Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1883-05-24
PUBLIC LIFE
is No Longer Attracting the First-Class
men.
All % the Larger Minds Are Absorbed In
Money Making.

muncativc man, who likes to read the
sparkle Of intercourse and gossip. and
who has been in the New York legisla-
turc at different times in the past. |
said TO him yesterday: "Are there
any men Of stability in tho state legisla-
ture nOw?'
"No. You know why men take up
any line Of business, | suppose?"
"Ycs--self-intCrest, in part"
THAT is just it, said the eX-legisla-
tor. "Now, there was time wheD
the state legislature tempted into it
able men, because self.interest was to
be served there. There was time
when New York was building rail
roads, opening canals, chartering turn
pike companies and improving the
navigation of rivers. That is all done
now. New. York may be considered a
finished state, as far as the legislature
has to do with it Consequently, abil-
ity, capacity and force Of character do
not care to enter the legislature. 1t
has become place which suits few
obscure, audnCious unscrupulous men,
who want to strike the few interests
that are left for n little cash" He
mentioned over certain Of the senators
and representatives, saying: Those
fellows are strikers at bottom. That
is why they get up investigating COM
mittees, and try to exc out q ruined
business with little blackmail. OF
course, the more of that business they
conduct the less men Of the first class
want to do with the Legislature Now,
can imagine that in new state of
great area, like Texas, ability might
seek the legislature. Self-interest
would find career and profit there.
But it is all nonsense to talk about
legislative cminence in these old states.
do yOu expect to see our public life
improve muChP'
"N0. 1t is mere idle dream that
You are going 10 find members of con
gress better than merchants, bankers
and other business men, when the re-
wards of private life are so much better.
Here are men who have forsaken n pub
liz career and gone into finance, and tits
they who often eXclaim against our
public life. Why did they leave it?
. They left it because its rewards were
insufficient. Now, until you can get
some other standard than wealth for
the highest reSpcctability, our public
councils will be inferior to the grade of
ability and character in the walks of
private enterprise. There is no getting
around that fact. The dream of n
grand congress, u great executive gov
crnmcnt. and the days of Webster and
John Marshall over again, must be laid
aside until the country becomes settled,
and lirst-class men for iirst-class
reasons want to 20 to the legislatures
and to congress. Inevitably we must
see something to disparage when we
/ turn from n mighty hive like New
| York, where multitude of unknown
men possess million dollars, to lit
! tie village like Washington, where for
-, ,OOO year and universal criticism
upon their conduct n body of men
struggle TO represent the country. The
country is not now represented i'll con-
gresS. The work of the country is not
congressional work. This nation has
been for long time in the arms of
ayaricc, and is going it with accele-
rated pace. Business men make al
J lowanccs for congress, and regard
them ns in general men in an inferior
and somewhat humiliated walk"
The conversation ran upon n num-
! Der of public men now passed away.
My informant said, in response to q
question:
.,Old Thurlow Weed was great
hypocrite and very selfish man. He
| liked to posture and appear TO be n
patriot, but his countcnancc was on
the earth, like the man with the muck
rake. "
inquired about the late HcnrylJ
Raymond.
"lIe was tricky, selfish little fellow,
with hardly redGeming trait of char
actcr. He had ability enough of =
snowy sort, but Weed and Seward
would never LET him take the big hon
Urs like governor or senator, because
they knew he would throw them of
and try to be leader himself. Ray
mond loved money, and was in the
lobby und finance whenever he could
yet in, and pitt his arms in deep. So
did Weed. Raymond was in Pacific
Mail, and accomplished the increase OF
capital which finally swamped that
great company. Weed took his pay
for legislative influence in the New
York street railroads, and died sur
roTndcd by money, if not ill-gotten,
meanly gotten"
How did Seward, who was . man
OF affairs, tolerate such people rs
these?" >, =,
"Seward did not want to be troubled
with the details OF polictics, He
wanted to give his life to tho discussion
of principles and issues, and Weed
and RAYMOND, and such men, saved
him the labor of coming down in the
dirt
what DO you think about Gen. Ar
thurP"
"The key to his character is coward
Ice. - said my outspoken friend. "When
Won see man procrastinating every
thing. doing nothing till the last mo-
ment left him, you may know he is void
of moral courage. He will not go
right up and grapple with an issue in
dIsrute at once. Arthur was never
found out before he became president,
but all that time he was moral cow
ard. He is the same thing in the pres
idoncy, He wants to dodge, to get rid
of responsibility. He disappoints all
, sides because he is not ready to con-
clude with any.n