“The rôle of the French Deputy is today largely that of a sort of chargé d’affaires sent to Paris to see that its constituency obtains its share of the favors which the government has for distribution. Instead, therefore, of occupying himself with questions of legislation of interest to the country as a whole, he is engaged in playing the rôle of a mendicant for his petty district. He spends his time in the ante-rooms of the ministers soliciting favors for his political supporters and grants for his arrondissement.”

Sometimes the constituents ask the deputy to procure nurses for their families, or to do shopping. Some want appointments as vendors of tobacco; the ministers, to purchase their support, agree to appoint their friends to office, give them decorations and advance them politically. The deputy must look for appropriations for local railroads, repairs for churches, pictures for the exhibition, public fountains, monuments. All the school teachers, tobacconists, road overseers and letter carriers are expected to work for him. (American Political Science Review, Vol. 7, p. 617.) An interesting book has recently been published by a member of the French Academy, in which he accuses democracy of having an inevitable tendency to produce inefficiency in government. He testifies that such has been the experience in France. It is in the very spirit of democracy, he says, to favor incompetence in all public officials. (Cult of Incompetence, Faguet.)

This lowering of the official standards has been observed elsewhere, wherever manhood suffrage obtains. Mr. E. L. Godkin, a distinguished New York publicist, writing some years ago said:

“There is not a country in the world living under parliamentary government which has not begun to complain of the quality of its legislators. More and more it is said the work of government is falling into the hands of men to whom even small pay is important and who are suspected of adding to their income by corruption.” (Unforeseen Tendencies of Democracy, p. 117.)

The apologists for our present unsatisfactory political system point to this universal democratic tendency to mediocrity as a reason for acquiescing in the present evil condition which they say is an incident of democracy everywhere, deplorable but unavoidable. This is a mistaken attitude. In adopting the democratic régime we have not bargained to perpetuate its errors; it is our business to correct and abolish them. Having observed the democratic tendency to produce inferiority in public life it is for us to be specially careful to adopt measures to avoid that danger. It is plainly due to inferiority in the voting mass and the obvious remedy is to elevate the character of the electorate. The inferior product referred to by Faguet and others is that of a democracy of mere numbers, where there is failure to give proper effect to natural civilizing influences. On the other hand, in the administration for example of the great cities of Europe where property is represented and character and reputation are taken into account, the operation of the democratic system is comparatively satisfactory.

America is not lacking in men competent for public life. The field of choice is large and the material is there. A member of Congress represents a constituency of about 300,000, or say 60,000 male voters. The average state legislator may represent a constituency of 50,000 or say ten thousand male voters. The ablest man in the district of 50,000 people or among say ten thousand men is apt to be a superior man; the ablest man of the 60,000 men in a congressional district must be a very superior man indeed. Such are the types of men who ought to be in the legislature and in Congress and who under a proper system would be found there; a type far superior to that which manhood suffrage has actually produced for us after ninety odd progressive years; progressive in everything else except the quality of our government. Comparisons are odious, and it would not be permissible, even if physically possible in a work like this, to discuss severally by name the four hundred actual members of Congress, still less the ten thousand actual members of our State Legislatures, or any part of them. But it must be admitted that those occupying these places are not as a rule first-class men; they do not even measure up to second-class; some of them are very far down on the list indeed. Recently when engaged in the most severe struggle of its history, the nation found that its best and ablest men were in private life; and not only had there been no demand for them to permanently enter public service, but its business had been committed to the care of small, needy politicians, political adventurers, men without political experience or training, who had been sent to the state or national capitol as a reward for cheap political work, or for money contributions, or for subserviency to the political boss or the machine. Such are the fruits of manhood suffrage in the most enlightened country in the world.

M. de Tocqueville, a distinguished Frenchman, who visited this country in 1831, ten years after manhood suffrage had been widely established, was struck by the vulgar aspect of the men whom he found in the House of Representatives at Washington. He said: “They are for the most part village lawyers, dealers or even men belonging to the lowest classes.” No one would have said that of the Continental Congress nor of any Congress before Jackson’s time.

The very latest observers give similar testimony. Mr. Godkin notes the disappearance from Congress and from public life of the class of statesmen and great political leaders of former days, such as Webster, Clay, Calhoun, Silas Wright, Marcy and Seward, and ascribes it to the political bosses who will tolerate no independence. Mr. Bryce says:

“The members of legislatures are not chosen for their ability or experience, but are, five-sixths of them, little above the average citizen. They are not much respected or trusted, and finding no exceptional virtue expected from them, they behave as ordinary men do when subjected to temptations.”

And again: