The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1915-11-20
THE DUTY OF A PUBLIC OFFICIAL
(By the Hon. David I. Walsh, Cover
nor Of Massachusetts,, in The Queens

(By the Hon. David I. Walsh. Cover
nor Of Massachusetts,, in The Queens
There have long been two conflict
ing theories of official responsibility
and the duty of public official under
republican form of government"
such as by the Federal Constitution is
guaranteed by the nation to each in
dividual state.
The older of these two theories is
an inheritance from the days when
almost all governments were mo-
narchial, and genuine democracy was
generally considered Utopian and un-
workable. On this theory, the mass
Of the population can never be expect
ed to develop the intelligence and
public spirit necessary for the sue
cessful management of the affairs of
state, and the powers Of government
must therefore be entrusted to one or
a few who are wise and able enough
to direct the rest.
For ages, while this idea was domi-
nant, the aim of those who struggled
for liberty and the rights of the peo-
pie was not democracy at all, but at
first merely to limit, as by the Great
Charter Of King Johns barons, the
arbitrary powers Of rulers, and later
to substitute for life-tenure by heredi-
tary right the plan of electing rulers
for longer or shorter terms, and by
the votes of more or less limited
electorate. The accomplishment of
their purpose was great gain for
popular rights, since a ruler whose
continuance in power depends upon
repeated elections can hardly be Who'll
ly Indifferent to the wishes of the cleo
tors; but it still left much to be de-
sired, because the people were not yet
ruling themselves, but were only
choosing at more or less frequent in
tervals few of their number to man
age their affairs for them as they, the
temporary rulers and not the cleo
tors themselves, might see fit.
This form of government is com
monty called representative; but until
another important step is taken it is
not really government by represen-
tatives but government by delegates,
which often turns out to be an entire.
ly different matter. Viewed as a dele.
gate only, public official is person
chosen to perform for the people Ger.
tain functions that they cannot we'll
perform for themselves; and his duty
is to do for them not what he believes
the majority prefer to have done, but
what he in his superior wisdom be.
lieves to be for their real interest. On
this theory the ideal public official is
wise, calm and independent, unmoved
alike by self-interest and by public
clamor, standing in relation of mag.
nified paternity or guardianship over
constituency of grown-up children
| who never can come of age to manage
their own affairs.
1t cannot be denied that this sys
TEN, when the delegate proves to have
been we'll chosen, is more efficient in
Immediate results than really repre-
sentative government is likely to be;
and in the emergencies of war, in the
enforcement of laws, and in the pres
ervation of order the public official, in
order to be efficient must be tempo
rarily limited monarch rather thar
representative. For the ordinary
purposes of government it has, how
ever, two grave defects: the voters
are extremely apt to be misled in re
gard to the character of candidates
and select the unfit; and even if the
best could always be chosen the edu
cational advantages of self-govern
ment, which are far more important
than the material advantages of the
wisest and best paternal government
would still be largely lost
Porfirio Diaz made Mexico in his
generation more prosperous than il
ever was before or is likely soon tt
become again; but he left chaos tt
succeed him because the prosperity
was the product of his arbitrary pow
er and not of an enlightened and self
directed public sentiment.
At the opposite extreme from the
scheme of government by delegates Ii
the plan Of representative govern
ment properly so called. Under this
plan the representative is simply the
hand and the voice of his constituents
saying and doing for them what hi
believes they, If consulted, would de
eide by majority vote ought to be