Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-11-16
TaE INFLUENCE OF FACTION UPON PUB
Lie MORALS.

1t has long been customary to regard po-
litical campaigns as kind OF Saturnaila,
during which the moral laws which are
supposed to govern civilized society are
suspended. The popularity of this view is
that it supposes a capability on the part of
the people of throwing off the demoralizing
influences of the campaign as soon as 1t is
ended, and of returning to decency and
probity forthwith. And thus the corrupt
ing agencies of faction have come to be
looked upon as necessary evils, which how
ever startling they may seem do not really
affect the national character, but are only
superficial phenomena, indicative of no
chronic complaint. There is however no
justification for this view. The evil in
fuences of faction react upon national
character with precisely the same force
and effect as though politics had nothing to
do with them. The employment of men,
dacity, fraud, Misrepresentation, SANDER,
calumny, forgery, produce effects which
cannot be brushed away with the dust of
the campaign To familiarize nation
with these vile instrumentalities, to teach
it that the road to honorable posi-
tions lies through so pestilential swamp,
is to undermine the moral sense of
the people, and to lead them into
friendly intimacy with the worst immo-
ralities. The man who allows himself to
be seduced by the spirit of faction is GER
tain to lose character and moral standing.
The first step in this degrading process is
the setting of party above country. The
next step is the subordination of every
thing to success. The third step consists
in adopting bad means fer the sake of the
end. The man who has once persuaded
himself that party success is more import
ant than anything else is in the direct road
to all these successive declines. He will
soon become convinced that calumny and
falsehood are justifable if they make votes
for his side. From that position he easily
advances to conformation of fraud. When
he hears of ballot-box stuffing or other
| political swindling he is only moved to in
dignation if the wrong has been committed
against his own party. When the cam
paign is over those who have abandoned
themselves to party passion may think it
possible to regain their former moral status,
but in reality it has become impossible
for them to do so. They have insensibly
| acquired a new way of looking at
all things. They have lost their moral
sensitiveness. Conscience no longer pricks
them when temptation presents itself. 1t
is from such men that the rogues in office
come. They have served an apprentice
ship of corruption in the party ranks, and
when presently they are rewarded by an
Office they are already educated to the
point of embezzlement. No notion can be
more fallacious than that which supposes
political immortality to be comparatively
| harmless. When, out of politics, mans
friends see that he is beginning to drink,
to gamble, to frequent bad company, they
instantly reach the right conclusion, name
ly, that he is in danger of ruin. But with
politics it seems to be the rule that all signs
fail. Under the egis of party exigency
men are allowed to do things which if
done under any other conditions would de-
stroy their regulations, and yet it is
thought possible for them to emerge un-
scathed and unspotted.