Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-02-26

figure. OF course he sets a large ng-.
ure. Your wealthy public man wishes
to appear generous to all charitable
and religious appeals; and indeed, to
be perfectly truthful, most of them p, 3 are ire
sincerely generoust is not alto
gether and exclusively q matter Of cal
culation with them:
Soft is the most natural thing IN
the world-and the right thing---for
charitable and religious workers and
for all others interested in the COM g A.
mon good, who are raising thousands 70
for these admirable purposes, to call
upon and get as much as possible out
of the millionaire public man. Then,
of course, every other public man IN
that state, rich or poor, must give On. On
q scale measured by the contribution
of the rich public man. This proper
ton is not graduated upon the relative
means Of these various public men, mel
but exclusively upon their relative Oh
fetal positions. Somehow or other ,sr, less lesa
is expected of a congressman than OF
senator, though the salaries are the
same: less is expected of state offl-;
cial or treasurer than Of governor 'elrl1'
although the former may get several V
times as much out of his ONCE as the
latter: and the same amounts are ex-3
pected Of senators, though one may % PC
worth many millions and the other
have practically no financial resources 5s:s
i repeat that the lifting Of the scale
of prices in Washington is dlrect slys
traceable to the extremely Wealt ll,
men who are crowding into public Ire
and the perfectly natural desire OF
their families to live on a scale J y !'l
fed by their means. This desire Is q by.
no means reprehe But the re- re-
suit Of it is very serious matter to
all of us. \;
This result is that the time is COM
| ing, if indeed it has not already ar
rived, when that great body OF govern
ing ability which is to be found among Mons
the plain people will be as co'm 1
| excluded from any part OF the conduct
| Of the peoples government as Il there e'r'
were law forbidding them TO snold
any Office within the gift Of the nation g q
yet the fact is: SO well known that y
is trite. that now, as during all the
past in this and every other country lr1a
4 men endowed with natural gifts s Of
! craftsmanship are, as a rule, unsnc'
cessful in accommodating wealth. Even
IF these natural legislators and ad-
ministrators were also talented as
4 bust men, it would take their ex;
I elusive attention for the best of their
4 lives to amass modern fortune hon.
j estly.
And yets:the golden years OF these csc
4 mems lives ought to be given to- the
i service of the nation. No man has any
i right. to spend his best energies q ana sll
4 highest abilities on his own affaifs
! and then round out his career by
4 giving the driblets and fag ends Of his
4 strength to his country. And SO it's
quite clear that the Daniel Websters
| and Henry Clays and Abraham Lin
q coins who are developing this very
minute among the young men who who
have sprung from the soil, must live
Hives Of uncertain success in private
q effort instead of giving their absolu
Il IL priceless talents and consecrating
q their peculiar public gifts to making
i and administering laws for the people
4 from whom they come and whom ma
q ture has SO signally fitted them Is
8 serve 81 XII
n Even Charles Summer, who was
81 man of considerable wealth for tbs
time In which he lived. could not exist
lin Washington today except under con on
& ditions which would humiliate his spir
Hit or the spirit of any other manly man
& man, unless he gave a large portion
/, 5of the time and ability which ought te
a be given exclusively to the country e
4 the making of extra money, which
q even the humblest living would cost
him over and above his senatorial sal
airy. Men such as the three examples
with which this paper opened. living
cheaply as they do, spend much more
than their salaries. and must earn q TINS Y
4. additional amount either BY lecturing
by writing, or by q fragmentary prac
4 tice of the law.
Senator Hoar wrote many MAGAZINE In
4 articles, but SO conscientious was hs
that he would sometimes spend halt q
the price he received for an article u
/. buying books and searching out origi
nal information to verify the state
& ments he made. I know one publis
man who makes his extra money p
writing articles; and this labor has y
be done after long hours Of public
work are over and when the more for
Z tunate have gone to their rest.
AS to the practice Of the law to ear
additional money necessary to live Il