New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-09-19
A GOOD EXAMPLE,

There are few men, inside or outside of Pol
| itics, who are not in favor of honest and de-
cent government. But the reason why the
worse sort of men generally get more than
| their share of the management of political
parties Is the fear of timid and patonic lovers
| of honesty and decency that they will lose
some possible political advantage by straight
| forward opposition to rascality. A public man
is never without friends and partsans The
people who elected him and those to whom
he has been source of gain are naturally
somewhat concerned in his standing. Above
him, below him, and around him are those
who will feel themselves more or less touched
by direct attack upon him. Those who ex-
pect favor or fOrbearance in the future, there
fore, from an administration or party, will
usually hesitate q good while before taking
ground against a man welding influence in
both these directions, simply because such
man may be a dishonest or disreputable
politician.
When stand is made against this besetting
sin by men sufficiently conspicuous to serve
for examples, the whole field of politics is for
the moment the better for it. One of the best
things about the recent contest lin Massachu-
sets was that it furnished just such an exam
pie. The attitude of Mr.. +. r. Hoar, late
Attorney General, and of Mr.. George F. Hoar,
member of Congress from the Worcester Dis
trict, was a striking illustration of the kind of
courage so rare among public men. They were
both supporters of the Administration, of the
straightest sect of Republicans. The former of
them was pre- lnently named as likely to receive
Al l,a all antI a
to tho misunderstanding of the United States.
He was friend of the President without
subservience or servility, and the President
had always shown him a partiality i'll the
highest degree creditabe to both. He had the
right to regard his chances for the highest
position in the range of jurist's ambition, as
at least equal to those of any other. When 1t
became evident that Mr.. Butler was making
arrangements to capture the Republican Con-
yentiOn and elect himself Governor OF Massa-
chusetts by the aid of the Administration, the
question as TO the duty of men holding the
position of the Messrs. Hoar became suf-
ficiently serious one.
They saw on the one side the responsibility
of the State deeply disguised and doing very
little to resist what it considered a shame. On
the other side, they saw an audacious and noisy
organization, directly supported by the entire
representation of the President in the Post
Offices and Custom-h ses at work for The
"ClaImant.r Men J re Judge Hoar and his
brother would not have been generally blamed
if they had allowed the canvass to go on
without interfering. 1t would have been
strictly within the line of party presidents.
They might have turned up their noses at
Butler in private, stayed away from the Con-
vention, and voted for him on election day,
after the habit of some excellent friends OF
truth and justice in this very city, and thus re-
tanned their standing among decent people at
home, and great people at Washington.
But they followed no such cowardly counsels.
As soon as they saw the danger was immi-
nent, they took their resolution. The visible
Intervention of the Administration did not
deter them in the least. They gave life and
vigor to the movement of self-preservation
into which the decency of Massachusetts or
ganized ITSELF and which defeated the ruff
fanly conspiracy against the honor OF the
State. They did not stop short with merely
beating Butler. They distinctly condemned the
unlawful impertinence of Gen. Grants agents
in trying to control the politics of State in
the interests of one man. 1t ought not to be
80 much to the credit of gentleman to do
such an act as this. But such manifestations
of manhood are not so frequent that we can
afford to pass them over in silence, although
we may blush little at praising them. Judge
Hoar, in the opinion of many, has deliberately
thrown away his chance of being Chief-Justice,
by doing duty to which he was no more
bound than any other citizen. We have no
doubt he would have made a good Chief JUS
tice, but we think the work he did was equally
good and fruitful.