Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1862-10-23
Politics.

Politics belong to every citizen and the
interest of every citizen is involved in pol
tiles; but there are many very decent and
respectable citizens who take little or no
interest in politics, and among these may
be found good men who loath the whole
thing of politics, and are hardly ever found
at any political meeting, not even at the
polls on voting day The reason which
some of these people assign for this is that
politics and politicians are so corrupt, that
the whole machinery is conducted on such
villianous principles that any man with
conscience detests the whole thing that
so much dupllcity-so much navery-so
much foul plotting is involved in the way
in which political matters are now con
Quoted that any man who has a soul-who
believes in a soul, breads the shade of pol
tiles and the shadow of politicians; and
they say, moreover, that even decent men,
who were creditable and honest previous'to
mcddling with politics, since they became
meddlers are become vile and treachcrous
as the rest, and for fear that they too
should become contaminated, they keep
away altogether. And yerely it is possible
that much of this is true; no sane man
Will doubt that some Of the loudest talking
politicians are among the meancst black
guards alive, and it is possible also, that
were some very loud blablcrs in politics de-
Gently buried the interest of humanity would
be better for it; but what of all this ?-is
it the place of good and true men to aban-
don politics, and let the Devil and his angels
have all their own way? Do good and
true men have any idea that by their
Abandonment of politics-by standing aloof
from them, that politics will, somehow or
other, become better? How is it possible;
how can it be possible? 1t is not in the
nature Of corruption to purify itself it is
not in the nature Of villiany to react upon
ITSELF and become yirtuous, and especially
political uption-political viIiany, their
tendaney is to become fouler by being steep
cd in their own settings, and one very
reason why the politics of the day have be-
come so corrupt-so loathsome is that good
men and true men have stood aloof so much
that men possessed of honesty and in
tegrity have been neuter and left the thing
to be managed By the cliques of the unclean.
Nothing suits the cravn hearts of corrupt
politicians better than that virtuous people
should get disguised and abandon the whole
thing to them it is one of their tricks to
bring this about, and it is no new thing
TO find the babbling politicians of one party
and another party doing their best to hus-
tie from among them man whose soul is
too stern and too sterling to be knead.
We repeat it, politics belong to every
citizen, and every citizen is involved in
politics, that is, politics has to do with
every interest that he has as a man, and a
citizen, and, therefor, it is every mans
place TO be decided, and act an honorable
and upright part in politics. The time has
come when the citizens of this country are
being called upon TO exercise their peroga-
tiyes as citizens at the ballot box, and never
was there more need than now that men
should act thoughtfully and wisely in this
matter.