The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-03-18
The PuhIic Service.


A New York man recently said, when
interviewed by hotel reporter, that he
believed the ideal politician to be a man
who was in politics for pleasure. and not
! for gain; and he added
I'm nu ideal Republic all public servants would
be without salary, and their service for the
Commonwealth would be merely incident in
: their life, and not the whole Of it."
/ This sounds well, and seems to be a
simple method of solving one of the yexed
questions of the day: but there are two
troubles with it; one is that the thing
could not happen, and the other that if
it could the results might not be desira-
bic II is very unlikely that there will
ever come time when public servants
viii be unsalaried. but if it ever does come
it will not be i'm this century Moreover.
it is by no means likely that such basis
would be a good one for the public ser
vice
/ The ideas of the average man on this
/ subject are rather mixed. but there is a
( general impression that politics is some
how different from any other business,
/ and that there is no middle course be
tween going into it to see how much
money can be made out Of it, and engage
philanthroplc motives: that in ordinary
commercial life it Is all right for a man
to rob his neighbor. whereas in politics
it is all wrong; and the term com
mercialism" has come to mean the appli-
cation Of the above business principle
or lack Of principle-to other matters.
As a matter Of fact, however, there is
no business in which a man can engage
which concerns nobody but himself and
when his concerns are large they involve
the interests. if not the destiny. of whole
communities. The rapacious business man
can do quite as much harm as the rapa-
cious politician; in fact. he can often do
more. because ne is not under even
| semblance Of surveillance, and at any
attempt TO interfere with him there is
raised the cry that private business is not
the concern Of the public. In 50 far as
our politics are rotten. they are so be
cause our business life is likewise cor
rupt dHd because the life Of any modern
society is so bound together that crime
in one place means more or less crime
in all places. If commercialism has be
come q term Of ropToach, it is 50 not be
cause there is anything intrinsically
wrong or degrading about buying and
! selling, or manufacture, but because these
things, managed on wholly selfish and un-
ethical principles, have affected politics
and made it also a selfish business.
A man can go into politics as business
and Doe honest and high-mnded, just as
well as he can go into any other business
with the same ideals No matter what
he does for a living he will sooner or
later come in contact with the temptation
to consider his own welfare first and the
general welfare later; TO look out for
number one as the phrase is. and let his
ideas of honor and altruism drift; TO be
dishonest, either taciuy or explicitly, for
the sake Of gain. If he is in politics. he
must encounter bribery, trucking, ana
dishonorable dealings of all kinds, and
must make up his mind how far he Will
suffer them TO influence him. II he is in
the new paper business, he will have OPP
portuuities 70 sell his editorial columns
and fake his news. If he is a manufac-
turer ne will be tempted to make lIegiti-
mate profits and sell goods which are not
what they pretend to be; il he is a law
yer. he will be tempted TO compromise
with crime in a hundred ways; if he is a
physician, he will have his choice between
earnest scientist, quack. or one Of those
who sell their scientific requirements to
base uses. IN every case the rewards Of
dishonesty viii seem greater than those
OF honesty. and the man may. perhaps.
fail Of success through adherence to his
ideals. In every case, also, the man who
best succeeds Will be the one thoroughly
trained for his profession. II is, there
fore, scarcely possible to say that the
best politician is one who is in the pro
fession for pleasure. since that is saying
that an amateur is better than the
trained worker. 1t is quite possible to
say that the best politician, or the best
statesman. is the one who is in the bust
ness not primarily for money, but in the
hope Of advancement to true honor.
other things being equal the man who
has been IN any business longest IS the
most prFrfanf