Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1876-09-20
THE POLlTlCAL MACHINE.

oeustor NOnklinXs speaking euOus
machine politicians says: "A gov
eminent is = machine; church 10 a
machine; an army is a machine; an
order OF Masons Is machine; the
common school system Of the State
Of New York is q machine; every
organization which binds men to-
gether for a common purpose Is a
machine. No one will dispute with
Mr.. Coakiing about the truth of
shcsc assertions. All the organise
lions referred to must possess more
or less Of the characteristics OF a
piece Of machinery. Otherwise the
parts would not coherc and the whole
would disintegrate. But the fact
that machinists are necessary to the
maintenance of the school system.
the army, the order of Mssons, and
so on, does not disprove the evil eff
fects of the machine men in the poll
tics of the day. There was a time
when thorough organization was
more needed than now. That was
before the war, when the question of
human slavery divided the parties.
That question was so great and so
overshadowed all Others that men
banded themselves together for or
against il rs closely as they would
band themselves together to resist an
armed attack. The most perfect
discipline was then practiced to in
sure the full strength of a party a,
the polls. Such discipline was
right then. What Republican now
would not hail such strong party
men as Conkling, Blaine, Chandler,
Morton and others as welcome war
riors in the cause of right if the bat
tie were for the abolition of slavery
What Republican would not be will
ling to sacrifice little Of the public
welfare in the details of government
for the sake of strengthening the
grest cause in which his whole soul
and energy were enlisted, if the con-
fict was conscientious onei But
what Republican will now say that
party men are as much
needed as thoroughly honest men.
When battle is finally over you
10 longer want warriors. When
the field is strewn with slain aud a |
wall of mourning sscends from the
land it is not wars stern front tina,
will sooth the sorrow aud bury the
dead, but the smiling face of honest
Peace, whose outsiretched hands
invite to her protection and condo
lence ali who are afflicted. The war
between the parties is over. The
machine politician can bring no good
with his possible in
jury, as before he might. lie is now
a detriment to the best government.
Mr.. Conkllng is one of those ma
chine men. When the Republicans
To nominate him they showed
that they were aware of the unpopu-
lsrity of such candidates. The ma
chine men did not run the Cincinnati
Convention. II they had, Ha es
would never have been nomina-
ted. This fact shows that the ms
chine men may sometimes be set
aside and the machine go on just the
same. II is so well known how a
halt dozen men may hold in their
hands the resul, of a primary election
that it is useless To remark upon il.
These are machine men. If they are
a benefit to the people, no one has
ever been able TO fnd it out. They
might be benefit in case some great |
compromising good were to follow
their manipulation, - 10 the case in
distinctly cited above, where the
success of party, through perfect
management, produced an ultimate
blessing scarcely equalled in the an
mails of history.