Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1876-03-06

for them by few persons. Mne-tenths
Of the voting readers Of these words ex-
ercise no other viii in the government
Of the country. State. or town than that
Of choice between two tickets presented
to them at the polls, And when they
have made the choice and have voted,
they feel glow and spring Of patriotic
pride, and congratulate themselves upon
having done their duty as American cit
liens.
The persons who prepare the siterna-
tive are the real rulers, Ii is constant
ly stated in the newspapers that lit is
arranged that this or that gentleman
shall have the solid delegation from this
or that State. district. or county, altho'
no meeting TO select delegates has been
held or even called. How, then. can it
Be known or even soundly SurmIsed who
viii be the preference Of the majority ?
Nevertheless. it is often known. and ac-
curately known. what the delegation
viii do before any formal step has been
taken to name delegation. The fact
may be theoretically and abstractly sur
prising. but it is practically most famil-
lar. Experience has shown that, with a
little care, very few men in every dis
trict can run" the district. And those
men are naturally the persons who have
the strongest motive to run it. They
will take the necessary trouble, and the
result is usually very sure. When, there
fore, il is said that the subject Of nomi-
nations to office in any emergency should
be left to the people. the real meaning
Is that it should be left TO the few man
aging gentlemen. When a newspaper
abstains from discussing the claims Of
candidates for nomination upon the
ground that the people should have a
free choice between them. it means that
the matter should be left without debate
for the managing gentlemen to decide as
they choose, which is precisely what
those gentlemen desire.
This organization of managers is COM
plete and despOtie. Political action. ex-
oept as mere protest is impraeucable
except through them. The chiefs are
usually persons holding efiee certainly
none the worse for that reason-and
their will is the party law. Their hold
upon the mass of voters is the power of
party spirit. the determination that the
other side shall not succeed. This con-
sideration. with the ar gument that men
are not perfect and that We must do the
: best We can, enables the chiefs to carry
out their plans. In the State of New
York there are more than eight hundred
q thousand voters. This voting power i:
really welded by very few men. Wha
: is the inevitable result? 1t is that thost
who want votes will aim to please thOst
L who control the voters. They do no
:. appeal to the general intelligence of the
L community, but to the personal and po
c litical interests of few men. The ap
: parent remedy for this extremely oligar
Il ehical practice, which has gradually
OVERLAND our republican and popular the
ls DRY. would seem to be the participation
/ Of every voter in the preliminary detail
70 Of elections But this is declared to b
J. hopeless. because it implies that ever,
&c voter can devote the same amount Q
< time. the same kind Of care and troubl
I'll and expense, to these details that tn
L. politician" can. And this. it is alleg
ed. it is absurd to expect, because it
l. the politicians trade and personal inter
P est to do il, and it is only the genera
y patriotic interest Of the general votel
J. To say. therefore, that the only hope {
It relief from the condition We have d.
NC seribed lies in a general attendance {
ne the caucus and the primary meeting. i
III according to this view. to take hop
q away.
Mr. Josiah P. Quincy Of Boston. sta
9 ing the difficulty with great force an
:. good humOr, proposes in an essay upo
the Protection Of Majorities, which |
has recently published. that gazet
be statedly issued at public expense pr
vious to an election. and that men
character and influence, and every boC
who can give good reasons. shall nomi
:, ate in it a candidate whom they woul
support. and the grounds of their pre-
erence- This, he argues, would enab
the community to know the views Of
!, best men and natural leaders and
- belieTes 50 cordially in the Americi
principle as to hold that the majority
q party. for instance, would be very LII
ly to follow their natural leaders, vi
as he thinks. are the men Of known hi
character and ability in the party. {
der the present system those natul
leaders have often no chance Of indici
ing their views Mr. Quincy works q
his theme clearly and with great cleY
Ness, and his essay Is very INTEREST,"
i and valuable contribution to the disc
sion Of the question how the people Z
! IN TO recover the control Of the goEernme
Tho, OF course, enc obvious objection TO |
,lar r-,roa5 ,u..La : -. :. LII