St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1866-02-01
MODERN CRAFTSMANSHIP.

MODERN STATESMANSkAAks. SS#
It h the fashion to-day and HIS In all ages been tn
style Of class to sneer At the statesmanshtp Of thu
present and contrast it with that OF former times
There IL in every ago tendency to llok on character
~ do landscapes despisins the rude bsrrennes
or stumpy familiarity If that which is near and pour
Ing food Of admiration, like stream Of sunlight
over all that defiance sOfenS ami prepares for the
poets pen and painters pencil II calogize tho states
men who led country through it's recent conflict
In the terms which will DO feili .:ly applied to them
BY our children, would seem like aulation to three-
fourths ofths American people o-,ly Not that they
are perfect the world does not bestoW greatness on
that class II any such there are. The taites that
marred the dignity Of Washington, and tho ISLANDERS
against the purity Of Franklin and Adams arc forgot
ten a. those which have been uttered against Lincoln
Seward, Stanton and Garrison will be- hall centn:
hence. But because those mon were strong, hrnl anu
caass thereby the burden OF great struggle was
relied upon them aud they bore it manfully; because
they came out of the smoke and fire. Of the c'nfst
successful poseriy have idolized them and fame has
raised their statues to her topmost niche But AS the
struggle of the past five years involved questions
intricate passions more intense, issues more int
portant and forces more gigantic, but especially as II
has resulted in revolutionlmore democratic and thor
ough, it must occupy larger place in history, AMI
achieve for its leaders wider Immortality We hest
and Sherman viii cease to be known as fMlncie!s
when those Of Chase, EesScndvn and McCu!loch a'e
accepted familiar authorities. No one will for
moment compare any former minister with the
name:ot Edwin NJ. Stanton, any former Secretary
of State with MIR. Seward The name OF Abraham
Lincoln is already on par with that 81 "ashinst.n
In the purity and universally Of its fame. Posterity
will say of Calhoun, Clay, Webster. Corwin CasS
Benton Van Buren--they ut times eloquent AMI
subtle debaters, but what have they left u.s.! Did
they do anything more than discuss auslyze, dsscct
and eulogixe the work Of their predecessors Where
the great which they retrcssed, the errors
which they overturned, the reforms in our Constitu-
ton and laws which they introduced, tho freen,en
whom they emaucipated or the liberties which they
established! Was John Randolph more sarcastic
1shed than Seward or Webster more steadfast to pr-
ciple than Snmnerl Was Benton more in,petuously
powerful than Stevens, WAS Calhoun in any respect
superior to Jefferson Davis? These men Of words
have left US mere legacy Of verbiage while those
y who preceded them, and again those who followed,
have given us deeds The events in which they took
constitutions, great re,rmations and practical bene
fits. Let those. who will decry the craftsmanship
which under Providence has guided through the
past five years. Slowly aud surely public opiuon
will rise to do it justice.
These words from the Chicago Tribune rs
parryiug the wholesale charges that are
made. against the craftsmanship Of the
present day, or rather the lack Of it, are
eminently proper aud just. For; the past
decade the mouths Of the people have been
proportionately filed with laudatlons of our
country-viz. the terra .tirma--an,l lamen-
'tations for the decay Of craftsmanship
that which comprises the essence and glory
Of = country. This is not right: As the 7ri
6sne says, the men who have met and Crap
pied with ami conquered the events Of to-
day are at least equal to those who dealt
only with surmises and generalities. aud
may2w not in some degree question. that
craftsmanship which permitted evils to
grow and strengthen, whether through ina
bility to perceive or lack Of powerto pre-
vent, until they eliminated III arebellion
that: struck at the life of the govern
ment-may We not doubt the genuineness
of this craftsmanship rather than that o.
the me1. upon whom this rebellion was cast !?
One did not see and prevent; the other met
and crushed. Il Which was the greater?
What further degree Of ability Webster,
Clay, Benton and their compeers might
have exhibited had they BEEN called upon
to act in these times and those through
which we have just PASSED, can only be
conjectured.@ But taking events as they
stand ); looking at the great men Of The pas,
through the softening rays Of time, forget
ting their faults and magnityipg their vir-
tues and abilities, translating their acts
under the charitable dictum, de moTtuis
nil aisi bonum ;. then upon; the leading men
Of the present time, what they have done
and how little, under the circumstances,
they have left undone, and We need no.
shrink from the contrast. And. this take;
not one 1.-THE Of honor or respect or ad-
miration, from the memories OF the intel
lectual giants vino haveo passed away.
They live with the history Of their times,
great in that history; but it would be false
to right belief in the purpose of the Crea-
tor toward man to hold that He permitted
]. this creature Of His Own image to dwindle
and dwarf in intellect while all else, even
that which is constructed by mans hands,
rolls onward toward perfection. o. .s'1,s"
OF this we have lately had practical!
illustration. Daniel Webster was crowned
with the title Of the .'Expounder Of the
Constitution" That instrument was his
study. But it has been. reserved for a
statesman Of the present day, Hon. VIM.
l.. Kelly, of Pennsylvania, TO declare the
full and true meaning Of an important ar
: ticle in the Constitution, that which relates
to the ''time, place and manner Of holding
elections" This provision leaves the
whole matter Of suffrage ultimately in the
hands Of Congress-, to be by it regulated,
and thus disposes of many Of the difficulties
which have arisen in the way of proper
settlement Of questions connected with the
late rebellion. MIR. Kelly does not pause
with his own Interpretation of this section,
but quotes the authority of James Madison,
who is recognized as the Father OF the
Constitution. In explaining it before the
Virginia Legislature, Mr.. Madison said,
SIT was necessary to give the General Gov,
eminent control over the time and manner
of choosing Senators to prevent its own dis
solution )" and that the question of suffrage
should rest with Congress in order to pre-
vent inequality Of representation on the
part of the States; and, further, that
''shou!d the people. Of any State By any mean,
Be deprived Of tie right Of suffrage, 1t seas tn
deed proper that Il should BE- ren,sd,ed BY the
! General Government 2 52f1st