Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-07-12

ASSERTS that VI lille it IS true that the COM
munistic spirit las been exhibited in poll
tics of late years, and that unwarrantable
assaults have been made upon property,
the railroads and other corporations are
largely responsible for this condition of
things, because they will not keep out OF
politics In this argument our contempt
rary makes the mistake OF putting the cart
before the horse. The fact is that corpora
tions have been forced into politics in self
defense, and they have been so forced by
the Communism OF which we spoke in a
former article. The course which has been
followed in this connection may be traced
without difficulty In the beginning the
people wanted railroads, and were willing
to give premiums for their construction
Then few people foresaw the extent of the
profit to accrue from these enterprises. a
few sagacious and energetic men under
took them, and succeeded greatly. They
became rich, and created enmities and jeal.
ousies. Some journals, which were
not scrupulous, but desired pop
ularity, assaulted them, and kept
up the attack until it might have been
thought that the railroad builders were all
the worst of criminals. All they had &C
quired was persistently represented as hav-
ing been stolen. The fact that they had
been importuned to build the roads, that
they had been offered large bonuses for
doing so, that the national Congress had
made formal contract with them, that
they had lived up to this contract, and
that all they had done was legitimate,
were entirely ignored. The object was to
excite public anger against them, and the
plot succeeded. Then the class OF corrupt
politicians saw their opportunity and i'm
proved it. They pretended to be champions
OF the people against wicked ''monopolsts. "
They rallied against the latter until they
/ deceived the voters into sending them to
the Legislature. There they introduced
all manner Of measures to cripple and in
jure the railroads, and in this way they
compelled the corporations to defend them
selves.
1t will not do to assert that the railroads
are responsible for corruption. The people
allowed themselves to be gulled by dema-
gogues who deliberately proposed to sell
themselves, and whose whole course was
so arranged as to force somebody to buy
them. They blackmailed the corporations
right and left. 1t may be said that the
corporations should not have listened to
their demands. but they were helpless.
The people had delegated to these black
mailers the making of the laws, and it was
I impossible to expect justice from those
who had shut their eyes to the plainest
equities of the situation, and had put in the
Legislature men supposed to be =" reliable
enemies OF corporations. The power OF
the people in republic is omnipotent, the
oretically, and no individuals can stand up
against it. When, therefore, it is expressed
in the shape of communistic programmes,
the weaker parties who are selected as VIC
Tins must have recourse to whatever
means OF escape are available. 1t has never
been the railroads which have corrupted
the agents of the people. 1t has always
been the agents Of the people who have
sought to sell themselves. And the REC
ORD UNION has for years borne testimony
against the public blindness and folly which
have led to this corruption. We have
shown, again and again, that demagogues
cannot be trusted that men who declare
themselves willing to undertake any COM
munistic raid without the least inquiry, are
necessarily dishonest that to elect such
sovereignty; that so long as such men can
succeed in politics, good men will be ex.
cluded from responsible positions ; that
abuses can never be cured by calling in
political charlatans and venal knaves to
deal with them.
These are among the plainest lessons of
experience, but hitherto they have been
without effect. 1t is still true that almost
any demagogue can secure profitable Office,
or the opportunity to sell out, by pretend.
ing to be rabid and unreasoning enemy of
corporate interests. Fellows who have
neither intelligence nor reputation nor
honesty have for years been able to float
gaily down the political current by this
simple device, and through the success &C
corded to them the integrity and conserva-
tism of self-respecting citizens are rebuked.
The common reasoning on this subject,
however, is what the logcans call arguing
in vicious circle. People see that corpo-
rations interest themselves in politics,
and they see that politics are corrupt.
Thereupon they jump to the Conclusion
that the corruption is caused by the cor.
porations. To those who imagine that
when American citizens enter into cor.
porate relations they at once become meta
morphosed into kind of fiends, whose
hands are always against the public inter-
ests, we have nothing to say, for they are
beyond the reach of reason. But to think
ing men we put the case whether it is at
all probable that corporations are naturally
prone to busy themselves with affairs out
side of their own vocation, or whether
they would be likely to do this if they
were not compelled 70 defend themselves
against reckless and malignant assaults.
The assertion that corporations should
keep out Of politics is absurd, when viewed
from the standpoint of actual fact. Cor.
porations want nothing more than to be
permitted to keep out OF politics, but the
truth is that the politicians will not allow
them to withdraw. The cure for these
evils, however, is in the hands of the PEG.
pie, and it is sufficiently simple one.
Choose none but men of approved integrity
for office, and especially for legislative
office, and the problem will be solved. 1t
is to be observed that under the existing
conditions the public loses quite as much as
the, corporations. For it cannot rely upon
its agents, and they do not make any seri-
Gus effort to investigate the subjects upon
their pretended devotion to which they
were elected. Self.respecting men, on the
other hand, can always be trusted to do
their duty. They will not pledge them.
selves blindfold to courses. they do not
comprehend. They will not play the DEM
agogue for office. Put they can be relied
upon to guard the interests of
their constituents under all circum.
stances, and to do the best that
is possible. Whoever really desires
to see corporations go out of politics must