Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-08-07

appointee, whose fitnessis acknowledged,
was previously unknown to the public.
He had not been prominent in politics
or business and there seems to be q feel
ing that for a prominent Office a prom
inent man is needed. The same
feeling has caused a criticism Of
some of President Arthur's selections for
high place. But the fact is that prom
inence in private life is a very unreliable
and even poor qualification for impOr-
tant public trusts. The restlessness.
forwardness and noisiness which serve
to attract public attention to individuals
are not needed when those individuals get
into the offices which they often bring
them in fact they are hindrances to
their efficiency. There may be solid
merit behind them, and if so they will do
themselves credit and give the public good
service. But it is better to get the solid
merit, without the glittering accompan-
iments, which lend it no aid and merit,
as we all know, is generally unpreten-
tious. If the chief magistrate who has
offices to fill has sufficiently good judg-
ment and wide acquaintance with men,
to meet those who will make good Off.
GERS and to know them when he sees
them, he can do a great deal better for
the public by following his judgment
than he can by looking for men to whom
the public has given its esteem. The
do fn vryif h
sufficient intimacy to discover what
they really are and for this reason they
so often fail to fill their offices prolitably.
THERE has never been any question
in the minds of the Pennsylvania De-
mocracy and of right minded men of all
parties about the propriety Of the gov
ernor's course in convening the extra
session of the Legislature for the per-
formance of that constitutional duty
which it had neglected at the regular
session. 1t was incumbent upon him
to do this, and, having afforded
the Legislature an opportunity to do its
| neglected duty, all responsibility for the
failure of an apportionment was trans
ferred from him to that body. When it
had been thus convened it was obviously
the duty of the Democratic House to
offer to the Republican Senate every
thing reasonable and fair; to insist
upon no partisan advantage and
take no arbitrary position. This has
been done. No appointments have
been proposed by the House which con-
cede less to the Republicans or ask
more for the Democrats than they are
entitled to; and since the Senate re
jected all the Democratic bills, the
House has offered it the apportiolments
proposed respectively by Senator Stew
art aud Representative Lowery, both
s:aunch Republicans. To all this
the Senate makes no other reply than
that it will stubbonly insist on that
S5alwart gerrymander, the McCracken
bill, which cheats the Democrats and
the people out of their right to fair rep
resentation. This, the Republican sen
ators say, is their i" ultimatum.' Some
of the Democrats seem to think it is not
and that if insisted upon fair appor.
tionment may yet be had. While there
is any hope OF this of course they do
right to stay at Harrisburg and try to
procure it. Whenever they shall have
vainly exhausted all constitutions! and
parliamentary processes to obtain it then
it will be timeto adjourn and save the
state further expense for nothing. The
Democratic majority of the House must
be the judges of when that time has ar
rived. Whenever they feel sure that the
Senate will never submit to fair ap.
portiOnment they must take the issue to
the people; 70 consent to an unfair ap
portionment, simply to get one, will be
not only blunder bu5 crime.
| ANOTHER victory for Boston culture.