St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-11-25
Judge Tourgee,s Lecture.

I
The second regular lecture in the Y.
NJ. c. A. course was given on Friday
evening last by Judge A. w. Tourgee,
on "How 70 Boss the Bosses" Judge
Tourgee is a good speaker, was not de-
pendent at all on notes, and gave the
audience a lecture worth hearing, al
though it was, like the first one in the
course, of political character. We
give an abstract of his remarks:
Bossism is found in an old party
you never hear of it in a new one that
is struggling for existence. Who ever
heard the greenback party complain of
bossissm 1t has nothing to boss. A
man may be boss in one camp and
servant in another. Vermont and the
the South, are builded on a different
plan. While slavery grew and fatten
ed at the South, it died natural death
at the North, except in Vermont, where,
thank God, it never existed. ZAP
plause). A party is body of men
who have one definite purpose or idea
to which they are willing to subserve
all other ideas so long as they are
thus you have a true party. Every
great political movement begins at the
bottom. Great movements never come
from the top. The rain falls upon the
ducks back, but volcanoes are heaved
up from the bottom. The American
idea of party has no parallel abroad.
The English idea of party is set OF
gentlemen who dine together once in
while and pass resolutions that some
one else do something. (Applause).
The idea of abolition was introduced
in the House of Representatives in
1871. 1t grew little at first, finally
burst over the whole United States.
Men grew upon this idea alone. The
medical world was agitated not only
the medical, but all professions. Min
listers preached and prayed at each
other. The whole country was infect
ed by it. We heard nothing of bOssism
then. Every one was interested in the
government. The present is period
of transition. Look back only few
years and see how many parties have
sprung up and died. Anything is bet
ter than stagnation better have
thousand parties than none. 1t shows
life as blister does. People on top
have been fishing in the pool of poll
ties for bite, or even a nibble, for
years. (Applause.) BOssism is that
state of affairs when the minority can
sit down and by mature deliberation
control the body polite against its
will and so far as it is done, it is an
evil of the first magnitude. Two rem
edies have been proposed for bOssism
one is to kill the bosses, the other to
kill the party. | have no sympathy
with boss, and have an Unborn hatred
of one. But distinction is to be made
between party leader and a boss. A
party leader is one who comes up pos
sessed with the idea of his party :;
whose name conveys the very princi-
Piles of his party. In this sense Abra-
ham Lincoln was party leader, and
the absence of every thing he was not
made him perfect type of party lead
er. A boss is one who gets above his
party, who thinks the party was made
for him, by his order, just as his coat
was. This evil effecting old parties is
not of partisan character.
The cause of bOssism is not the
bosses. 1t is you yourselves. You
should be present at every meeting
conducted for the promotion of the
highest interests of the government
In abolition times, when there could
not be wheat enough out to keep a man
at home, we heard nothing of bosses.
So long as every man was in his place
there was no boss. We are people
possessed of constitutional soreheads.
There are too many who follow Josh
Billings rule for milking a kicking
cow, and stand off ten feet and hOller
so durn it They are too good or too
busy to partake in public offices, when
a man gets too busy or too good to as
sist in ruling the affairs of the Ameri-
can people, it is time he was laid in his
5 grave. Great applause.) Each one
must do his duty. do not object to
D killing the bosses, but do it yourself F.;
e do not send boy. But you had better
5 kill the cause among yourselves. Our
! great thinkers openly declare that this
4 government must be given over to some
a other kind. If you have not time
e enough to attend to it, let it go, but
c don't blame the bosses. Go into your
e parties and do your duty. Be not a
f silent partner nor sleepy one.
|, Young men, you have a more re-
= spOnsible duty than your fathers. 1t is
S true they did great deal when they
It freed the black man, but you must dc
s more than free the hands. The mind
a is in letters and shackles to-day. We
II have placed the terrible instrument OF
k the ballot in their hands. The only
o trne remedy for bOssism is the individ-
!" ual attention to the greatest affairs OF
the American people.
The Supreme Court.
e The general term of the Supreme
Dr Cont at MOntneliar took a racass or