Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1871-01-19
NJ. Hughes Mistake.


| planned that he found very little oppor-
tunity to observe them, except through
the windows of some Cambridge library.
II was his misfortune that his visit was
SO short. II was fortunate, perhaps, for
his own enjoyment that he spent It pre-
cisely as he did. But it certainly i'm.
paired the value of his generalizatiops.
| II il especially a pity that he should
have given a fresh lease Of life to the old
delusion that educated Americans take
no interest in politics. This maxim has
had many years OF life ia EUROPE, on the
authority Of De Tocqneville, and has
pointed tho moral Of many European
attacks upon America. 1t is pity that
II should do another thirty years work
OF mischief when set in motion by Mr..
Hughes. And it has a special bearing
| ou the ''women question:" because ii
educated men forswear politics. whv
should not educated women?
Now IL is natural to ask. i'm what part
OF America is it that educated men do
not Interest themselves in politics? IL
will not be pretended that il is in the
vast States otthe West, nor in the South,
except as temporarily deranged by the
war. In those States the career Of pub
lie life still attracts to il the best educa-
ted Young men, and the same is true of
the rural parts of the Middle States.
Even IN New York city, though the
ward-poliiicians are not college bred
men, their advisers or agents in the
newspaper press and in the court-rooins
| are such. Tweed and Sweeney may or
may not be college graduates, but the
| editors of The World are. Fish. Jr., il
not graduate OF ANYTHING but the ped
lar wagon, but his legal adviser. David
Dudley Field, i. From the Tribune to
ihe oHh' the majority OF the intellectual
labor oi the New York press is done by
college men. They NAV not win the
prlLe-, but they do the work
The circle is then narrowed Ia Nan,
England. But no one VIII, Lnow.
thing of our rural colleges i'm Nex F.
land. such "A. Dartmouth and Amhnr,.
will say that their graduate. do mar H.,
terest themselves IN politic, How !. !,
with Yale? Yale has ALWAYS l.,.,,d II
the nunbern il graduate. vhn ,,av.
distinguished them.elye, IN public Iitc
The inquiry brings US back 10 Harvard
and Harvard alone do not luo,y a,,'
other college in America OF whom II cnn
even plaustbly he asserted fha, H.. ,,,,d
uatce ar. indifferent To nolitic. ,nd
i'll know ANYTHING about Harvard !,
such an evil EXISTS tbere /, !. nr,a,.
recent origin. and Mr. IIuobes sb,,,iJ
have addressed his warming. not ,o ,hc
Young men. but to ,he present .ct i,
teacher. who train them
The writer wa. horn nnl hr.I ,,,l,,
rh,. .halnv III !J,,ya,J ,ua Il.
c,,h.r - ~ So - =, NJ
.nd h., haJ ~ hr,,.. H., "a.h'tii ti,'i''on'
,,,.a,,,,.,r.a., III H. oa'iio' ,u2' 'or
N.,y Enaiand 80, LIT -" iNru ~
90, so.,, ~. ,;,,,a ,,.I'a,, 80 "A' ,'e'e,
-, - ~. - - anu
;..,.,.as,si T., - ho' Ac'i'eiy
.n.s.. 49,, =, ~. o.'',s oi se Que sue or
Those W no attempted TO pursue liter.
ary career. like Lowell and Curtis and
Dana, were apt to be drawn aside into
politics, and To end in editing perisdi-
cals CT marked political, like the Sun
or Hdrpers Weekly or the North inner
lean Rerier Those who became law
,ers or business men took i vet more
cngru,~ing interest in political affair.
| All these may not have reached political
distinction, but there are not distinc-
| tons enough ior all. and the tact that a
man takes MI interest In "A thing doe,
not prove that he has gilt for it.
Looking back over the political influ-
ence- that have >ucces-ivclv controlled
Massachusetts, We see educated men Gas
Mr. Hughc, would use the term, D behind
them all. The old Whig party ut tie
State was devoted to the fortune, OF coI-
lc.e-bred men. The Free Soil party
"h'cnpioAc :. uP'"" iv",'''a ec >''',
hc'' an, Hil''' ",'' -huai" -, ''l-
HSt-oicu ''e WIN "hS'h'
VINO '""A .i' ao'e "cSiec "' t,'
ttp>t"he' va thc othef hahd' Tue Ah-
"htiohis' parry VINO certainty ,il'ci-
ss'tu 'hc'hsoNcs must 'eieiiicH'is III
| Po,i'ios, "i'no"' '','i,1 a., !" '"''' "'s
"",a' ua''' =, o''-p! ihi''P>' Nsa'"o!
anu nay al ia, al +" ''io"'
LOOMING io''t'o iot !ic Grass oi educa-
lto men VINO are "ot interested III poii-
,ics' M" ''''s e'a. o'''N "a 'c" iieh
| III our h'' SeI cltie>' ht'4 >loi4cu "
"eal'h ana EufoPc' VIZ, ia'c oeeh
| p"oh-poohlh2 america ana every thlnS
III IT, ever since can reihemoei- or N
pfceiseiH the ciase oi men VINO nestle IN
some oil our coilc2e>, anu ufcau hothihS
omucii as heaftE iaith or genuine
enthusiasm, IL All suuca'e" ihci' were
Ike .hese' ','eN Wou'"' o' course na''
hothing'o 40 win Po,,lcs. anu po'iti'>
W"uih ne tiie gamer. Dut IL Mr. iiuShes
hau taken the iiiie 10 sec more VI these
American, VINO were - eager 10 see
him. he wouid nave iouha our educated
me" 'af more roou>' anu vigorous c,ass
oi human pei"2' '''''" ny >'e'h' 10 I'M
a:il'e'
Nothing Is harder than Tor foreigner.
who goe- Tor all hi- iniornnItioh TO one
set ot people, to see a nation ;ls whole.
Americans themselves may be so ignor-
an OF America. l dined last summer
with two highly educated Young Eng
ll,hineh, both eager 10 Know ahd TO
| auhire 'his coun'H. ihci' was aiso'