The Russellville Democrat. [volume] (Russellville, Ark.) 1875-1898, 1882-09-14
The ms and the Outs.
Washington Post.

Continuous tenure of power for =
long period is inevitably and invari-
ably corrupting. 1t matters moi
how grand the principles on which a
party is based, or how high the aims
it avows, it cannot WELD the great
powers nor handle the vast revenues
Of government like ours for many
consecutive years without showing
the corroding influences of tempta-
ton and opportunity.
Granted that one party is natural
ly just as honest as another, that one
set Of men will do as well as another
under the same circumstances, that
the name Republican" suggests no
normal difference in character from
democrat" we still have to face
the fact that the circumstances sur
rounding party in authority are
very different from the surroundings
of party that is out in the cold.
On one side are all the tempta-
tions, all that appeals to the greed,
the avarice, the moral weakness of
man, all the facilities for wrong do
ing. On the other side is all that
appeals to the honor and braces the
moral tone, with none of the tempt
atlons and chances that are so apt to
prove fatal.
The party in power has in It's
hands all that monopolists are will
ling to buy. 1t not only has charge
of three or four hundred millions of
money, but it has the making, the
constituting and enforcement of the
laws that set the lines tor capital
and labor, the laws that determine
how much of a mans labor shall be
his own, and how much shall go to
swell the vast hordes of those who
grow fat on the sweat of other mems
brows.
The man who has nothing to sell
is not troubled with customers. The
party that handles no revenues,
makes no laws, and has no voice in
the direction of national affairs, can
have no corrupt alliances, arrange
ments or understandings with those
who are willing to pay for special
indulgences lnlmical to the general
good.
There was never time in the his
tory of any people when the tenden-
cies to corruption of a ruling party
were so great as they have been in
this country since the Republican
party came in power. The war, the
debt necessitating unparalleled tax
alton with all its lnfinitude of chanc-
es to help special interests at the ex-
pense of the people, the creation of
a great banking system, the issue
and handling of billions in bonds,
the growth of railroad and mining
interests, the creation and nurture
of great corporations-these are
some of the influences that have been
at work until a majority of the lead
ers of the dominant party are, to a
greater or less extent, the agents or
attorneys of corporations created by
that party and dependent on legisla-
ton for their future operations.
And the worst feature of the case
is that all these influences, and all
the powers of the government in all
its departments, are employed in ev-
cry general election to prevent fair
verdict OF the people, so that tidal
wave almost equivalent to peaceful
revolution will be required to put the
dominant party out.
But bad as the case looks, we
have faith in the people, hope in the
future and confidence in the stabili-
ty Of the best government on earth
for with all its failings ours is the
best government known among men,