Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1869-10-21
From the n Y. Tribune.
Politics and Politicians.

|
Politics and Politicians.
The tendency of the feminine mint
to loose and hasty generalization, wa
| we'll illustrated by the smart remarl
of the young woman who lecturet
last Friday evening at the Cooper In
stitute. "Politics," she said, to-day
means an indecent scramble for Office
where every man is for himself, an(
the devil takes the hindmost AS to-
the foremost, they are already safe i,
his hands" Before going one lint
further we beg leave to call the atten
ton of this lady to commandment
reputed to have been specially deliv
cred from on high: "rhou shalt no,
bear false witness against thy neigh
born
In order fully to appreciate the
breadth of this ladys accusation, II
must be remembered that large ma.
iority OF all the men in the United
States are living, earnest, active poll
tlcians Whether they call themselves
Democrats or Republicans, they main
tain an unhageing interest in public
affairs, read ard listen that they may
understand them. vote, each accord
ing to his conviction, and, 10 speak
briefly, make politics a part OF the
business of thcir lives. This, we beg
leave to say, makes them politicians.
1t is gross injustice to use the word in
bad sense and without qualification.
1t women should be admitted to the
suffrage they would be politicians, It
Miss A. ID. should be elected to Con
gress Gas she tells us she expects
to be) she, too, would be a po!;-
tican, unless she should refuse to have
anything to do with politics as Con-
gresswoman, in which case ber Con-
gressonal career would be short
one.
There is one point upon which we
must set this young lady right. She
faneies that she hoe eoNnava tha
depths OF our political depravity, and
that she knows all the sins aud lniqui-
ties of our political operations. Bless
her innocent SOUL she knows nothing
about it. We arc a hundredfold worse
than she thinks US. Having been all
our lives engaged IN politics. trying
nevertheless TO keep a good conscience
we are free to own that, from one
point of view, they are rather nasty.
We wish it were otherwise. We have
done what we could toward a general
purifcation, with no great result, as,
in modification of spirit, we confess;
for human nature is both vigorous and
vital; the rogues will join us, will sell
their votes, and will help to hoist fel-
low-rogues to office, In short, if we
may be permitted to express an opin-
ion, the Millennium has not yet arrlv-
ed. Whether it will be here day after
to morrow, is more than we know;
but we fear that coming SO speedy
is hardly to be expected.
Now, if from the Republican party
Divine grace having given us the
power and sagacity to do iD we pro-
cecd to eliminate all the rogues and
rascals-all persons who according to
Miss A. DIS charitable Judgment are
sale in the possession Of the devil-to
make the lady's remark of mucE value,
the spared remnant should be small in
deed-hardly enough to save Wash
lngton, to say nothing OF New York,
Philadelphia and Chicago, and put
ting Albany altogether out of the qnes-
tion as not to be saved even by a regi-
ment of the righteous. Now, does
any honest man, however active he
may be as politician, believe this to
be probable result? His own sin
cerity and single-mindedness, he
knows. He has faith in the truth and
consclentiousness of his neighbors. He
trusts them in trade; he takes their
word, whenever there is occasion to do
so; and why should he refuse his faith
in affairs ofpublic relation?
II we consider the matter from still
another point OF view, we shall find
that if ever the political devil was un-
chained it was during the halt-dublous
days of the Rebellion. The merely
selt-sceking politician did his worst to
ruin us, with what success all the
world knows. The momentum Of pub
lie virtue carried us safely through,
and nothing else could have saved us.
There was a very considerable opposi-
tion to the e-clection of Mr. Lincoln
how happened it that he, pure, noble,
single minded, thoroughly honest, was
reelected? The mere traders for Of
fee could hope for nothing from him;
the advocates of a dishonorable and
cowardly peace knew that his face was
set like flint against them; every
wretchea doughface was scowlng at
him; but he was carried again to the
place Of enormous and unspeakable re-
sponsibihty upon the shoulders of the
grandest constituency which the world
ever saw! Was this victory of pol
itical vice or of political virtue?
Again men in Office are human be-
ings; some OF them are honest; some
of them otherwise but a wholesale &C.
cusation of them disproves Itself, for
if all of them, albeit they call them
selves politicians, were absolutely sell
fish and irrcyocably sold to the Devil.
1t is evident that His Maiesty would
take the opportunity OF tumbling all
our institutions into his very deepest
and hottest pit. In other words, an
absolutely corrupt Government. void
altogether OF virtue, could not go on
for day. There must be a little
leaven lett in the lump. There must