The Washington herald., 1913-05-25
PRACTICAL POLITICS.
Fifth Instnllment.

Fifth Instn lment.
When / left Harvard, I took up the
study of law. If / had been sufficiently
fortunate to come under Prof. Thayer,
of the Harvard Law School, it may well
be that I would have realized that the
lawyer can do a great work for justice
and against legalism.
Caycnt Emptor.
But doubtless chiefly through my own
fault. some of the teachings OF the law
books and of the classroom seemed to
me to be against justice. The caveat
emptor side of the law, like the caveat
emptor side of business. seemed to me
repellent; il did not make for social fair
dealing. The. let the buyer beware
maxim, when translated into actual
practice, whether in law or business,
tends to translate itself further into the
seller making his profit ct the expense
Of the buyer, instead of by a bargain
which shall be to the profit of both. 1t
did not seem tC me that the law was
framed TO discourage as il should sharp
practice. and all other kinds of bargains
except those which are fair and of ben
eft to both sides. | was young; there
was much in the judgment which then
formed on this matter which l should
now revise: but, then as now, many OF
the big corporation lawyers, to whom
the ordinary members of the bar then
as now looked up, held certain stand
ards which were difficult TO recognize
as compatible with the idealism / sup
pose every high-minded young man is
apt 10 feel. II | had been obliged to
earn every cent l spent. I should have
gone whoIe-heartedly into the business
Of making both ends meet. and should
have taken up the law or any other re-
sDeCtable ocCupatiOn-for | then held,
and now hold. the belief that man
first duty is to pull his own weight ana
to take care OF those dependent upon
him: and then believed. and now be
Iiaye. that the greatest privilege and
greatest duty FOR any man is TO be hap
r.:ly married. and that no other form
Of success or service for either man or
woman, can he wisely accepted as
substitute or alternative. But il hap
DCned that ! had been eft enough money
by my father not to make II necessary
for me 70 think solely Of earning bread
for myself and my family. ma"
enough to get bread. What l had 10 40
If l wanted butter and jam. was TO pro
vide th,. butter and jam. but 10 count
their cost as compared with other things.
In other words. l made up my hinu
that. while / must earn money, coulo
afford TO make earning money the sec
on6sry instead of the primary ohJect OIL
my career II / had mad no money al
all then my first duty would nave neeL
10 earn II in any honest iashloh. 40
1.5 come money, I felt that my need lot
more money was to be treated as 81
ondsrv need. and that while IL was "iI
business to make more money "heTt
lsgirimately and properly could YET ma
:, was also my business t" treat other
mn
Breaking Into Poiitt"s'
.rr,os. Immediately after leaving
Harvard in 1850 l began 10 TAKE d"
interest in politics. l did not then De
lieve and | do not now belleNe'
any man should ever attempt 10 ND
nn1itics his only career. II Is UT
III misfortune for a man to grow TO
-, +bat his whole livelihood and
whole happiness depend upon MS So!
inc in office. Such a feeling prevents
rim from being of real service TO 'le
neonle while in Office. and always pu'S
Iiro under the heaviest strain OF pres
sfIre TO barter his convictions LOT NV
sake Of holding Office. A man shouiu
hive SOM other ocCupaion-l hdu
several Occupat ions-to when he can
resort if at any time he is thrown ou'
of Office. or if at any time ne hhGs =
necessary TO choose a course whlch
ohabiy will result in his being
thrown out. unless he Is WILING ~
eta,, in at cost 10 his conscience.
A. that day. in 1850. young man
of INV bringing up and convictions
could Join only the Republican party
and Join it l accordingly did. II was
no simple thing TO join 1t then. Ihal
was long before the era Of ballot re-
form and the control of primaries; long
before the era when we realized that
the government must take ofhclal no
tice of the deeds and acts of party or
ca nizations. The party was still treated
as a private corporation. and in each
district the organization formed KIND
of social and political club. man
had 10 be regularly proposed for and
elected into this club, just as into any
other club. AS a friend Of mine pic
phrased 1t, / had to break
INTO the organization with Jimmy.
Under these circumstances there was
some difficulty in joining the local or
and considerable amuse-
nent and excitement to be obtained
out Of it after had Joined.
The Governing Class. !
II was over thirty-three years ago
that l thus became a member or the
Twenty-frst District Republican Asso-
citation in the city of New York. The
men 1 knew best were the men in the
clubs of social pTetension and the men
Of cultivated taste and easy life. When |
began to make inquiries as to the |
of the local Republican As
ISOLATION and the means Of joining 1t, |
these men-and the big business men and |
lawyers also-laughed at me, and told
ma that notifies were low" that the or
were not controlled by gen
tlemen;" that l would find them run by |
horse-car conductors, and /
the like, and not by men with any of !
whom / would come in contact outside;
and, moreover, they assured ME that
the ynen / met would be rough and bru-
tai sssa unpleasant to deal with. l an
swered that if this were so il merely
meant that the people 1 knew did not
belong to the governing class, and that
he other people did-and that intended
10 be one Of the governing class: that
Z they proved too hard bit for me 1
,unposed 1 would have to quit but that
certainly would not quit until had
made the effort and found out whether
really was too weak to hold my own
n the rough and tumble.
Jake Hess and Morton Hall.
The Republican Association of which I |
,ecar1e a member held its meetings in
forton Hall, large, barn-like room over
saloon. Its furniture was of the canon
cal kind-dingy benches, spittoons. a
ais at one end with table and chair
nd a stout pitcher of iced water. and
n the walls pictures Of Gen. Grant and
Z Levi P Morton, TO whose generosity
re owed the room. We had regular
,o.+;-,-s on.a mr. tuice a rnonrh and h. |