The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-21
THE TRUTH ABOUT PUBLIC MEN.


THE TRUTH ABOUT PUBLIC MEN.
The new professor of history at Oxford
university, the historian Froude, has been
severely denounced because he edited
Carlyle's autobiography with so little re-
vision and excision that the world was
given thoroughly interesting inside view
of the great Scotchman, who said that
"the American people had done nothing
but beget with unexampled rapidity
10000, 900 of the greatest bores on the face
of the earth" This eccentric and divert
ing side Of Carlyle's character was made
known to the public because Froude did
his work with integrity, and was no more
afraid to trust his hero with the public
than Boswell was to give US the real
Johnson and make us his everlasting
debtor. To Froude's candor we owe, too,
our knowledge that Carlyle, in spite of all
his belching against shams and dandies
and snobs, was himself toady, who was
eager to go about to aristocratic houses to
which his brilliant and accomplished wife
was not invited.
The biographer of Dickens did not con-
ceal the vulgar side of his hero's nature.
and why should he, when his hero made
open secret, and it would have been inn
moral obsequiousness to the dead to palm
off a mere fulsome panegyric upon the
public as genuine biography. Suppose
nobody had ever written more judicial
estimate of Napoleon's career than Abbott
and Theirs on the one side or Scott and
Alison on the other2 What should we
really know about that wonderful man if
Lanfrey and Tame had not written of Ma
poleon in the spirit of historical TRUTH A
truthful presentment hurts really no great
reputation.
post mortem over a public man in order
to fix truthfully the historical conse-
quence or inconsequence, the glory or
shame of the deceased is termed the
"ghoul act" by those who believe that
death enjoins silence concerning the dead
sinner. In our judgment. the ''ghoul
act" if it means plain post mortem speech
concerning the crimes Of men who have
villainously abused great political, social or
religious trusts in life. is public wisdom
and justice compared with the immoral
effort to whitewash black life after death
and impudently try to put it off on the
public as the image of a white soul.
There never was more signal illustra.
ton of this American passion for praising
the public dead beyond all reason than in
the case of Garfield. Before Garfield was
shot nobody who knew him claimed that
he was more than warm, impulsive man,
of fine talents. not without public and
private infrmities, an orator of great
effectiveness on the stump who did not
rise to the rank of statesman. Measured
by what he did. by what he said in his
public speeches. Garfield was a man of de-
cided 'outdoor" talent, but not of that
degree of talent or strength of character
that placed him in the ranks of our first
public men. This was the estimate of
Garfield by those who knew him best, like
Mr.. Blaine, before he was shot. 1t will
not be pretended that the shot of Guiteau
added anything to the intellectual stature
of his illustrious victim, and yet
the moment Garfield was shot his
fate made the nation idealize him
in their sympathy with his agony, but
history must judge Garfield as it would an
event. for history is a judge, not senti-
mentallst, lover, friend Of the family,
and history today, when our tears are
dried, rates Garfield as a good, but not
superior soldier; as good, but not great
debater in the sense that Blaine or Conk-
ling or Tom Reed was great debater; as
a respectable. but not fine writer or
scholar: as an eloquent speaker, without
being great orator: as a popular man in
politics, without being a man OF leader
ship or executive quality as statesman.
To speak the truth of a public man is
not to speak evil of him; to speak any,
thing but the truth of a public man would
be to speak evil. because to speak MOTH
ing but good Of the dead is a
maxim that would whitew ash the Borgias,
the Benedict Arnolds, the Aaron Burrs,
the Napoleons and all the miscreants,
traitors and tyrants, high and low. that
have scourged the world. To paint dead
mans picture by the light Of petty gossip
is unjust and indecent, but to paint it by
the light of his own public performances
and of the events with which he moved is
but historical justice and in the interest Of
public policy and the sound education of
the state.
The pictures of public men. living or
dead, should be painted with fast colo-s Of
truth: history should never be written
with a whitewash brush by the misleading
light of prejudice. sentiment and passion.