Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1872-04-12
Communications.
wRIrrEN ron THE VERMONT PHOENIX.
PaRTI' or COUNTRY.

their public officers will so abuse their
trust as to diminish or impair that freedom.
The great mass Of the people take but little
pains to investigate the course of public
men, nor do they fully understand for
what purposes the money taken from them
by taxation is expended by those having
the matter in charge. They are unwilling
to admit that public men, especially men
of their own political affinity, can be gov
erned by any other motive than the public
good they dare not face the principles
that govern too many political friends in
whom they have confded their interests
and their rights.
We inherited from our fithers the bless
ings of liberty as a people but observa-
| ton and experience demonstrate the fact
that we are making little improvement in
the application of its true principles for our
| own benefit. We ignore the fact that
party striies and party Interchangeable
spoils of Office and government patronage
are the principal incentives that move
public men, in the present state of things.
Patriotism and the principles of truth and
justice may still be the ostensible motor,
but the thinking portion of the people will
not be deceived by mere professions.
| We have higherto been too much inclined
to measure our greatness and our strength
as a nation, by degrees of latitude and
longitude. We have been grasping and
| avaricious of wealth and territory, while
children have grown up amongst us to
make a revolver a plaything, and men
have made swindling the most important
science. We have not yet learned that
| power is not measured by breadth of terri
| tory, or strength counted by numbers
| but that the strength and power of ma
ton rather consists in just, equal, and
faithfully executed laws-laws that will
protect and punish alike the highest Off
cial and the humblest laborer, for the same
course of conduct.
1t could scarcely be credited, judging
from the boastings by the people and the
press, of the purity of our government and
its institutions, that any official corruption
could be possible. Poets and philosophers
portray the tyranny and oppression of
other nations, while they eulogise our own
| as heing model of perfection, and worthy
| the admiration of the civilized world, but
| practices arc tolerated that iasten a melan-
choly negative on their pretentions.
Party spirit and party strife rule the
hour and large proportion of the peo-
| pie and the press are apparently more anx-
| ious about the success of the Republican
party than about the Republic itself. They
talk as though the life of the nation hung
upon the success of party and the faint
est whisper against the Administration
should be hushed into silence, or frowned
upon as "A blow aimed at the life of the gov
eminent. partisan press like too many
politicians, feels bound to support the
| views of its party leaders, without that hon
est, free, open discussion that should al
| ways be the rule in republic like ours. 1t
is always unsafe TO follow party leaders
that manifest the slightest disloyalty to
truth, when discussing questions of policy
or prin ciple with political opponents. That
| loyalty TO government which is born of
| self-inte rest or blinded by partizan zeal,
that fears frank and full disclosure of
public acts lest some party or pet scheme
will be ia mayed is of all others the most
| dangerous enemy to free republican gov
| eminent.
The evils cngendered by slavish adj
herence TO party are taking wide range,
and have already made sad inroads upon
| the political integrity OF the masses, de-
| pressing their standard of moral independ
ence, so essential to every voter. The two
| great political divisions which for the last
decade have been pitted against each other
| with such fierce hostility, are apparently
| getting at war with themselves; and the
| discordant factions of each are scarcely less
| bitter towards each other, than towards
their common enemy. This. state of things
clca rly indicates a wrong in the political
manage ment of the country, and the only
safe remedy is in the intelligent action of
the people, The rank and file are too care
less of their sacred right of franchise !;
they 90 TO the ballot box under the direc-
ton of party leaders, without stopping to
inve stigate their motives or their acts, and
unc onsciously help TO elevate bad men to
Office and place the power OF the govern
ment in their hands. These INSCRIPTIONS
demagogues once installed in office will
enlist party prejudice and party papers and
organizations in their defense and support,
and thus palm themselves off as patriots
and statesmen, instead of being held up to
public execration as their worthless preten-
sions justly deserve.
A party strongly entrenched in power
may suffer many wrongs by their leaders
to pass with impunity rather than damage
their future prospects of holding ascend
ency. One of the greatest mistakes of our
time is the subservient position of party
leaders and a partisan press. The best
friends any political organization can have
arc those who are sufficiently honest and
independent TO denounce every form of
corruption wherever found. Those who
seek 10 make political capital by conceal
ing the wrongs of their friends are the
worst enemies to reform and the most
dangerous leaders in politics. If any are
unwilling to face the truth for fear it will
conflict with their party interests, they are
! always unsafe guides in the political arena
of the present age, nor have they any just
claim TO honesty.
Representative government is based on
the assumption that people select their best
and wisest men for public offices men
3 who will devote their time and talents to
promote the public GOOD. But the govern
ment machinery in this republic has got in
bad running order, and very few of the
8 best engineers desire the task of trying to
run it. Nor will the mon "most noted for
wisdom and virtue debase themselves by
such course as custom has made necessary
@ to secure an official position The base
practice of buying Office with money IS not
entirely confined to the large cities. Rural
towns aud villages have caught the mala-
i dy, and county and town rings are control
. ling the action of nominating conventions,
e which in many of tho States is equivalent
a to an election; while the producing classes
the bone and muscle of the country, re-
\ min nnnarenilY indifferent to pecnlaiions