, 1879-01-12

; moon is made Of green cheese, and nothing
is certain except, III tbs words OF DEscAnrEs
that man thinks, and therefore exists. Th
old formula was: Whatever doubt ant
myself doubt or question therefore I am
But to return to our optimistic pessimists-
the StaIwarts. Though their malady is no
peculiar, the manifestation Of it is. The,
ure gloomy whenever they think of tht
Presidents severity in view Of the souther1
outrages, and hopeful whenever they dis
cuss the state of the Ciyil-9eryice and the
political morality of the country. The bot
tom is not going to drop out of the Republic
they say, even if members Of Congress are
not very pure. Look at England in the days
of Sir ROBERT WA1poLE. But it Is evident
to the Stnlwart, on the other hand, that the
bottom really has dropped out Of free insti-
tut;ons in the South, and the negro might
as well be disfranchlsed or immjgrate- to
Liberia.
"It is not about the South only, however,
that the optimist-pessimist e1acts despond-
ency. He is apt to be equally exacting
| about any work or movement in which he is
strongly interested or actively engaged.
There is 10 use in your protesting that you
are as much interested in tie subject as he,
and only differ with him as to the means Of
bringing about the desired end; he will
I hal Hoa al
it is, in bis eyes, simply 8 cloak
for Indifference. If you were sincere,
lie feels sure you would look and
| talk sadly about it. Nor can you get off by
pleading that you are sud about something
else ; that if, for instance, You are not as
gloomy rs he is about the Moderate Drinker
it is because you are greatly depressed about
the little health Of women. He knows
that there is nothing in the health Of women
to causo anxiety to q rational mind, while tho
state of the Moderate Drinker calls for the
prompt attention Of the whole community,
through its thinkers, its presses, its judges,
and its policemen"
There is another application Of the doc
trine Of Compensation in politics, which the
Nation writer did not fairly reach, though
he was aiming at it. The extent to which
high degree Of intelligence and culture dis
credits man with certain class Of voters is
symptom Of an unhealthy condition Of
politics. We observe that DR.. HOLMES, in
his life Of 1Ir. MOTLEY, is disposed to insist
strongly upon this point. 1Ir. MOTLEY was
twice turned ont Of Office because he was
scholar anl a gentleman, and had friends
who were like him and it is fact that pol
ished men have very little chance of political
preferment in this! country when they seek
it. The people want old "Hickory, "'or old
" Rough and Ready" or Tanner-Boy, or
Rail-Splitter. The Hard Cider and Log
Cabin campaign was model that has been
followed more or less faithfully ever since.
We are not, Of course, committing the |
supreme folly Of arguing that men like
GRANT and LINCOLN are not often the best |
the nation can choose. It is difficult to con-
ceive of scholar who would have shown !
greater executive capacity or a more heroic !
resolution than ABRAHAM LINCOLN did. But !
it is one thing to maintain this, and quite |
another to argue that scholar, because he !
is a scholar, should be disqualified from
holding the highest Offices ina Republic. The
facts are SO; but for this onca We object to
the facts. L is paradoxica1 to assert that
knowledge makes man worse, more unfit to |
rule, less capable Of: seeing the logical con-
nection between events, their causes and con-
sequences. IF this were SO, the whole fabric of
cur institutions would be upon false basis.
As at present constituted the American Coy
ernment rests upon popular suffrage, and
this III turn is founded upon free education,
American politics. It is contradiction in
terms, therefore, to sey that any form or de-
gree of education makes man unfit for
Politica1 life in this country.
What ought to be not always is. It may
be- disqualifying gift Of the American peo-
pie that, having SO many cultivated and
earned men, they ara unable to use more of
hem in public life, or TO open any avenue
If preferment in the Civil-Service to stu1ious
md thoughtful men who are willing to de-
'ote their lives to it. But We need not vet +!
initiate the example, of the optimist-
and suppose that the Ameri-
an people are in q bad way be-
ause they will not enjoy their blessings.
The disease may provide its own remedy. If
he theory Of popular education is perseyered
u, tho hostility of ''Demos "--ss that tcsty
Id man ITO educated men must disappear
n time. If this shall come to pass, the ex-
erience of the American Republic will be
iferent from that of the Athenien- or the
'enetian, Or the Dutch Republic; and tho
ause will be the existence of system of
rec schools in America which none of the :,
primer Commonwealth knew how to maia-
lin.
FoREcLosING MORTGAGES, - I
Senator BASH has offered bill in the Iep- &
stature Of Illinois which is SO comncndab!e t
nd just that the wonder is that its principle t
as not been long since Incorporated in the | t
sws Of the State. The bill repeals Sec. 1C s
Chap. 9J, title "Mortgaees." Of tha re- | I