Litchfield enquirer., 1874-05-21
THE SENATORIAL ELECTION.


 The choice of William W. Eaton for United States Senator is not Reform but Reaction. It is simply triumph of par tisanship and a repudiation of anything like Liberal Republicanism. Still it was ing of Wm. Fl. Barnum that we cannot but feel sort of satisfaction in the result. The triumph of any principle is better than another triumph of the almighty dollar"
 One thing we ought to say perhaps in justice to Mir. Barnum. It seems to be only by the use of money that men of great administrative abilityt can obtain any standing Tn politics against the law yer caste which ordinarily monopolizes po- itical preferment. Long ago De Tocque- vile noticed that America was governed, to an extent unparalleled in any other country, by it's lawyers. Taken as body lawyers certainly make the safest if not the best legislators. Their habits render them cautious of innovation, ready in speech, tolerant of opposition, accustom- ed to conduct contests under the necessa- " rules of order, and they come in fact already trained to their legislative work. Above all their life work of advocacy fits them peculiarly for the representative po- sitiOn. From representing clients at the bar to representing constituencies in the legislature is a very natural transition. Nor are they often personally interested in the matters that come before state or na- iional legislatures, so that they are impar- tial judges where the man of business might be an interested party. Then, too, the fact that great reputation at the bar is the only reputation that leads directly to political preferment without personal effort, makes it less likely that the lawyer candidate will be the selfish, pushing per- son that usually comes into politics from the other ranks of life.
 Still, with many and great advantages, the lawyer legislator has his disadvanta- ges. The habit of advocating all sorts of causes. as often wrong as right, of being governed by precedents rather than prin- ciples, of striving for success when he knows he ought not to succeed, certainly deadens his conscience to injustice. More over, he hates all new legislation on prin- eiple. He has spent his life finding out what the law is, caring little what it should be, and he wants no additionals labor thrust on him. He knows that new law is more or less uncertain till settled by precedent. and he is unwilling to substi- tute indefinite justice for definite inius- tice. In one most important respect, too, the lawyer has failed of late as a legisla- tor. He is worth nothing to fight the gigantic corporate interests that are rising up all over the land and taking all sorts of unjust advantages of the people. The great lawyer looks to the great corpora tion as his best client, and cannot be trusted to oppose it's encroachments. At the time when Mir. Bishop demanded and obtained from our legislature the consoli- datiOn of his great railroad companies, Messrs. Eaton, Ingersoll and Waite sat by consenting, and it was left to Messrs. Pratt, Goodwin and one or two lawyers of comparatively little note, to fight ir vain for the concessions MT. Bishor should have been compelled to make ir return.
 While the ability of the advocate hal received such large political reward il this country, we have been by no mean, as generous towards the men of admins trative ability. Military reputation has indeed, often led to high civil office; but tn, successful business man has general, been obliged to buy his way into Congress if he went there at all. This is who'll, evil. A Representative like Mir. Barnum owns his constituency instead of thei owning him. He represents no one Though sent on free trade platform h. is a strenuous protectionist. and his con. stituency never remonstrate. He has talk en and fulfilled a contract for beating the opposite party; and he does as he likes with what he has bought with hard cash.
 As will be seen by tabular statement on our outside, near two-thirds of the present Congress, and we believe more than two-thirds of the national Senate, ,are lawyers. This certainly seems too large a proportion for any single class of citi zens m country where representative government prevails. No doubt, then men of administrative ability deserve . more generous recognition and & more frequent admission to high political DO sition than they now receive. But WI should select the best of them-not allow the most selfish and pushing to thrus themselves upon us-since, if the Barnun style of representation prevails, Americs will soon have like England government of rich men.
 One class of men that sometimes at %ains high political position in other coun aries. American constituencies never recoe. -nize. Speculative thinkers and writers .On politics, real radicals and reformers. never tof late at least) find their way into Congress; seldom into our State legisla-