
warfare against the trained veterans which
Southern constituent les sent to Congress,
year after year, the political history of
the last fifty years reveals only too plain
ly.
One great cause, We believe we might
say the great cause, Of this inferiority in
our political men, is the unwillingness of
those who are in possession of indepen-
dent fortunes, and consequently have
their time at their disposal, to devote any
portion Of it to the service of the State.
Representative government has cow been
tried in various countries, and under va
rious conditions, for over five hundred
years, and it is as well ascertained as any
thing of the kind can be, that it cannot
be carried or with nearly as much purity
or efficiency by men who are dependent
on it fer a livelihood, as by men who en-
gage In it solely from love of the work or
a sense of duty. If our politicians had
served democracy with half the skill and
courage and devotion with which the
Southern politicians served oligarchy, the
Republic would certainly be in a better
plight to-day than it is.
Our difficulty is, however, hat our rich
men do not, as a general rule. seem to
have the slightest idea that they owe
their time or personal services TO the
country. Their taxes they pay with in
finite devotion; and 10 matter how often
they are called on for donations or loans
for public purposes, "they draw their
checks" with the most refreshing enthu-
siasm. But, ~unhappily, whenever the
State says to them, "You are rich, inde-
pendent, honest indefatigable. 1 want you
for this or that laborious office, which |
can only intrust to such men as you" the
reply generally is: "Impossible; 1 have
four or five millions, it is true, 1 have a
stainless name; the paltry gains of a pecu-
lator would never tempt me. I am a
trained worker and have much knowledge
Of men and business but 1 cannot accept.
I am concerned in a bank, or a railroad,
or a ferry-boat, o. a mining company, and
it would seriously inconvenience my col
Representatives. like myself-if I
were to withdraw. My highest mission,
from first to last, is to accumulate much
money, or, having made much money, to
accumulate more"