The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1873-10-18

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tions, may do likewise. If men in offic'
may prize their own interest above that O
the public, why may not every man stea
from his neighbor The old ethical wri
tiers went further, and insisted that every
moral rule is mAgnl6ed q hundred Sod n
relation to the public. This Is sound
principle, and should be thoroughly instill
I'd into the minds Of young and old
Cheating the State should he regarded ~
next to blasphemy, because government Il
| a divine ordinance. and because the CON
sequences of such cheating arr whoicsal,
and widespread Stealing from the stat,
il stealing from the poor whose toll PR
duces the wealth of the State II Is steal
I ing from the resources by which the pccpl,
combine 60 procure the blessings at gr"i
/ government Ii has boon branded ~ wurS,
than robbrng widows and orphans, hcoaus,
1t breeds general corruption and misg"vcrn
ment. and thus multiplics widows and or
phans Stealing from the State by tbs
! guardians appointed to watch over her in
I terest, is like rohhing blind man. whose
helplesSneSs adds special lgnominy e. the
deed
That principles 50 elementary and ohvi
Gus should be fiagrantly set aslde by m,n
high IN official position, and sometimes
winked at by the people, is as dishonorIng
| to our politics AS it is shameful To our vir-
/ tue The evils Of political ambition are
I bad enough, hut they are ''trifles light as
air IN comparison with that InordInate
I greed of clutch which now pollutes the
/ very fountains az political action. II was
I the pursuit Of power for the sake of plum
der that destroyed the French En-
I pre- and the same mahgn spirit
may work like results in our own
I country Offices are nov sought AS the
I chosen means of amassing wealth. Men
are nominally elected by the people to take
\ care of their interests, while IN fact they
are the hired men Of corporations and cap
] itallsts, whose money manlpulates the
] machinery of politics. Judges are
I bribed, and State Legislatures arr
\ bought and sold. Jay Gould says under
oath, I'll needed the Legislatures of four
\ States, and in order to acquire them | ere
ated the legislatures with my money.
I found that this is the cheapest way 1t is
no secret that through the power Of money
drunken lbertines are sometimes installed
I III high places, and that men are made
y
ought to he in thepenitentlary. The traffic
in human flesh, still goesI on, Lbut white
men are now the chief victims Popular
elections are carried by wholesale bribery.
while the convicted ringleaders in grand
schemes If ballot stutfing are allowed TO @
UNPUBLISHED Political magnates and re
puted Christian statesmen are persuaded
to invest their money and their influence
where they twill do the most good To- a
great railroad corporation IN ITS organized
robbery of the Treasury while both Houses
Of Congress and the President Of the nj
ted States
JOBS HANDS il 4 SALARY THEFT,
which makes the average rogues II society
comparatively respectable. The evil ser
vice If the Government, which Is Wanted
by some Of its modest champions As the
best on the planet Is So disgusting a
system Of official hucksterlng and political
prostitution that nothing can possibly
match it but the mbmshins duplicity and
lemagogueism of the Administration IN
pretending t. favor its reform. OF course,
this fountain Of corruption. breaking out
III high places, must ind its level, over
flowing the county and the township, and
poisoning the moral as well as the political
life of the people. Whether this evil
originates III the laNity Of moral training IN
the family, or IN some radical defect III our
systems Of education, or in the recreancy
II the Church to her high mission as a
moral instructor and guide, or in all
these causes, It presents problem which
every true man and woman should earnest
" ponder Its successful solution inv Olives
the salvation of the land. No reform is
possible III any direction if we cannot stem.
the black tide of political corruption
which threatens t. lay waste the Republic
Ia meeting the great dangers | have men
toned We shall hopelessly fail, if We can not
inspire IN the people, aud especially in the
coming generation, the love If rectitude,
and restore the maxims of common honesty
to their rightful sway. The grand need of
our time is a general resurrection of con-
science. Legislatures are purchased. be-
cause the moral sense Of the people per
mits knaves and traders to represent them.
CONGRESS is controlled BY the railways, be-
cs.ase Re ueople fail to choose incorrupt-
IDLE men 10 stand IN tie places OF greair
temptation. Courts are bribed and seats
in Congress are bought, because the gen
eral mammOn Worship Of the times fails to
see in these acts their real turpitude. or
their treason to Democracy Cities are
governed by the mob, and the ballot ruth
lessly profaned, because decent men retreat
from politics in despair, and thus become
themselves mob, by disownng the gov
eminent which demands of them political
duties as the price Of protecting their
rights. The word politics is synonymous
with plumber, because the people heap hon
ors upon men who abjure every principle
Of morality in public as well as private life,
and are by nature incapable Of any higher
aim than political success. And this fear
full treachery h. virtue, does not stand
alone. 1t finds its strong allies in wide
spread popular ignorance, which is itself
great national danger, and in the vice Of
which lends itself t. the ser
vice Of every evil element in society Moth
lng less than the power Of ndwelling moral
principle, and the most devoted anu patient
labors Of the preacher, the schoolmaster,
and the patriot, can rescue our country
from this appalling assemblage Of perils.
TO be Coutinuedi