New-York tribune., 1900-04-29
THE SENATE.

Senator Depew at his birthday dinner at the
Montauk Club. in Brooklyn. the other night had
the courage frankly TO combat the not uncom
mon notion that the Golden Age of the United
States Senate is past. 1t is saying so often
repeated to pass current for truth that the
Senate is a mere rich mems club. and people
who ought to know better, who do know better
with idle. cynical or malicious remarks aid in
stirring up prejudice against our Government in
general as an instrument of classes. Mr.. Depew
points out that of the ninety Senators not more
than ten are reasonably reputed to be million
aires Ten more are able to live on the income
from their property. But more than three
fourths of the Senators are men who have little
or no income beyond their salaries and what
they can make at their professions in the inter
walls of Senate duties. Reckless generalization
from one or two so-caed "putocrats' making
their way into the Senate by force of
wealth than of other leadership loses sight OF
the many poor men who are the strong forces
in that body. Many of the rich men In 1t also
are there not at all because of their wealth, but
because the same abilities which gave them
power in the business world We're also devoted
to politics, and they fairly earned their places
as thinkers and leaders. Mr.. Depew himself is
not commonly considered dependent on work for
a living, but nobody can say his knowledge of
his lifelong activity in politics do not fairly en-
title him to a place among political leaders
utterly regardless of his income.
EX-Speaker Reed is credited with the saying
that a statesman is dead politician That is
half of the philosophy of the alleged decadenCe
of the Senate. The other half may be attributed
TO envy and partsanshp. Webster, Clay, Cal
houn and Benton are dead and a tradition.
Hoar. Frye, Davis, Cullom and Allison are liv
ing. But it cannot fairly be said that there is
not much craftsmanship displayed in public
measures and as much ability and patriotism
devoted to their study in the days of golden
memory. Anybody who reads the debates of
the earlier times hardly fail to be impressed
with the fact that for the most part their won
derful ability is largely matter of tradition.
Many of the speeches We're shallow and ignO-
rant There was more buncombe and less
accurate knowledge displayed in dealing with
important questions. Calhoun. with his keen in
telect, was almost miracle of narrow minded
ness. Clay led a great party with ideas of polit-
cal science and international craftsmanship
which would have been laughed down except
that the great body of his fellow citizens, enc
mics and friends had cruder notions than him
| self. The men who lead the Senate to-day are
sounder students of government, wiser political
economists and patriots of equal honesty.
Probably when they are dead they will not fill
! so large a place on the horizon as their prede
| cessors and Mr.. Depew touches on of the
| reasons In explaining that the Senators of
| fifty years ago seemed greater to their con-
! temporaries than our Senators do TO us, because
| it was age of eloquence and reporting Of elo-
| quence while to-day newspapers give compare
| lively little attention to debates. He might have
added that the public impressionable
| by leaders then than now. The whole country
was like some back rural districts and parts of
| the South now. Politics formed its principal
| amusement and intellectual exercise Interests
! are more varied to-day. Business and society
| occupy more attention. and the greatest of men
| subtends much smaller angle than he would
have done half century ago. Politics to us is n
much smaller part Of life than TO our fathers,
| and we should not take a Webster as seri-
| ousy as they did. Perhaps are none the bet
ter for that, but the fact explains why as we
| look th5r accounts Of the statesmen they
| honored we wonder how il happens that we do
| not honor our statesmen in the same degree
Times have changed. and we ought not TO
| blame our statesmen because we have changed
| with them and learned to apply different stand
| ards in our judgments Of men, We may be sure
| in their places now. appearing to as men Of
| our own time and working on our present prob
| lens. their arguments and ideas would be at
| tackled as violently any now offered and they
| would hear laments about how weak they were
| compared with themselves.