Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1868-10-13
Qualifications Of Legislators-W. P
Dewey for the Assembly.

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about finding suitable successor to
Mr. Dodge.
Several gentlemen offered, some Of
them duplicates Of ex>Assembly
men in matters of ability and gener>
al excellency, some of them OF expe~
rience as legislators, some Of no ex
pererce.
But it was agreed among leading
men that some active, wide awake,
business man should fill the place, if
lawyer all the better, and if indeed
possessing several properties not usu
ally possessed by members of Assem-
bly, from Grant County, then so mnch
the better. For example, snap and
rim, and what we call ambition seem
to have been wanting in most OF cur
members for some years. The pubs
lie thought indeed has been to run
popular men, those in the favor OF
every body on account of agreeing
with every body, or for having no
opinions Of their own. Ability and
vitality have been lost sight OF, and
even legal knowledge and first rate
intelligence hardly thought of-in-
deed often set down as disqualified
tions. When man OF full quaifi-
cations offered, there were dozen
to pelt him down for upstartness or
aspirancy above his years or for some
alleged trifling detect. A crazy, tar
fetched and morbid notion has pre-
vailed that lawyers are unfit for leg
! iSlatOrs whereas, the facts are these :
lawyers are the most fitting men TO
legislate or make laws-iust for the
reason that they are SO and no ques.
ton about it. Lawy ers originate
and draft all our laws, or all such as
stand the tests of time and the pub
lie approval. And the ADLER in law,
and the more experience and law
knowledge so much the more useful
and efficient is any man for legis
Iator. 1t is not the lawyer members
Of a legislature who originate and IN
der spur Of popular hurrah, rash
through the legislature the multitude
Of worthless and damaging laws
which disgrace our statutes 1t i:
the masses of stupid members, elect
ed for their knOwnothiness and by
their popularity because agreeing
with everybody and really having nc
opinions of their own. who carry
through these worthless, meaning
less laws calculated for popularity
and mischief. Trnly good and great
and wise men, who spurn popularity
at the expense Of candor, are not The
men who damn the country with
these legal Affections in the shape o.
statute laws. 1t is the masses O
members who posses 40 law knowl
edge and but little book knowledge
Of any kind, who support quack med
icincs and quack laws, so to classify
equals And is the same class oI
members who are bambOoZled and
bung>holed by the hired lobby al
Madison.
Integrity, moral uprightness and
sobriety are TO be reckoned first and
foremost as the higher qualifications
for official service in legislation. But
with nothing more than these as
qualifications Of members, and leav-
ing out law knowledge and business
energy and tact, the state and PEG.
pie would soon come TO want and
rags.
And such we declare to be the
mind Of the unofficial and unaspirina
masses of sound sensible people
Men who aspire to no position, yeI
possessing suund judgment, and men
tai culture, manly independence anc
great faith and hope, uniformly see ;
screw loose in the kind of men rho
sen for legislators. They justly rea
{ son that wise laws cannot proceed
from unwise legislators, and thai
men possessing no opinions Of THEN
own will surely beget laws war
ranting forty interpretations. Sount
sense and great goodness must fai
unless in possession of law knowl-
edge. We elect men to single term
they fail are half disgraced at then
failure; we cast them aside, ant
elect others who fail for the same
reasons-all goodness but no wi, d IN
all popularity but no ability. Ano
so it runs along, one year service ano
then cast them aside, and thus a vir-
tual censure Of most all the men we
send to the Legislature. 1t is in part
the fault Of such persons consentine
to serve in places for which they are
not qualified, but more the fault Of
the people for electing such, all ow-
ing to these crazy notions that pop>
ular men must have the offices, that
lawyers are not the men to make
laws, that men of no opinions of their
own are the very sources Of opinion
and law may God save the cou;rty
from any further such sacrifices
Considerations as above. and a
rushing public mind for reform led to
the formation Of a party of action ic
the Third Assembly District, against
a party of inaction, and the result
was, the nomination Of W. p Dew
ey for the Assembly.
Mr.. Dewey is essentially man OF
action he is not neutral, not passive,
not doubtful he is a lawyer, and a
wide awake one a business man and
what he does is well done tie is a
practical business man and a. thor~
ough as practical. His positiveness
in business makes him the popular
actionst, whilst Tic party Of macs
ton become his antagonists, and thus
conflict of the fast and slow party
elements lie is ambitious, proper
ty 80 deeply impeded ia the man that
he shows it first and foremost. He
is an aspirant for The public trasts,
for office, ana rather hurries along
bis ends by resort 10 tricks of the
caucus than awaits the slow but sure
coach of popular call. So it is but a
question Of time. whether he shall
start upward now by half way force
work, or await the slow train of pop.
ular opinion, il will be the same.
The real test to lie made is also the