The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1880-05-01
INDIVIDUALITY IN POLITICS.
New York World.


ty in Politics" Jas. S. Carter presided, and
at SIS introduced Mr.. Adams to IN audience
filling almost every seat on the door Of the
hall. Many ladies were present and the lee
ture frequently evoked applause and laughter
Mr. Adams began by reading part OF
Washington's farewell address on the dangers
of party spirit and continued: II can't help
feeling that now, If our great Immortal could
know what was taking place in the country
he served so WELL 1t would give HIM thrill
of satisfaction that those sentiments which he
dared not hope would make the strong and
lasting impression he could wish, are yet pro
dHctive of some partial benefit, some occasion
al good greatly doubt whether Washing.
ton ever uttered wiser words than those con
tanned in the passage have just quoted. The
highest and first duty of the thinking citizen
now is 70 cultivate the habit of individual pc.
htca action. | know perfectly well what this
profession of faith means. Itmcans ostracism
from regular political life to begin with, in so
far rs that is dependent on official position 1t
means the closing Of the door Of political pre-
ferment More than that, il means that he
who processes this faith may as well make up
his mind at once that he is to pass through
life with the reputation Of being headstrong
J,
rist, Utopian, if not Phariscc, and is to be
continually scolied and flouted at for his fool
lsh waste Of ammunition. He doesn't fire so
much as some III the solid vOlley 1t is true {;
but | was in the army once and then obscrv.
ed that IN actual warfare they also kill who
pick off their men BY independent political
action mean the faculty Of standing on ones
own intellectual legs, and not feeling the whole
time that it is necessary to be one of a crowd.
Here more than almost anywhere else the ten
dency is 10 merge the individual in the mass
The American believes in system and in order
and in combination. In doing SO he is entire
ly right but system, order and combination
may be carried TO excess; and there is such n
thing, in politics especially, as too much of
the machine-and this, too, ] LAY while fully
acknowledging that the machine in itself in
politics as well As elsewhere Is Il most indis-
pensabe and beneiicent institution. 1t does,
however, admit Of abuse, and if every one be-
comes part Of it we may feel very sure that it
will be abused Its abuse, however, Is Satier
of time and circumstance. The thinking citi-
zen is one who endcavors to adapt his action
to changing conditions of time and place, as
contradstnguished from him who repeats II
few catch words and always rune with the
crowd. Under certain circumstances no one
would run harder with the crowd or keep clos.
er to it than the thinking citizen. Thus we all
saw ourselves during the Crisis of the rebel
lion. Times Of crisis do not, however, last
forever and just as severe political discipline
and individual subordination were the crying
need of twenty ears ago Independent reflect
i've action is Of today have myself a
distinct recoll' on Of only nine presidential
elections but sink Of the whole nine there
was but one, t Of 1852, which at the time
was not empnaucally pronounced to be the
most important election in It's consequences
ever held IN the country For myself, looking
back over those nine elections-thosc distinct
crises OF our country. latel am iain to con.
iess that have in a small way borrowed n
great deal of unnecessary trouble suffered
much uncallCd-ior patriotic anguish, and gen.
orally evinced dcplorable inability to read
the great logic of events. OF those nine cleo
tons can now see plainly that one only, so
far rs grand results were concerned, was really
important, that of 1864, when we were IN the
midst Of the rebellion. Take, for instance the
fierce, exciting struggle of 1886 the Buchan-
an-FremOnt election the Pathfinder campaign,
the 'Wc'llgive-' NJ cssc crisis of our destiny.
| think it must be very hard for any one who
participated in the full spirit of that crisis to
look back on it without certain sense of
amusement, in which there must be a dash of
selfdeprcciation just such feeling as every
man has when he suddenly recalls some occa.
sion upon which he succeeded in making him.
self supremey ridiculous The year 1876
found 1t hotter and harder upon us than ever,
and we all know that In the minds of certain
wellknOwn Politicians statesmen they never
were-the republic was considered in such
danger that Il recourse to returning boards or
any other known form Of theft and manIpu-
lation and swndlIng was considered not only
unsuitable but patriotic and praiseworthy eff
forts for its preservation. The end justified
the means We are now on the threshold OF
another election, and that the crisis theory j.
Stall rampant-nOre rampant in fact than ever
before is evidenced by the 'stalwart and
Strong man doctrines, which either mean
nothing at all or are clear Intimation of the
preservationa t-anyprice policy. Senator IIoal
has recently written letter and pointed GU
concisely the claims of that class who have
taken the ground that the time calls for {
Strong man who, if nc is elected, will see tina
he is inaugurated-do, in fact, exactly wha
Mr. Tilden in 1877 did not do. Now this car
mean but one thing or nothing 1t mean
that candidate Of party Is To decide afte
an election whether, taking all the circnm
stances into consideration, he thinks that Ia
was fairly elected, and if he concludes that h
was. 10 seize the Government 1t means TIN
or il is mere twaddlc. The difficulty wit
these extreme spirit opponents of party-thcs
believers in the infinite wickedness of one.hal
of their fellow citizens-would seem 10 be tina
they had no real faith in popular institutions
and absolute certainty of the utter basenes
and ueachery and immortality of ones oppoI
ents | take 10 be the bottom principle of thi
rigid party discipline against which the ind
vidual in politics passes his life in one contiI
ual protest. In the minds of these gentleme
the immediate possession of political power
our National Government secures everythin
They apparently have no conception of tn
portion of every popular government which
known in England as Her Majesty's Oppos
toa;' they put no faith in discussion, agitation
ami obstruction; they sneer and scott at ed
cation and patience and the appeal to the sob