The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-07-05
What is REQUIRED in Public Men.


down by JEFFERSON, required of him honesty,
capsbility, and devotion to the Constitution;
and while these qualities are requisite in every
public man. there are Others which are equally
necessary In order that statesman should be
available to his country. There appears to have
been growing tendency during the last half
century to select for popular leaders and power
ful legislators men who possessed only huency of
speech, faculty of expression, and the ability
to make sharp reply. While an able debater
is certainly an acquisition to any deliberative
body, yet at the same time there are requisites
so much more essential that it is important that
we should not overlook item, and make choise
because of fluent and, it is too often the case,
a hippant tongue. We need not so much public
men of universal information as public men
who have most thoroughly mastered some par
tcular principle in political economy, and un-
derstand its application to the daily workings of
practical legislation. man who is universally
informed is too generally not well informed on
any one subject. He knows little of ALL
but none we'll. He is a pleasant COM
panion, a good tall1er, a ready debater, but
most shallow and dangerous legislator. All great
statesmen have been distinguished for faml-
liar knowledge of one branch of politics. HAMIL-
TON, who, had he lived, would probably have
been the greatest public character of the age,
had mastered finance. Both the ADAMsEs were
familiar with our diplomatic relations, WEBSTER
with the constitutional questions of the day,
CLAY with internal improvements; while, in the
present age, SEWARD and SUMNER have devoted
their intellects to our foreign relations, FEssEN-
DEN and SHERMAN TO monetary affairs WILSON
to military organization, and SO on over long
list of successful men. The oratorical power of
these men is mere adjunct; it was their parti-
cular department. which raised them and kept
them up. When man is so well versed in
special political machine as to be prominently
acquainted with its workings, then he is secure;
tor whenever any question bearing on the work
ing OF his speciality comes up, the body of which
he is a member and the country at large will
turn to him aid take his advice.
There are men now in the Senate who are but
seldom found figuring in the papers, whose
names appear merely on a report OF a vote, and
yet it is these silent men who rule the country.
The light in which a man Is viewed in this
country, and in the House of which he is a
member, is generally directly different. The
fluent and persistent speaker appears great
man to the people, yethe is the one that is often
held of small importance in Congressional pro
ventilates every idea that occurs can have no
opportunity of bringing his ideas to maturity.
That each aspirant for public position should
study some one department, is but simple full
filment of the law OF division of labor. In
guiding a ship each has his post. and why
should not the pilots of the ship of state be
thus apportioned? GLADSTONE rose by his devo-
tion to finance, PITT by his foreign views, VEL
INGToN by his military experience, CoDDEN by
his Corn laws, BRIGHT by his suffrage senti-
ments, and so all others by speciality in politics
Then let us of America see to it that we have
LEGISLATORS who can handle with perfect freedom
some one department, who will be an authority
N it, and not general cursory examiner of all.
When we have all our posts of Government
thus administered, we will have not only
Utopian political system, but the constant
changes in our public men would be done away
with, and thoroughly able man returned from
year to year in the position which he is qualified
to fill. The chaff would be burned, but we
would garner and preserve the wheat.