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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



that is best in the society of the time. 

 The true strong man as we conceive him 

 will have no greed for power; his greed, 

 if such it may be called, will be for use- 

 fulness; and he will show his strength by 

 his willingness to retire at any moment 

 from a public to a private position rather 

 than prove unfaithful to his convictions 

 or do anything unworthy of a man of 

 honor. Strictly speaking, a man who 

 with adequate knowledge and intelli- 

 gence tries faithfully to serve the public 

 can never be obscure, though oflBces 

 should not seek him nor caucuses make 

 mention of his name. The public at 

 large will recognize and honor his efforts, 

 and his influence may be greater in a 

 private station than that of a score of 

 average legislators. We do not, how- 

 ever, look to our educational institutions 

 to do much to develop this new type 

 of citizen ; we trust rather to general 

 educative influences that are abroad in 

 the world. We trust, we may say, in 

 a considerable degree to such writings 

 as those of Mr. Spencer, instinct as 

 they are with noble views of liberty 

 and of justice, and conveying at the 

 same time clear and enlightened ideas 

 regarding the nature and functions of 

 the state. It is possible that private 

 associations for the purpose of causing 

 more intelligent views of citizenship 

 and its duties to prevail might accom- 

 plish very good work ; and we hope 

 that something may be attempted in 

 this way in connection with the Uni- 

 versity Extension movement which is 

 now making so satisfactory progress. 

 We certainly do not at this moment 

 know of any more useful work in which 

 an intelligent man could engage, than 

 this of introducing a scientific element, 

 however feeble at first, into the chaotic 

 welter of our State and national politics. 



POLITICAL JUSTICE. 



It is singular what diflSculty many 

 intelligent persons experience in enter- 

 taining the idea tliat in a democracy 

 there can be political injustice. " What 



possible means can you suggest," we are 

 often asked, " of deciding political ques- 

 tions save the vote of the majority ? 

 And what ground can any one have to 

 complain so long as he exercises the 

 franchise with the rest? The minority 

 can not expect to rule, can it ? " These 

 questions all proceed upon the assump- 

 tion that there can not be a moral ele- 

 ment in any political question ; where- 

 as, in point of fact, there is a moral ele- 

 ment in every political question. If 

 two partners were trying to arrange the 

 terms of a separation, and each in the 

 most shameless manner were to set at 

 naught all considerations of equity, and 

 strive only to get the largest possible 

 amount out of the business for himself, 

 we should scarcely approve of the pro- 

 ceeding. Every one feels that equity has 

 something to say in such a matter. If 

 any property whatever had to be divided, 

 and if, instead of bringing considera- 

 tions of right to bear, the parties were 

 at once to plunge into a squabble with 

 no guiding principle whatever save in- 

 dividual greed, we should think as 

 meanly of their intelligence as of their 

 lionesty. We all feel instinctively that 

 wherever moral principle can furnish a 

 guide it should furnish a guide — in oth- 

 er words, that to decide any question 

 without reference to moral grounds 

 which admits of being settled on moral 

 grounds is a gross offense against both 

 morality and common sense. Suppos- 

 ing, then, that some one who had band- 

 ed himself with others to carry by force 

 a decision involving injustice to a mi- 

 nority — say of stockholders — should im- 

 pudently say, " We had the votes and 

 we used them '" — our only conclusion 

 would be that he was a hardy and cyni- 

 cal villain. Things of this kind have 

 sometimes been done ; but for the most 

 part vice has at least paid to virtue the 

 tribute of hypocrisy. 



To bring this home to the question 

 before us, the nation is a great corpora- 

 tion and the citizens are shareholders. 

 A general election is a meeting of the 



