New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-06-14
AMERICAS PROBLEMS.
A FEW JUST WORDS FROM ENGLAND.

From The Spectator, London.
During the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition,
the writer of the present article happened TO De
living with an Englishman who had for some years
man of much quiet observation and shrewd In.
telligence He one day summed up, the result OF
his experience of the great Republic IN thsee
words: The more / see Of the people OF the
United States, the more contradictory seem 10 mo
TO be the conclusions which any man living among
Them who does not feel himself 20 be one OF Them,
must draw from what passes under his eye You
have no sooner seen one set Of phenomena which
make you disposed 10 put In very short iorT
some very definite statement as to the characters
I'll events OF the tends PeOPs ndace to make
a statement Of exactly opposite tendency. Az
one moment you feel convinced that there
never was among any people SO great love Oh
order at another. that never did any people show
such an extraordinary tolerance OF disorder and
such a love of riot. At one moment it seems as II
the Central Government had no power at all at
the next. il suddenly acts with despotism that
would be hardly tolerated In Russia. or that would
at least there be tempered by assassination Az
one moment you would say there never was
GoveEnment, either municipal or political, 70
hopelessly corrupt: at the next sudden revolt OF
all the strongest elements In American society
against corruption makes you feel that tneH
never was people so thoroughly determined
at all costs to put down corruption. You might
carry on the series of contradictory assertions
almost indefinitely. There is hardly any state
can life as to which am not prepared, almost
at a moments notice. to put !, forward
Ehas w " the truth TO Or
ton OF its falseho0i. The fact Is that the gleao
questions which have interested mankind through.
out tss n fsf e %Ts We Gfn shs the
true answer to the writer in "Blackwood, VINO,
in the current months issue, has brought savage
against 81 the ss great c Se Quotes tend to
prove the assertion he makes of the hopeless tyr
amy and corruption that prevail In the states
We venture, however, 70 Deneve Una. ~ as S,es
as this writer is prejudiced against them could
easily produce evidence for a panegyrlc as enthusl-
astic as this attack is sweeping and vndiGtive .,
its citizens that the true condition OF country can
best be studied and we therefore think 1t fort
b thai In the sspe aenon Should b
drawn to sngularly representative lie which mas
just como to an end. Lord Wolseley, who was
personally well acquainted with Genera SHERMAN,
Magazine" giving study Of the career Of that
great soldier Seeing that Sherman was more than
the the Civil war and had passed through 3 moss
eventfui career before that period, Lord Wolseey
has felt that no study of the two or three years
during which Sherman fought for the Union would
adequately represent the man. He therefTe, In
the current number, restricts himself to the penod
which preceded the war. We do not propose 70
follow him through the various incidents OF Sher-
mans life as banker, land-surveyor, lawyer and
pioneer. We are only glad TO take the opportln-
ity presented by this study Of his clnI nfs 70
draw certain conclusions as to the points raised by
the Blackwood' review. Lord Wolseley's object
is naturally to select the plums from Shermans very
interesting biography and from other sources ss 81
one incident of Sherman's career as illustrating
events which are passing at the present moment
emigration, and during the height Of the gold
fever, found himself In presence OF condition
of things very similar TO that which now prevails
during that time virtually seized the executive
power in San Francisco, and, being spp-
ported at first by the most respectable
a condition of lawlessness which the estab-
lished authorities had been. unwilling or unable
to suppress. There seem to be only few features
in which there is sharp contrast between me
present state of things in New-Orleans and the
state OF things then existing in San Francisco.
In the first place, no foreign question was In
being apparently American citizens. In the sec
ond. the Central Government was too distant, TOO
completely cut off from communication with san
Francisco, to interfere by protest or otherwise "
| California left the local public opinion 20 RUE
supreme, the general influence Of the opinion o.
to act in time. What, however is most interest
| ing in the incidents that followed which no one
| has described in a more interesting way tnan
| General Sherman himself, is the mixture Of mo,
tives which actuated those who opposed
| and those who assisted the COMMITTEES
of Public Safety. No one. could have
|
and mischiefs of such remedy for dis
order Nc one could have illustrated more forc'
| bly, from the subsequent history how such an insu
tuition, when once established was sure 10 dIaw
TO itself elements corrupt as those which IL had
replaced to inspire terror among the very people
on whose support 1t had first relied; and because
of the secrecy and Illeganty of its operations. 70
| become at once danger to society, gross "
| ranny, and an actually evil power Yet from GER
tain historical fairness to those 10 whom ne was
opposed sherman so tells the story as 70 na Ns
that he might have found himself on either slice
| in the contest which followed. . a.
II was a genuine love Of order, and even event., IN
| the main, OF uncorrupt Justice ana leal esatiXH
| which induced many Of the best citizens OF al
fornia TO Join or support the Vigilance CommtIee.
The feeling that i was time that VIII murder te
| the streets should at any cost oe Stoppel too
determination that trials Of criminals should rot
become a farce because Of bribery: the sense thae
there was a higher law than that OF going through
causes Of the movement After all, is one not
carried back by the suggestions when tne s.oIy
offers to that memorable time when al Ehgiahfp
watched the trial Of HampdenY Are not the teel
inss which inspired these men very IKE ta nos,
which ENGLAND felt when 1t became evident thaS
instice was not 10 be obtained In the law courts
The difficult issues which then foiiowea, anu
grew greater as the years went on, for the per
sonal determination Of every law-abiding English
man, are issues such as are continually cohiu!
| before our cousins across the water. 10 us
seems that they ought 10 be watched with SYN
pathetic interest. not with hasty detraction
Men like Sherman and Others fully rep
resent the side which desires to ceal
the administration of the ordinary law
and at all cost TO maintain its supremacy. Bu'
the words of the Philadelphia Englishman con
tinually recur 70 US. These men seemed u us q
be the true descendants Of our own forefathers
set TO olive problems other than those which We
have 20 solve. In their own way, our own an
ouite difficult enough. They are almost easily
misrepresented. We have much need to ask fol
a generous appreciation and understanding Of oul
own difficulties. We too in the cause Of right
have often 20 cast aside forms which we DO no no,
better 20 solve our own questions because w
ungenerously condemn others who have difb'
cuities to face of which we have experience.