The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-08-29
The Independent Press and Machine
Politics
Galveston News.


1t has been quite the fashion of late for
politicians who run With the machine to
taunt the press, or rather the independent
portion Of it, with having suffered sore dis
comfture in the result of the Dallas conven-
ton. They point to the gubernatonal nomi-
nation made by that assembly Of party dele
gates as proof conclusive that the ndepen-
dent press has no influence with the people
There is proverb to the effect that it is not
safe to whistle until you are out of the
woods. 1t is always safe not to be too lavish
il praising day until the evening thereof
Before going into rhapsodies over thepoverty
of the independent press in political influence
The ministers of the machine shoul! calmly
wait until the people have come to their
mature conclusion snd uttered their
final voice. The proper function of the
independent journal in politics is to en-
tighten the reading public, not to pack or
manipulate conventions, and everybody
knows that the convention system, as an
engine OF party management, does not repre-
sent the promiscuous body of the people.
There is no assurance that the convention
system represents in any given case the party
which it processes 10 serve 1t is perfectly
natural that the independent press, in an en-
tirely different sphere Of operations
should exercise no controlling in
Auence over the wire'pullers
of the convention system. Everybody knows
how delegates are usually elected. A pre-
cinct meeting is ordelel, say in the back
room OF some aaloen. All the conditions are
unfavorable to having the intelligence, the
substance or the patriotism Of the commu.
nifty adequately represented at such a meet
ing As u general rule the ward or precinct
meeting is a cut and dried affair, gotten W
and manipulated in the interest of politi.
cal ring, whose object is to control nomi,
nations for the elective offices or the destribu.
ton of executive patronage. Half q dozen
hack politicians, backed by few dozen of
the gentry whose faces are familiar on the
street corners and in front of saloons, com.
pose, in all probability, the working majority
Of the meeting. There may be q few in
dustrious taxpayers present, but they have
about as much weight as the professional
poor boy at fair. The property
owners, whose taxes 90 TO support, the go'-
ernment, thl merchants, the doctors. the
genuine working men, are not TO be found
in formidable numbers, if found at all, at
the meetings where delegates are elected to
state conventions. Preoceupied with their
private affairs, they connot afford, long in
advance of elections, to look diligently after
preliminary meetings and preparatory ar
rangements, and they know full well that If
they undertook to do so they would stand
no chance against the rutfianism and chi
csnery incident to machine politics. Raw
militia n never hope to route trained veter-
ans. The professional pugilist is almost
always victorious in contest with the un-
trained amateur. Citizens in general, who
do not live by politics, have no time to de-
vote to the tresome and nauseous job OF
cleaning out the political stables
in the precincts of the different parties
But they have time to vote, and at last may
be impelled to undertake in self defense a
Wholesale political purgation. When that
time comes the machine politician may well
beware. When the people finally have to
give up all idea of reform within the parties,
they will attend to their proper business in
politics with . thoroughness that will sur
Prise many who are relying implicitly on
the invincibility of the party machine. The
Independent press takes no stock in conven-
tons and has no states to pu. through
nominating conventions. Hence the action
Of the Dallas convention was no conclusive
test of the influence of the independent
press. Yet its influence did manfestly tell
in some of the more liberal and progressive
features of the platform adopted. Free
schools, immigration, enforcement of the
laws judicial reform, commanded indor:e.
ment, and they will assuredly triumph. Even
the staunchest retrogressionists at Dallas had
to pay homage to the spirit of liberality,
progress and reform reflected in the indie.
pendent press. We commend 10 those who
fancy that they are safely out of the wood,
to ponder the fact that they who laugh las
laugh best.