The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1877-03-30
PUBLIC SERVANTS.


Ior thin-ikMned people toaccept public
positions, especially when the pay, in
either money or honors, il large, For
people will talk, and that very frankly |
as they should, of all who ask and re
ceiye ut their hands positions Of trust or
profit. The representatives of Texas IN
the United States Senate and House Of
Representatives only fulfill the engage
ment they made with the people When
they fully and truly represent the mo-
tiyes, feelings, hopes aid ambitions OF
their constituency. When they have 80
represented they have filed the highest
duty which their selection and election
carried with it. This state of things
carries with it the obligation on the
part of the people to keep their repre-
sentatiyes fully informed us to what
public sentiment is on n given poiut OF
public or governmental policy. This
brings us to the nut of the whole sub
iect-thc papers, the voice Of the public.
The press of the State should be an un-
failing indce of the sentiment of the
majority of its readers, 1t should never
misreprcsent them, and thus mislead
their formal representatives. in Congress
or the State Legislature. No paper
which misleads can long hope TO survive.
No representative who misrepresents
can hope for an extended career,
Public servants should serve the pub.
lie, and not personal or private ends.
Under our American system the chief
value of public position to him
who holds it, is that it is
the formal expression Of the public
esteem and confidence. OF course it
follows that if position is achieved by
fraud, chicanory or force this quality is
lost, and the position is Of no value,
When public servant faithfully serves
and obeys the people, he is entitled to
praise; when he fails, censure he will
and should, in every instance, receive
and that in no stinted measure.
Under monarchical forms the king
alone rewards or Furnishes, as he selects
and appoints the servants Of the people
Officers are responsible to him alone
and hence, one may serve the king very
faithfully but the people very badly
but here he serves the essence and heao
of our government best, who serves the
people most, and he serves them mos
who obeys the public voice as it comes
to him. When representative han
done that, fearlessly, honestly an,
faithfully, though the public .judgmen
turns out to have been bad in any
instance, yet the public and not til,
representative is to blame, and it hal
nothing to do but pocket quietly it
own disappointment and take measures
to steer clear of like mistakes in tn,
future, Here is another argument il
favor of an honest and unbought press
aud its general patronage by the public
: Because, in order for the public to ac
intclligently, conclude intelligently OF
decide so, it is necessary that ii shoulC
be educated ON these subjects, and itha
no school at hand which can or vii
serve the purpose SO efficiently as tn,
: press,
The conductors of the press are moth
ing more nor less than public servants
and they too are amenable to til,
public in all they do, and, to use an ex
pressiye vulgariSm, the public has til,
drop on y them, for When they fail o.
refuse to answer public expectation
public patronage can and will be with
drawn. In making up its verdict upor
the recent action of the Texan delega
ton on the electoral commission bill
these principles apply with great. force
and the memory of them should yer,
much soften the general disappoint
ment felt at the deplorable result
Brave men, honest men and true repre-
sentatives, should receive praise, ant
not blame, when they simply act upo,
instructions sent from home through
the columns Of the home papers, ant
no attentive reader Of the Texan paper
during the time when the subject Of tn,
electoral commission was first broachot
but knows, full well, that the PROPOSE
ton was fully endorsed by the pres
land people of the State
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Alexis and His Fleet.