 According to many sources, he was highly respected throughout his career, and did much to establish the field of journalism in Oregon; but Alfred Powers wrote in 1936 that Scott was "lacking in sympathy and humanity" and that he "held to outworn social theories," and that his scholarship and character were overestimated.After leaving the paper in 1872, Scott was the collector of customs for the Port of Portland until 1877.He then bought a sizable amount of stock in "The Oregonian" and returned as its editor-in-chief.