Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1872-09-25
Purity and Honesty in Politics.

1t is no unusual answer-and one frequent
ly deemed conclusive-to any suggestion OF
purity and honesty in politics, that such
theoretical purity may do, when the millen-
MUM comes, but is not practicable in this state
of existence If nothing more is meant by
this than that absolute purity and honesty
NAV not be reached in the administration OF
affairs or the conduct of parties, as men are
now constituted, the melancholy experience
Of the world furnishes too much confirmatory
evidence of the correctness Of such belief
If, however, these apologiSts for dishonesty
and bad morals 10th in politics and govern
ment mean to Justify themselves or anybody
else for conforming to this low tone Of polit-
ical morality, on the ground that others vii
be rascals if they are not, they are only
aggravating the poison of corruption which
is if possible, more fatal to republics than to
any other form of government. We are
continually talking Of reform in politics, OF
higher type of government, Of statesman
ship and morality in public life that Shall
look only to the good of the whole country
and shall attempt to reach more perfect
condition of administration. But any deter
mined effort in that direction IS generally
met with the objection that, while it may be
well enough theoretically, it would not work
This was the answer given by many, who
protested to favor civil service reform, to
every scheme to improve that branch Of
administration while another class ofoPpo-
nents boldly defended the corrupt and cor
rupting doctrine that the spoils and plumber
of office-holding belong to the victor; that
no party could succeed or ought to succeed,
that did not feed out of the public treasury
the politicians who had been active in car
rying the elections.
We are reminded of this tendency Of the
political mind by the way in which the two
organs in New York City, the Tunes and
TrIBEne, speak, one of the Nation newspa-
per, and the other of Mr.. Charles O'Conor
The Times seems to be out of patience with
the Nation, because the latter paper while
preferring Gen. Grant to Mr.. Greeley, yet
evidently thinks neither of them, and neither
of the parties behind them in their present
management, gives much hope for reform in
government. So the Times says:
As for the Nation, it is far too good for
this world, and indeed seems gradually to be
departing from it. \ crotchety, narrow
minded and conceited doctrinai~e. Is perhaps
fitted to adorn a brighter sphere than this
at any rate, he seems to lead a very mis-
cradle life here, and will, we sincerely hope. |
have better luck by and by.
The Tribune more mildly, but in the |
same vein, says ofMr. O'Conor.
Mr. Charles O'Conor has finally and |
declined the Louisville nomina-
ton in written address which was delivered /
sealed, to the Committee yesterday This /
document is elegant in expression, and is a
model of English composition. Il bespeak-
the scholar and thinker, and its somewhat
forced application to the subject really be
fore him is Just what might expect from
an idealist like the writer. Mr.. O'ConOI /.
1wellS in a sphere so remote from that which 4
IS agitated by the hopes and fears of to day |
that it is impossible for him to adapt himself
TO present exigencies and demands of society /.
as now constituted If it were not soft he
were not so impractical in his views-ht
never would have hoped or expected any
thing from the forlorn Convention at Louis
Vile. AS it is. we must respect his great
LdlGllbS anu duulLc HIS DuIilg VI lIDLiNt~
while we regret that his character and !
are not politically available to
this generation of men.
To the Times the Nation is a doctTjHoire |
because it will not work in the party harness
and blindly praise the Republican party anG
Republican management; to the TTiJunt
Mr.. O'COnor has 9 great talents and 'pu-
rity of motives, but such - character anc
endowments are not politically available to
this generation of men,. Yet the 7rjJune
is the organ Of what it continually calls q
reform movement and the Times is an orgaI
of the party which pref nds to believe in j
government which has no right to cxi~r
except so far as it ministers to the highe>
good Of the people.
If what these papers thus more or less
directly admit-namely. that the highest ano
purest type Of government. and the highest and
purest type of statesmen are . too good foi
this world" not politically available t.
this generation of men, is true, then re-
publican government is a failure. We have
supposed hitherto that one of the highest
excellences of our form Of government con
sists in the fact that the people can be trusted
and that they will not knowingly put the
administration public affairs into incompe
tent or dishonest hands But both the Time,
and the Tribune declare that the purest and
ablest statesmen stand 10 chance III q" this
world, or with this generation 1t II
not difficult to see what such political
doctrine will lead to. 1t is as though a
minister of the gospel should preach a right
eousness as nearly right as is consistent with
popularity which is no Righteousness at all
1t is as though tradesman should vaunt his
own honesty, because he sold sugar contain
ing only one-half as much sand as that OF
his neighbor,-but difference in degree
between swindlers, does mt make the least
grasping one honest.
In such political campaign as this,
choice of evils is undoubtedly the least evil g.
in fact the voter has nothing else to do Bat
because Greeley is a great deal more obiec-
tiOnable than Grant, and the coalition gives
infinitely less hope of reform in government
than the Republican party, it does not follow
that we must shut our eyes to the imperfec-
tons of our own party or our own candi-
dates And especially i does not follow
that we are to settle down into that most
Wretched and hopeless of all states Of
political Generalization, in which we shall
refuse to attempt to be any better on the
ground that we are as good as it is possible
to be in this world - and be POLITICAL Y
availablei" for the descent from that to the
lowest he'll of corrupt politics is inevitable
II