ty. In its
course he said:

"No occupation is more honorable than the public service. The desire to
engage in it is a worthy one. The ambition to hold and properly
discharge the duties of a position under the government is creditable to
the citizen. The public offices in this country should be as freely open
to all as are places in other vocations of life. No man should be
debarred by birth, or locality, or race, or religious, or political
belief from engaging in the public service. To deserve this he should
not be required to render partisan service or personal allegiance to any
party leader, nor be compelled to purchase the favor or patronage of any
public official. The public offices are a public trust, to be held and
administered with the same exact justice and the same conscientious
regard for the responsibilities involved as are required in the
execution of private trusts. The test for appointments should be
superior qualifications, and not partisan attachment nor partisan
service; continuance in office should depend upon real merit
demonstrated in the actual performance of duties and not upon the
urgency of Congressmen or petitions of other citizens."

Of Mr. Crapo it may justly be said that on every occasion of life in
which he has been called upon for any duty, he has always risen adequate
to the occasion, and even exceeded in his efforts the most sanguine
expectations of his friends. He has much of that reserve power which
does not manifest itself until it is wanted, and then the supply is
equal to the demand.

* * * * *

THE AUTHORITATIVE LITERATURE OF THE CIVIL WAR.

By George Lowell Austin.

I.

At the present time, everything bearing upon the history of the American
civil war has special interest. Nearly a quarter of a century has passed
since the struggle began, and during the interval asperities have died
away and peace and harmony hover over a united people.

During the war and in the years immediately following its cessation, a
number of soldiers and civilians wrote histories, on the Union side,
some of these being careful and exhaustive studies of limited fields of
action, and others of the entire field of operations. It necessarily
happened, however, that, owing to misconceptions arising from their
opposite points of view, their lack of personal knowledge, and the
absence of authentic documentary evidence, these writers were not always
able to pen