Evening star., 1937-05-23
Amateur and Professional
Public Servants.
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

traitors has revolved about the respective
merits OF the professional office holders
and the amateurs. In the earliest his
torical periods and right down to the
present Gay in the United States the
question has been a vexed one, with SUM-
porters OF both schools From the his
torical point of view the idea of hereditv
has had an important bearing. The son
OF a king or other administrator was
usually thought to be better fitted for
rule than an outsider and this idea i'm
perceptibly grew into the doctrine of
divine right.
There is much to support this theory
OF government Experience has shown
that Nature itself seems to build up ruling
classes This does not apply alone to
kings, although the sons of kings GUS
tomarily are given a more rigorous
schooling, more hardy training than
the sons of lesser men. No carefree child
hood falls to the lot of kings son as a.
rule While still of tender years he is
expected to train hard and show his
mettle. 1t is recorded that, in the far
off days Of the great Viking kings and
MOBILES, an heir would be taken to sea
when no more than five years of age.
1t is certain that in ruling class fan1i-
lies facility to cope with administrative
problems has been, in part, hereditary.
The Churchills and the Cecils of England.
for example, have proved capable of TAX
Ing up public duties with apparent ease.
In the United States the Adams family
has been conspicuous in this respect.
On the other hand history is full of
nnStartS nf tremendous oIy i,oic +ro
talent. A favorite example is furnished
by Napoleon Bonaparte, SO far as modern
times are concerned. Roman history is
full of examples. All down the ages per-
sons of obscure origin have become great
administrators. Contemporaneously the
world can point to such leaders as Adolf
Hitler and Benito Mussolini. But a little
while ago when such talents were shown
in unexpected places, there were whis-
perings of unsupported or at least unpub-
llShed heredity to account for the seem
ing miracle
While. in former times, the kings and
mobiles were Of what might be called the
professional class Of rulers, they have In
later times, come to be regarded as ANA
teurs but with special aptitude for
rule. In modern times the professional
AAoS0 lIdo DCCII lIldut up lllOIp o. LQOSP
who have started somewhat hum
bly, and, through close application, have
been promoted to relatively high places.
So, in modern times, especially in the
United States, the comparison usually
IS made between the ruling class anna
teurs and the career professionals.
In the early period of the United
States the country was governed by men
from the ruling class. Suffrage was not
widely extended. Indeed, in some turis-
dictions not more than three per cent
OF the adult males voted and. of course
no women 1t was inevitable that the
rulers OF the land should come from
one property holding class. With Andrew
jackson new concept of enfranchised
democracy arose. Jackson, largely self
made man himself and the champion of
a broader democracy, nevertheless had
the idea that amateurs were wholly
capable of holding responsible positions
IN the public service. But he crossed
lines as to who should be regarded as the
true amateur.
In his view man did not have to be
equipped with ruling class background,
yet he did set store by the ability to COM
mand. Thus he exalted to important
positions men who had shown ability in
pioneering, in meeting obstacles They
were not trained career men, but
had native executive ability Thus,
he assumed that if a man had made
good show against the Indians or In
conquering the wilderness, he must have
qualities fitting him for administrative
service even though he was deficient in
book-learning and the ways Of civil gov
eminent
In the Jackson period and in the years
afterWard this theory was largely held.
Birth in frontier log cabin was thought
an excellent start toward high public
office. 1t was Nathaniel Hawthorne who,
realizing this trend, predicted after see
ing many generals of the Union Army
on the occasion of a visit to Washington,
that, for many years, the Nation would
be governed by what he termed a sue
cession of bullet-headed soldiers. Dying
in 1864, he did not live to see his pre-
diction fulfilled, but 1t was.
Beginning with Grant, the succeed
ing Presidents, save Cleveland. during
the remainder of the nineteenth CEN
Of the line, Maj Mckinley. carried the
military dynasty around the turn Of
the century. But that was not all.
From the Civil War onward, for many
decades Governors Of States, an amaz-
ing proportion of members of both
Houses of Congress. Mayors of Cities.
sheriffs of counties holders of all man.
ner of Federal and other offices were
soldier, bullet-headed or otherwise as
the critic might decide. Few had held
office before attaining military rank,
thus becoming amateurs Of command.
The civil service had been set up
| in the last century, but its growth was
| slow and the number of Federal workers
| 1t covered was small. There was no
| career service in the sense now meant,
| save that in some cases fathers who
| had held offices were succeeded by sons
| and grandsons in those same posts. 1t
! never occurred to any one to train for
a public office. The nearest approach
| was training in the science of getting
votes, and even to this day public office
| holders are to be found, especially
| holders Of elective Offices. who devote
more time to keeping their voting sup
| porters pleased by any device, than
| to the discharge of the duties Of the
offices to which they have been elected
There have been waves Of reform
J which have brought into Office admins
i traitors Of the oid-fashioned amateur
type. These have often been wealthy
men. Some have inherited their wealth
| and some have made it themselves. Not
| lnfrequently there is a cry for buSi-