The Democratic advocate., 1875-02-06
Public Life in America.

much of college boys, and was surprised
that none of them thought Of public life
as a career. In England, he said, we al
ways suppose that the frst scholars are
thinking Of Parliament, and secretly mean
ing to be Prime Minister. The English
stories aud the French yaudevilles are full
of the same view, and the curtain falls
upon the hero as minister or ambassador,
the cup of his glory running over. De
Tocqueville observed with curiosity that
the best men in America were, as u rule,
neither in public life nor anxious TO be
there; and shrewd young European who
was recently in the country said, EVERY
thing went well until l came to Washing
ton, and then Congress staggered my faith
in America" He explained that in
representative republic it was fair and un-
avoidable to judge the people by those
whom they selected to represent them; and
if the Judgment was incorrect, it could
only be because 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 it's purpose was quite defeated
Now the purpose Of n representative sys-
tenn is not to designate the best men in
tho community, but to secure good gov
ernment; and from that point Of view the
American system can no more be called
failure than the English or the Continen-
tai. If good government be the test, what
shall be said of English rule in Ireland2
There are two obvious but powerful rea.
sons 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 conspicuous in it, from Washing
ton, the Adamses, Jefferson, Hamilton,
Jay, and others, down to Calhoun, Web
ster, Clay, Seward, Chase, Sumner, and
their associates. Indeed, with all its truth,
there is much that is illusive in the state
ment. Tho village Hampden might shrink
upon larger theatre, and the mute Milton
turn out Upper The remark of De-
ToOquevllle has the advantage of omne
ignotunr pro niGgnyfco-the obscure isapt
to seem magnificent. But then shirt on
clothes-line seen in the twilight has
startled the whole village as a majestic
ghost. With all reservations made, how
ever, it will be conceded that the choice
of the representative of constituency full
of admirable aud able men often falls very
oddly. There Is, for instancc-But the
gentle reader shall supply his own illustra-
tions. What, then, are the two obvious
reasons that, as class, the men whom we
should prefer to elect are not anxious to
be elected?
The first is the uncertainty of the career,
and the second is the small salary. The
last is not noble reason, and 1t Is power
ful only in connection with the first. An
able man, ambitious to serve the state, but
wholly dependent upon his profession for
the support Of his family, naturally hesi-
tates 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 il. Were he sure Of re.
naming, the sacrifice would be compare
lively small; but the conditions Of contin-
uance are often such as honorable men
disdain. In England, the only other con-
stitutional country, the conditions of pub
lie life have hitherto been essentially
different from ours. The peers are here
ditary Legislators, and many of the seats in
the Commons were virtually the property
of noblemen, given continuously at their
pleasure, while the organization of parties
is such as to afford permanent career
Yet even in England competence is es-
sential to successful public man. The
fact observed by De Tocqueville, therefore,
is not due to the disincination TO public
life Of the men Of whom he speaks, but to
circumstances which they can not directly
control. And if it should be said that
those circumstances are the condemnation
of the system, We should reply that the
disadvantages Of the absence Of those men
are due to abuses rather than to the sys-
TEN. Among such abuses are the limita.
tions Of locality, and of what is called ro-
tation, by which good man is removed
for the sole reason that he has become
better by experience, while his place il
filed by new man who must be selected
from particular county or district.
Other abuses are those which arise from
patronage, and which give the nomination
and the power of the party machinery to
merely mercenary and selfish schemers.
Such abuses are not inseparablc 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 sug-
gest doubt whether the remark Of the
shrewd Frenchmau is well founded
Ha'per's Magosiac.