The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-09-15
A BENEFIcENT BOSS.

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recalls events in the life of the nation
al capital which reflect but little credit
on the public sentiment which brought
them into existence.
During the heyday of Boss" Shep-
ards power few men regarded him as
other than the more or less perfect pro-
totype of William M. Tweed. His OPP
erations as governor of the District Of
Columbia, which the future has shown
| to be designed rather for the public
gain than for private benefit brought
him into national disrepute. His name
| was a synonym of evil, and many were
| the lectures which the philosophers Of
| the foreign press read, with Shepard
| as their text, on the degradation Of
American politics. 1t all resulted prac-
tically in the ruin, financially and
physically, of it's victim. 1t was as ma
tional outcast, a bankrupt and an in
valid that Shepard was at last forced
to seek home in Mexico.
No subsequent financial success
could make amends to this man for the
hideous wrong which his countrymen
had visited on him. His reception in
later years by the leading people of
| Washington was little more than a
huge satire on the people, not only OF
that city, but Of the entire country.
| Shepard had essayed to be public
benefactor; he had wrought for the fu-
ture, rather than for his day. His re-
ward was to be branded before all men
as a gigantic public robber.
These events were in the mature life
time of men who are still young. They
represent an epoch in the history of
our national capital. 1t required a
man of broader foresight and more I'M
conquerable will power than had ever
appeared in that history to meet the
demands of the future of the seat Of
our general government. The man pre-
scented himself in Shepard. He set
himself to the gigantic task before him,
and never stayed his hand until he
had accomplished it. Many had gain
ed by his operations but many more
had lost. Being public servant he
was necessarily amenable to public de-
nunciation; and the tides Of public
condemnation at last rose around him
so high and so violent that his ruin
in reputation and fortune had become
inevitable.
Were any thoughtful man at all ia
miliar with the operations of political
life and the personality of those who
have served the country, the state or
the municipality in office, to make a
mental calculation of the number of
men who have, especially in high place,
| proved to be rogues and of the num-
Der of those who to his own knowl-
edge have served the people in official
life with honor and distinction and to
their own pecuniary loss, he would be
| forced to the conclusion that patriot
ism is the rule rather than the excep-
| ton among those who assume the re-
sponsibilities of public office.
Events have proven in the case of
Shepard, who undoubtedly was a
BOSS in politics, in the sense that he
| possessed and exercised unlimited
power within his sphere, that a far
| sighted patriot and faithful public
| servant withdrew from the public serv-
| ice utterly misunderstood and thor
| oughly discredited when he was forced
| into private life. In the light of such
| experiences, 1t is not at all surprising
that recent years have revealed men
Of the highest mental powers as I'M
willing to give their services to the
public. The vast material progress OF
our time has convinced such men with
few exceptions that the rewards of
| faithful and capable service in the di-
rections of their best attachments are
to be secured in private rather than
public activity.