Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-05-26

A TiD.TOu Enlo1y.

A Tfp.Tsp Eulegy.
Col. FOrney does not leave the readers
Of Progress any room to doubt his ex-
alted opinion of the late Thomas Alex
ander Scott. The colonel is profoundly
impressed with conviction of the truth
Of the saying that the good die young
illustrating it by citing the early death
of the Saviour and Byron, Napoleon,
Shakespeare, Cervantes, Raphael, Pitt,
Douglas Stephen A.-and Scott--Thom-
rs Alexander; "among whom says
Progress, "there is not one who, in
fifty-seven years experience, aided more
individual men and women, or helped
forward great enterprises with more
fervid zeal or a sublimer unselfishness
than Thomas A. Scott"
That will do for eulogy. 1t may be
said to he strong. commencement of
the statement of Mr.. Scott's case. We
publish it in full, with the continuation,
elsewhere. The colonel wrote in a state
of exaltation /; evidently he is an admirer
Of Mr.. ScOtt's character. He has been,
he says, ever since Mr.. Scott emerged
from LoudOn into Lancaster, forty years
ago.
The juxtaposition Of our Saviour with
Lord Byron, Napoleon, Douglas, ct a.,
to say nothing of Scott, is fairly start
ling. The declaration that not one ex-
hibited sublimer unselfishness than
Mr.. Scott is a good deal of a declaration,
manifestly unless we may he permitted
to withdraw the Saviour from the CON-
parison, which the context hardly per-
mits; though we, nevertheless, will take
the liberty of doing it because we are
sure that Colonel FOrney meant it to be
done.
After doing that, we discover that the
sublime unselfishness attributed to Mr..
Scott is not SO amazing i'm its degree.
Napoleon had a minimum Of that agree
able quality. Stephen A. Douglas did not
have very large stock as the Dem
ocratic party found out to its cost.
We have never heard that any of the
other distinguished gentlemen named
had very remarkable quantity of it.
We cannot declare to Col. FOrney
that Mr.. Scott did not have as much as
any of them. He may well, even, have
had more and still have left an estate
Of many millions, the fruit Of a fair de-
gree of attention TO his own interests.
Fervid zeal is another character.
istic which We freely concede Mr.
Scott to have had in degree
commensurate with that Of the
exalted company of mOrtals in which he
is placed. And Il very good quality it is
But it don't always go with sublime un-
selfishness. Napoleon had plenty of it,
He aided a good many men and women
too but that was selfishly done as the
best way to aid himself. And he filled
the world with the halo of the brightest
deeds, and wrought much for man and
much, too, against man. So did Mr.
Scott.
We cannot say that Colonel FOrney
has said too much for his friend in liken
ing him to Napoleon perhaps, too lit
tie. Mr.. Scott was the Napoleon of rail.
road managers :; but he was Il better
man. He did not work SO much evil in
the world probably though he did {;
good deal. And he worked a great dea
more of permanent good.
We see no utility or beauty in plaster
ing man when dead with untruthful
plaudits; which can do him no good and
can do harm to the living, who should
have true pictures presented to them of
the worlds great men, that they may
emulate their virtues and avoid their er
rOrs. Mr.. Scott was great man. That
he was not a greater, was probably due
much to his early associations. He was
not radically corrupt, and yet did many
gravely corrupt things. The end to hin
justified the use of evil means. He vii
live in history as the corrupter of legis.
latiOn and us the chief of a corporation
whose officers were permitted TO acquire
wealth through the Office which was con
fided to them to administer in the
interest of the corporation and tht
state which created it. Mr.. Scott
was not good citizen in de
bauching legislation and in winking at
what was in its essence robbery of his
railroad. If he had not been thrown in
his bOyhood under the cOrrupting infiu-
ences of the management of the public
works of the state, probably the work OF
his life would not have been marred, as
it unquestionably has been, by the ugly
stain of corruption, as it's freely
used engine. But the damned spot
is there and will not out. Words
will not efface it.; eulogy is par
alyzed in its presence. Mr.. Scott,
doubtless, had the amiable qualities
which Colonel FOrney's affectiOnate pen
gives him. He was generous, charita-
bic, courageous, good-tempered, genial
and modest. And it is pity, indeed,
that with SO many of the noblest virtues
and most sterling qualities, and with SO
much talent and genius, he was yet, in
the opinion of many of his fellow-citi-
zens, not blessing to his state or his
lime, and that his name must 60 down
to pOsterity as synonym for bribery and