New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-03-09
GAIL HAMILTON ONCE MORE.
Mr.. DORMAN r. EA1ONS PATH OF GLORY
IN THE FEBRUARY ATLANTIC


Who, Mr. Dorman B. Eaton has settled his own
stains TO his own satisfaction by counting himself in
among the Lcroc, Of imperilled liberty, he sw0ops
mn the remainder of our c0untlymen with great
complaccucy into three classes: In 1870, Pres-
dent Grant who rs an army officer, knew that
pcrson Of intelligence was filter TO command OF
even to serve, than either dnnce or common poll
tician, recommended such reform i'll message.
Who is it that Mr.. Eaton means by "a common poi-
iticiau'i What class of his fellow-cltlzens Is IL
that he stigmatizes Without intelligence.' In n
renubIic notics is the business and TIE duty OF ALL
Every man who is not familiar with politics. inter-
ested in politics, and conscious OF responsibility
for politics is, to that degree, not an intelligent
man What is that small class of uncommon poll
tcians who are intelligent, and from whom our ON
GERS are 10 be chosen, as against that necessarily
large class of common politicians Who i'll the estima-
ton of MIR. Eaton aud i'll the alleged estimation OF
President Grant, are unfit either TO command or
TO servcf Does he mean that the farmers and me-
chanics who 90 to the polls in Northern villages
are not intelligent men, or does he that Presi-
dent Grant filed the Offices found the Offices filled
in 1870 with the Ignorant voters of the cities, every
man of whom votes the Democratic ticket! Docs
he mean that the Federal ocehOlders, "a great pro-
portion of whom he pronounces TO be worthy men,
are without intelligence Or by common pollti-
clans does be mean the State and National Leglsla-
tures7 My profound convection ~ that MI Eaton
does not mean anything at all. lie is too benevo-
lent and too honorable man wifully TO SANDER
any one in particular. "Ofice-hOlders" and 'poli-
ticians have no more definite existence for HIN
than the consecrated crOss-eyed bear for the little
Sunday-scho0l girl. 1t invests one with sn ar OF
superiority TO speak cOntemptuously OF common
politicians" 1t is cheap and nasty way OF dlspos-
ing of ones own failures to attribute other mems
successcs to ''mere scheming politicians but
Mr. Eaton would he horrihed to know
that he had branded Mr. John Smith or Professor
BENJAMIN PIERCE as persons without intelligence
Yet Mr. John Smith is a common politician" if at
tending caucuses and conventions and voting and
sneakipC and being q member of the State LegiSa-
ture makes one common politician, and Professor
Peirce is an offce-hOlder. But Mr.. Eaton never
heard of Mr. John Smith, and Of Professor Perce be
never heard anything but good. And there must
be thousands of common politicians" that Mr..
Eaton never heard of, and | venture to affirm that
if Mr. Eaton will take the trouble to count mp the
Federal oflice-holders whom he numbers among his
personal acquaintance he will find that nine ont OF
ten of them are men against whose official charac.
fer he knows absolutely nothing. TO put this mat
ter to the test that we may reason intelligently,
that we may know definitely what Mr.. Eaton means
by persons of intelligence and what by common
politicians" pray him to name IN The NEW-l DIRK
TRIBUNE ten members of Congress whom he knew
and whom he knows that President Grant knew
for he speaks authoritatively of President Grant
being lke-minded with himsef-to be per-
sons without intelligence or ten members of
the ew-England State Legislatures. or ten clerks
in the New-Ycrk Custom House, OF in the State De-
partment at Washington, OF in the Pension Bureau.
A general sheer is not worth. rs argument, tie
breath that is wasted in uttcrng it. A stale sneer
does not increase in value with age The " COM
mon politician has been the block on which re-
formers have trimmed their wigs, time out Of mind.
Now let us know whether he is only
blockhead or whether ne really has \ living
and breathing prototype. Our country is iii danger
from ITS ignorance, but it is generally supposed TO
be from the ignorance of the great herd who are
not politicians. who vote in masses as they are bid
den and not from the lack of intelligence III the
"common politicians" the men who deal i'll and
direct politics who, even If deficient in
principle. are acutely and astutely intelligent ;
and who, if they should fall upon Mr.
Dorman b. Eaton would grind him to pow
der so auickly that he would not know
whether he had not been Dormouse rather than
Dorman in the flesh. If the common politician"
had no more correct perspective, and no keener
scent for facts, and closer clutch OF arguments
than Mr. DOrman b. Eaton displays in this paper,
he woud never be able to do us either the
good or the evil that he has done NJ Eaton cannot
hold himself together two minutes At time, not TO
speak of keeping a regiment III hand. 1--WE have
deluded ourselves" says Mr.. Eaton. with the
theory that a Government right in principle and
sound in framework, be carried on by the inter
esed aid of mere party managers aud their depend
ants and that craftsmanship means party manage
- ,,,rt.l. l1,,
self on one SIDE this st. Lawrence of reform turns
the other side to the fire and declares that we
need to comprehend that to secure honest. econom-
ical and efficient administration is not only one of
the highest achievements Of craftsmanship,
but that IT is of the most successful
acts of party management" That is, we need to
comprehend in one sentence the great truth which
the previous sentence had declared to be a deluson.
Ii is deluson, says this "persOn of intelligence"
that craftsmanship means party management, but
II is truth that the highest achievement of states
manship is party cement II is deluson that
people who are most interested in work can carry
it on but it is truth that people who interested
in a work can do nothing more effective for that
work than carry it on!
Mr.. Eaton hedges in his first paragraph, by af-
frming that not even the saintest of the saints go
straight up to heaven, but zigzag continually. lie
has vet to learn that il by no means follows that
every man who is staggering along. Virgnia-fcDce-
fashion is on the way TO heaven. Mr.. Eaton speaks
with lofty contempt of mere party leaders HIS con-
tempt would be more imposing if we conld see him
display greater rmness and success III leading one
foot to follow the other on his own account.
VIII Mr. Eaton tell us what constitutes the delu-
sion in believing That right and sound Government
can be carried by the interested aid of party man
ayers and their dependents' Would he have gov
eminent carried on by people who have no interest
in it, and no influence parties. preference
in particsi Mr.. Eaton speaks as If party were
mere caprce-a sort of veneering without strength,
put on to serve mere temporary purpose.