The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-07-27


honor, and is such title when the man
who works for his country through his
party is honest in his intentions and intel
llgent In his effort. The challenge by a
superficial people that men work too much
Tor each other, or for men in their party,
instead OF being stigma on politics is a
decoration. For friendship and faith are
the best things in the world. If a man in
politics believes in another and believes
that that man can accomplish good for
society, Tor country and the government,
and he devotes time, and possibly money
and great deal of effort in behalf of that
friends promotion, he is simply doing his
duty as citizen and as a lover of his
country and his kind. The sharp conflicts
In politics, the friction of contests, are sim
ply repetition of the same things in other
organized forms of human society In
deed, the church itself is not without its
sharp contests, its personal encounters, its
cynlclsm and malice. Contests among
preachers, and there are many of them,
often have as much of this world
in them and as much of the old Adam
in them as the fighting ameng politicians.
This is true of the professional world,
whether of law, medicine or what not.
This is a world of friction and contest,
of rivalry, and too often of jealousy and
envy. Such things human pervade and
actuate men In politics no more than in
the other things of life.
The love of man for his party is only an
other form of the love of man for his
country. If he have an honest faith in his
party's principles, he is poor citizen if he
does not strive IN every way to advance
them into the approval of the country and
into place in the laws. 1t is the very
theory OF our government that every
American has a right and duty to his own
political opinions and to fight for them. II
is the health of our politics, the sharp con-
tests, the strong resistance of parties to
each other, and the fierce white light
that shines on all contests BETWEEN par
ties in American affairs. The indiffer-
ence of the American voter is the great
est danger to the American republic.
Danger is not to be feared from the men
who are too active in politics 1t will
come rather from the men who think
themselves too good for politics, or that no
party is good enough for them. ANY free
government is balanced on its citizens who
are voters, and the safety of a republic is
balanced on every vote. If voting could be
made compulsory, if the winners and
GROWERS OF the intellectual sort could be
compelled TO vote, politics, of course, would
be made much better. If we could have
something like the Australian ballot law.
and with II statute compelling every man
entitled to vote to deposit his ballot, then
polls OF the opinion one way or the other of
every available voter in its population.
The good American who will not vote once
when he knows that he ought to do il is
unfaithful only in less degree than the
bad American who tries to vote twice.
Therefore, l think that all activity and
zeal In politics, otherwise personal interest
in government, instead of being discouraged
ought TO be encouraged. The very safety
OF the republic depends upon it.
AS to activity and demonstration in poll
tics the country is in little danger from the
man who is proud of his colors and openly
shows them, who carries torch and goes
with hurrah on his way to political vic
tory; that fellow is a patriot, or as near il
as he has the capacity to be. 1t is the
skulking, growing fellow, who finds no
party good enough for him, who will not
vote at all, who does not believe in the hon
esty Of six millions of Democrats in a party.
nor Of six millions of Republicans in a
party, but who SCOTS at everything. and
signs for better sort of politics and bet
ter sort of world, who does more harm bv
commission than the most active man in
politics does by commission. The Phari-
seelsm that bewails selhshness in politics.
and yet does not participate personally in
polltlcs 10 make 1t better, is simply an in
tellectual fashion of hypocrisy and avoid
ance. Nothing can be done by way of
changing the government or filling offices
except by the action of political parties.
Every man who wants to make his influ-
ence felt 1lust belong to one party or an
other. There must be unity of action to
gain political victory, and party victories
are the only things that count by
way of changes in our government.
The man who fights between the lines.
or viii not fight with either party, and
who lndicts the twelve or thirteen millions
Of Americans identified with one party or
the other as being dishonest, might in an
hour of reflection stop and wonder if it
were not possible that the millions were
right, and he wrong.
As to the charge that in politics men
grow selfish, | would reply that instead
they grow generous. Where one man in
politics serves himself, 10000 serve their
country. 1t is q field of constant dis
clpline, and the sort of discipline that
broadens men. 1t is an arena of conflict
where they see the good and the bad side of
men displayed. They easily and quickly
learn TO discover and to initiate the good
and to reject the bad. 1t is libel or
American character and American love of
fair play to say that the ignoble, mean and
little man in politics wins more support
than the noble. generous and true man.
The salary of Office is scarcely ever thought
OF as bride to manhood. except by the
scoffer and the Pharisee. There is hardly
public man drawing salary in the
United States to-day, if he be above thirty
years of age, who has not expended for his
party's honest needs, for his country's
honest behalf, more of his own money than
he finds returned in his present salary
Indeed, politics is a school of generosity
rather than of selfishness Poor men take
OF their little to help their party, because
tNHu believe that their marty helms their