The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1856-01-24
From The Democratic Reuiew.
Why Every Man Should be Politician.

Sound philosophy. Our good folk, our wor.
shippers of The almighty dollar seem 10 inter-
pret the adage thus: Never be first to under
take service 10 your country, nor last to an
imadver upon those who do. To them, mon.
ey.making is & perpetua! last politics per-
petual fray.
Stop and think, gentlemen. Is not your
money-making SO intimately bound up with
your politics that, as mere calculation of
business, il would be well for you 10 think of
ii--well for you 10 try and get at the princi-
pie Of the ,hingl We mean no disrespect
10 the meu who are powerful upon 'Change
mo slur at the spirit Of trade. To that spri,
we owe our unparalleled march of empire
But we are forced 10 speak The truth Some.
thing more powerful than our will, always
compels us TO say, what we believe or know.
|, is, therefore, remarkable fact, gentle.
men, rich men, great merchants, magnifcos,
that The mechanic, the tradesman, The labor.
ing man IN America is commonly better rea-
eoner in politics than you-any of you-are.
Shall we hiEl lhe reason : He stops and
thinks. He reasons out things for bmself.-
By shrewd, though often rude logic, he ar
rives a, great truths which altogether escape
your finer sense. Thus be is almost invara-
bly, Democrat; for Democracy is the logi
cal sequ,tur Of all just political reasoning
Thus, loo, the hard listed are no lovers, Of
"isms;" no followers of new prophets; no
slicklers for small distinctions. They stand
upon broad ground. Their Democracy is ma
tioIal; il is American; ii embraces The cont.
uenl; it ignores imaginary geographical lines;
il is universal and catholic. AS truth is the
first, the last, and every part of real greatness,
and the people always discover il in the end,
its counterfeils never long impose upon them.
So ii happens that the great men Of the peo.
ple-lbeir idols-such, for instance, as An
drew Jackson, are in lheil lifetime commonly
hated by you, rich and busy ,raflickers You
are in too great haSle 10 be rich at The ex.
pense of the people, and he, or such as he,
put stumbling blocks in your way, by ere.
moving the deposits" from your "Unied
States Banks" or setting up "Sub-Treasur-
les" wherein the peoples money may be
kept for the peoples uses, instead of Mr..
Biddle's and the "financiers'.n Bui, 10 you
when he is dead, when he has had "quiet
consummatIon,n and malice domesticH can
not harm him further, how you renown his
grave! 1t becomes one of your Meccas. -
You make pilgrmages 10 it. You applaud
his virtues 10 the echo. You would even give
FIVE dollars 10 raise monument 10 him, SO
liberal is your lale-leaned admiration. What!
have you forgotten Dives, that he was a
Democrat, very Titan of Democracy, seal
ing the heaven Of your exclusive privileges,
and pulling its Jupiter from his marble Oym.
pus in Chestnut street Have yon forgotten
"Perish credit, perish commerce." but lei the
Republic live pure and undefiled: the great
principles Of mans eternal rights live on i'm
morala Come, those times are worth think
ing Of II is worth while, too, 10 inquire Gu
riously how you came TO miss the light which
was in them, and never see it till its aure-
ole hung above The quiet grave Of the Her.
milage! You missed it by being poor poll
| Ii clans.
To be good one, it needs that you should
love your fellow-man, and have little re-
speci TO the golden rule OF him who gave The
charge, "Liule children, love one another"
To be good one, it needs that you should
be interested n the political movements of
the day for some great object, some pur
pose sanclified by principle, and not ''lo be
stirred in withor, great argument"
The time we live in, the country we inhab.
il, the duties we owe her, the complications,
foreign and domestic, in which the turn oil
the die may involve her, call for activity oI
thought and action. He who sits down by
the way-side to-day 10 enjoy life as an amuse
ment, aud drink his wine and gossip plea s.
anily of the gracefulness of life, may be dis.
agreeably aroused from his day dream by
the tramp and noise of the great crowd, sur.
ging past him on the march, under new lead.
ers, and rushing to possess the world in the
intoxicaiion Of new ideas of victories 10 be
achieved over all established principles OF
human association. Who knowsa Do you,
great mani Do you, dallier by the way.
side? Do you, whose desire is 10 be let alone
in The enjoy meni Of your pleasan. things
who knows how far tie mine has penetrated
beneath the soil whereon ye walk 4? Have
you read the signs of the times, or are they
more occult than the symbolism of the Pyra.
mids to you You fatter yourself that all
this will last your day. That you shall walk
securely ill the last scene of all closes your
peaceful history of enjoyment and six feet oi
that earth, little mine of your own, is all
] you need 10 lie in. Butihere is secret mine
there, and mystery is still reverend in the vul.
gar eye. Do you doubt il? How else could
the vulgar mystery and the clap trap Of Know
Noihingism have deluded so many honest
men Has il not appealed 10 that purienl
craving afler the secret, the mysterious, which
is law of mans being? And on this mine
you have walked placidly. You have never
looked beyond the hour; you have never
worked into the heart Of this mystery. Ithas
been to your thinking only machine for
changing men, for turning on, one set of of.
fice.holdess and putting in another. Bui you
have never thought how it was sapping the
foundations, and drinking the ife-blood of
tina. old Saxon frankness, the generous bold