The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1885-01-09
YOUNG MEN IN POLITICS.

many good solu CHUNKS oi coinihoii
sense were presented by the lecturers
at the County Institute last week, and
most of the advice there given is
worthy to be carefully slowed away in
the store house Of the mind for future
use. There was one thing said, how
ever, by one of the eminent gentlemen,
with which we cannot agree literally
He advised young men to keep out OF
politics, and pictured the unhappiness
of the defeated candidate vividly ard
with force. If we understood the
speaker correctly, he confounded the
politician with the otilceseeker This
is natural error for any one to fall
into, because it has come to be gener
ally recognized that no man goes into
politics except for his own personal
gain. The ward workers and the wire
pullers are for self first and party after
wards, but they must necessarily at
tach themselves to one or the other OF
the great political organizations in Or
der to accomplish their desired ends.
A politician is commonly understood
to be man who dabbles in public af
fairs and is devoted to the advance
ment of particular party, because it
is personally beneficial to do SO, and
this is one of the definitions given in
the dictionaries of a politician. But
there is higher and better sense in
which one may be politician. The true
definition of the word is applicable TO
one who is versed in the science OF gov
ernment and the art of governing, and
in this sense, every intelligent man in
this great Republic should be poll
tcian. If the speaker meant simply
to caution young men against office
seeking, against lobbying against wire
pulling, and against all the wiles
and trickery and treachery of modern
politics, then can we most heartily en-
dolse every word he uttered. The
pathway of life is strewn all along with
the wrecks of young men who have
gone into politics, men who went in to
win for themselves honor and fame and
position, but the snares were too strong
for them, and they were engulfed in
the abyss that has ruthlessly swallowed
up some of the brightest and best of
the land But as a rule these men
were office-seekers they were not pol
iticians in the high sense Of the term.
They did not look upon politics as the
''science of government as that part
of ethics which has to do with the reg
ulation and government of nation or
state, the preservation OF its safety,
peace and prosperity" They used pol
itics as bridge over which all must
pass to gain preferment in Office, and,
alas, to many of them proved bridge
of sighs.
The science Of government is one OF
the most profound of all studies. 1t
has to do with the happiness of all
people. Upon it depends the presel-
vation of all human rights, and the
stability of a nation depends upon the
manner in which this science is under
stood and applied. One of the great
est weaknesses Of the United States to
day is in the fact that the better class
es of citizens take so little interest in
politics. 1t has grown to be a profes-
sion of such a character that but lit
tie honor is connected with it, and it is
looked upon as unclean, and a calling
to be avoided as much as possible by
all, except those who make living
ont of il. If this view of it be cor
rect, the fault is with those people who
have abandoned the affairs of the govern
ment TO men who are actuated by mer
cenary motives rather than patriotism
We must not be understood as saying
that there are no patriotic statesmen
There are exceptions to all rules, and
the men who give their lives up to the
making of laws for the government Of
the people from love of country, are
the exceptions in the case under dis
cussion.
We believe that young men should
20 into politics in the true sense. They
should make themselves familiar with
the science of government; they should
not be satisfied simply to act as ma
chimes in the exercise of their rights as
citizens by going to the polls and cast
ing their ballots for those whose names
have been dictated by machine run
by professional politicians they should
post themselves on the general issues
of the day,and then take hand in nam
ing the candidates to be voted for, use
their influence in securing the nomina-
ton of honest and capable men, and
then do all in lheir power to gecure
the election of such. If young men 60
into politics with the firm determine
tion of making them purer and clean
er and better, and do not permit them
selves to be carried away by the nope
of securing an official position, politics
can be greatly improved, and young
men cannot be injured by their honest
efforts to benefit their country.