The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1874-11-19
PuhsIc Lite ID Amessca.

Of Tom Bro,cn, WAS in this country
he saw much Of college boys, and
was surprised that none of them
thought of public life - . career
In England, he said, We always sup
pose thst the frat scholars are think.
ing of Parliament, and secretly mean
ing TO be Prime Minister. The En-.
glish stories and the French vaude-
villes are full VI the same view, and
the cur ain falls n,on the hero as
minister or EN- ,assal lor. The cup Of
his glory runh,i,y over DE Tocque.
vile observed vi b cnri, sity that the
best men in America were, - rule,
neither in public life nor anxious to
be there; and shrewi young Euro
pear who WAS recently in the coun.
try said, Every thing went we'll un-
iii came to Washington, and then
Congress staggered my faith in Amer
ica." H. explained that in repre-
sentative republic it was fair and un.
svoidable TO Judge the people by
those whom they lected to repre-
sented them; aud il the judgment
WAS incorrect, it could only be be-
cause the system itself was failure.
1t would have been more correct to
say that the system was abused, for
it could properly be accounted =
failure only when its purpose was
quite defeated. Now the purpose of
a representative system is not to des-
ignate the best men in the commu-
nifty, but to secure good government; !;
aud from that point of view the
American system can no moro be
called y failure than the English or
the Continental. Ii the good gov
ernment be the test, what shall be
said OF English rule in ireland?
There are two obvious but power
full reasons why the class Of men of
whom DE Tocqueville speaks does
not turn TO public life in this country,
although many Of that class are con-
spicuous in it, from Washington, the
Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, Jay, and
Others down to Calhoun, Webster,
Clay, Seward, Chase, Summer, and
their associates Indeed, with all its
truth, there i, much that is Elusive in
the statement. The village Hampden
might shrink upon !argcr theatre,
and the mute Milton turn out Tup-
per. The remark Of DE Tocqueville
has the advantage Of omne ignotum
pro maynifco-the obscure 10 apt to
seem magnificent. But then shirt
on clothes line seen in the twilight
has startled til. whole village as =
majestic ghost. With all reserva-
tions made, however, il will be con-
ceded tha' the chpic: Of the repre-.
sentative OF con ti,uency full Of ad-
mirable and able men often falls very
oddly. There is, for instanee-but
the gentle reader shall supply his own
illustrations. What, then, are the
two obvious reasons that. As y class,
the men whom we should prefer to
elect are not anxious 10 be elected! !!
The first is the uncertainty of the
career, aud the second is the small
salary. The last is not noble res-
son. and it is powerful only in con-
nection with the first. An able man,
ambitious to serve the State, but
wholly dependent upon his profession
for the support of his famil y, naturally
hcsitatrs to throw away the income.
that he has secured to enter public
life for two or four or six years, with
no certainty Of continuance in it,
Were he sure of remaining, the sac
riicc would be comparatively ANAL; ;
but the conditions Of continuance are
of,e such rs honorable men d,sdaln.
In England, the only other constitu-
tional country. the conditions OF pub
lie life have hitherto been essentially
different from ours. The peers are
hereditary Legislators, and many of
the seats in the Commons were vir-
tually the property Of noblemen, Civ
ee continuously at their pleasure,
while the organization of parties is
such as > afford permanent career.
Yet even in England y competence is
essential 10 a successful public man.
The fact observed by DE Tocqueville,
therefor, is not due to the d,sinclina-
tion to public life of the men of whom
he speaks, but to circumstances which
they can no, directly control. And
il it should be said that those circum-
stances are the condemnation of the
system, we should reply that the dis
advantages of the absence of those
men are due to abuses her than to
the system. Among such abuses are
the limitations Of locality, and oil wha,
is called rotation, by which good
man is removed for the sole reason
that he has become better bv exper-
fence, while his place is filled by
new man who must be selected from
a particular county or district. 9th
er abuses are those which arise from
and which give the NOM
nation aud the power of the party
to merely mercenary and
selfish schemers. Such abuses are
not inseparable from the system,
which must not, therefore, be judged
by their results.
Meanwhile there are those who
make the sacrifice, and enough Of
them to suggest doubt whether the
remark Of the shrewd Frenchman is
unI founded = Hnrler's M1annzine.