The Washington critic., 1890-02-09

I
THINKS TT ABSURD.
1T Is no reason" said District Com.
missioner Douglass, "that because
man can stuff monkey 60 a startling
/ degree of lifcikencss he can make a
/ law The idea is absurd Scientists
| are usually specialists. The law.mak-
/ ing body should contain men from all
/ walks OF life.
SCIENTIST TALKS
/ Mr.. Baker. ge0grapher Of the Geo
I logical Survey, said "The legislative
bcdy. in my judgment should repre-
sent the interests of all classes. 1t
/ should have lawyers because its funC-
tion is law.making. II should have sci
/ entiic men, because its legislation
should be guided by the accumulative
/ knowledge of science. II should have
practical men OF affairs in its body and
If the legislative body was per force
/ limited TO any one class, rs II ought not
1 to be, then the class should be the
| practical men Of affairs. who conduct
the business Of the cities, who build
I the railroads and construct the tcle-
/ graphs.
Scientific men do not differ from
other men. They have the same
/ strength, the same weakness They
/ should always be heard, however, in
| legislation. We do moi want the theo.
| rist TO make our tariff laws; neither do
we want the SO called practical man to
/ create legislation in the interest of him
/ self or of class. | feel very certain
/ that 300 scientists on Capitol Hill, for
instance, would do no better than the
300 gentlemen now there.
PROFESSOR AND STATESMAN.
Hon +. n iIartshorn, Deputy Sec
ond Comptroller of the Treasury De.
| partment. who Is college professor
and has served four years in the Ohio
/ Legislature, said. "Thc lawyers should
predominatc in the Senate, while in the
House there should be representation
! of all occupations. The scientist is too
theoretical for practical law. making.
which belongs TO the business man,
who is too slightly represented in legis-
! lative bodies. The lawyer should con
trol rather than the scientist"
THE BEST QUALIFICATIONS.
Mr.. r. Il McMahon, formerly Dep.
uty Second Comptroller, said: at is
not from principle that scientists do not
predominant or are not numerously
found in legislative assemblies of this
or other nations. 1t is rather from
cause within than without the want of
desire IN the man Of science to take
part in public life, To your question::
is not the man who deyotes his life to
the anatomy of the human kind hest,
qualified 10 make laws for mankind? [
can answer for myself only. think
not The apatomist, the scientist,
knows the human framework, the cor.
poreal man. But there is the other side
of man, the moral and for this side of
him the anatomist is no more qualified
to make laws than the sculptor or the
painter. Legislation is not physical
law. Scientific men are often wrong
in the ordinary affairs of life, but this
results from their search after absolute
truths. In morals and in politics all
truths are relative. Inseicncc nothing
is TO be considered but the principle; in
politics. nothing but the consequences.
II do not affirm that the sci
enlist who controls the lightning
from the heavens, who annihilates
space, who reproduces the human
voice, who foretells the movements of
the planets, cannot evolve wise and
humane legislation; but / know, as you
know, that he is not q politician or a
legislator. For my own part, wish that
he were. i had letter the other day
from distinguished mana man who
has gone through the whole circle of
human sciences-and he spoke of this
very question. Said he: Talk not to
the man who is composing mathemati-
cal treatises of politics. He prefers to
soar aloft on the wings of genius and
leave modern politics to the ward
rounder.' This, in my Judgment, is a
grave error. The man of genius should
come down from sfoft and help to
cleanse and purify the political atmos-
phere. If man is but thinking
reed as Pascal says, il would be well
for us 10 eliminate from our legislative
bodies some of the Billies and Jimmies,
someof the untutored political savages
who crawl into public station under the
!, mud slimed machine, and supply theiI
places with clean, decent, honest men
men Of Letters, of culture, of science,
men who can think and speak in some
language, living or dead.
"The man of science, in search of
{ absolute truths, is not only honest with
: himself, but with all others. You will
not find such man, when he thinks he
will be contaminated, bartering for po-
litical place. The man of science Is 8
proud man. And the rock upon which
the multitude invariably strike is pride
, pride of honor, pride OF truth. pride
, of right, pride of person.
"The radical evil, the curse of our
political system, is the influence of
money, and sensitive men, with clean
souls, will not be debased, debauched
, or polluted Unfortunate as it is. YET
so 1t Is, political pirates enter in where
honest men will not tread. How much
can you put up for the boys? was
asked gentleman in New York. who
! expressed desire to come TO Congress.
, That was the test You ask me about
, lawyers. Well, lawyers are in almost
, constant touch with the people. They
are generally better known, as eonse
quence. Their profession takes them
, here, there, elsewhere. The victim you
: save from the clutches of the law will
.. be apt to vote for you. | speak
with all Difference and bow before the
majesty of my own profession, for il /:
justice and mercy, though Oliver Colds.
grind the poor and rich men rule the
, law and Charles Macklin wrote; The
/, law is sort of hocus- pocus science that
,, smiles in yer face while il picks yel
, pocket. | rather say with Hooker il
his Ecclesiastical Poiity '0f the law
there can be no less acknowledged thar
that her seat is the bosom of God, hel
voice the harmony of the world; al
/ things in Heaven and earth do he
homage-the very least as feeling TO