Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-06-30

of public men, and making them the
mere tools of selfish and designing
leaders SO that if there is any danger
, of Imperialism, it is to be feared from
that quarter, because of the readiness
with which large body of men can be
required and compelled to act as their
leaders may dictate, and because they
have no will of their own, but are
compelled to follow with blind SUBJ
mission at the command of their lead
ers.
The influence of machine politics
has been to build up great political
chieftains, who WELD immense power,
which they use for the purpose of per-
petua.ing their and their retainer's s
hold on office; to build up class of
men whose only claim is to get and
hold office, who exercises pernicious
influence in the politics of the country,
because they have no higher standard
of action than that of Office, and to ac-
complish their ends, the means resorted
to are arbitrary, oppressive and tyraui-
cal, and not at all suited to the spirit
| anu SCuiuo vi Jul llCc luSLllutfUHS.
But the result of machine rule has
proven even more disastrous in some
of our large centres of population
There is scarcely an election but there
is the cry of fraud in our larger cities,
many of which have been ruled and
plundered by combinations of men,
whose familiarity with machine poll
tics enabled them to carry out their
wicked purposes. What spectacle
was that which New York, the great
commercial metropolis of this country,
| presented to the world few years
| ago? With all its wealth, its culture,
its refinement, it was unable to govern
J itself, but under the baleful influence
, of machine politics, it was as complete
| ly under the influence of Boss Tweed
as were the dominions of the worst
| despot that ever sat upon throne
He laid his hand upon the wealth of
the great emporium as heavily and
plundered it with less trouble and dan
ger than the Highland Chiftain. or the
bold robbers of the Rhine, exacted
contributions from those they. plum
dered
GREAT COUNTRY FOR MACHINERY"
/ am at loss to know why the
American people tolerate it as long as
they have, unless it is because Of their
partiality for machinery, as in this
country almost every thing is done by
machinery. In agriculture, mechanics,
manufactures, and every branch of in
dustry, we have the most perfect ma
chinery as well as every thing else.
| But the time is coming when they
will fully understand its objects and
purposes, and will crush it as they
would any other enemy of the coun-
try
1t takes time to eradicate great
wrongs, but eventually they have to
give way. The Feudal System, with
all its clogs, after burdening the people
for centuries, was finally swept away;
the continued acts of oppression of the
American colonies were ended by the
establishment of the liberties of the
people of this country human slavery,
that had such stronghold in this
country for two hundred years, was
eventually wiped out in the fierce fires
of civil war; Tweed, when he supposed
that he was securely entrenched in
power, and when confronted by his en-
emies with the charge of his crimes,
replied what are you going to do
about it? The people of the great
metropolis answered his intcrrogatory
by rising in their might and hurling
him into felon's CELL And so l trust
that the day is not far distant when
the virtue, the intelligence and the pa
triotism of the country will rise in its
might and smash the machine.
INDIFFERENCE TO VOTERS.
Having noticed the defects in our
system which relate to primary meet
ings and conventions, come now to
those connected with elections. The
contest being over within party lines
the opposing forces now come in con-
flict, and before the election is held,
aside from the legitimate work of the
canvass, such as holding meetings, as
sessment of voters. bringing voters to
the polls, we have other difficulties and
troubles to encounter. Principal among
these is an indifferedce among a great
many voters as to the principles in
volved in the canvass, and which en-
ables designing demagogues to delude
them into the support of men and meas
ures that are not calculated to advance
the best interests of the country. The
voter is too often beguiled by the lib
eral promises of the candidate into los
ing sight of the principles involved,
and hence it is that very frequently
happens that men who are untitled for
any other business, who in fact may
have failed in everything else they
have undertaked, who are bankrupt pc
cuniarily and every other way, some
times do thriving business as politi-
clans. 1t is remarkable indeed that
total unitness for all other things is re-
garded by many people as the strongest
evidence of entire fitness for political
life.
Low POLITICAL MORALITY.
Another evil connected with our
system of politics is, the low tone of
political morality which prevails
among class of people who would
scorn to do anything wrong in any 9TH
er transaction in life. That Is there
are certain people, who despise every
thing that is low and mean, who would
scorn to do a wrong, who would not
deprive their fellow man unjustly of a
single farthing, who regard their
word as binding as their bond in
commercial transaction, who justly OBJ
serve every obligation that life imposes
upon them, but who somehow think
that it does not amount to much if
there is little crookedness in political