appointive places like the
Judiciary, Commissionerships, clerical positions and like places, but to
the more important elective offices. Another reason why political life
of this nature is not chosen as a career is that it does not pay. Nearly
all offices of this class are held at a financial sacrifice, not merely
that the holder could earn more at some other occupation, but that the
salary of the office does not maintain the holder of the office. It is
but recently that Parliament has paid a salary to its members. In years
gone by the United States Senate has been rather marked for its number
of rich men. Few prominent members of Congress are dependent on their
salary, which is but another way of saying that in Washington Senators
and Representatives need more than their official salaries to become
most effective. It is a consolation to be able to state that this is not
the condition of members of the Massachusetts General Court. There,
ability and character come very near to being the sole requirements for
success. Although some men have seen service in our legislature of
nearly twenty years, to the great benefit of the Commonwealth, no one
would choose that for a career and these men doubtless look on it only
as an avocation.

For these reasons we have no profession of politics or of public life in
the sense that we have a profession of law and medicine and other
learned callings. We have men who have spent many years in office, but
it would be difficult to find one outside the limitations noted who
would refer to that as his business, occupation, or profession.

The inexperienced are prone to hold an erroneous idea of public life and
its methods. Not long ago I listened to a joint debate in a prominent
preparatory school. Each side took it for granted that public men were
influenced only by improper motives and that officials of the government
were seeking only their own gain and advantage without regard to the
welfare of the people. Such a presumption has no foundation in fact.
There are dishonest men in public office. There are quacks, shysters,
and charlatans among doctors, lawyers, and clergy, but they are not
representative of their professions nor indicative of their methods. Our
public men, as a class, are inspired by honorable and patriotic motives,
desirous only of a faithful execution of their trust from the executive
and legislative branches of the States and Nation down to the
executives of our towns, w