Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1890-05-03
INGALLS, ON QUESTIONS OF THE
DAY.
PURITY IN POLITICS.

PURITY IN POLITICS.
With the possible exception o.
the two terms of Washington, there
has not been an absolutely fair, free
and impartial expression OF the de
liberate will of the people iD any
Presidential election since the
foundation of the Government.
doubt if there ever will be. Patron.
age will allure the ambitious, force
will coerce the timid, demagogism
will gull the crednlous, fraud will rob
the weak. money will buy the
mercenary."
The publication Of politics is al
iridescent dream. Government is
force. Politics is a battle for
supremacy. Parties are the armies
The decalogue and the golden rale
have no place in political cam
paign. The object is success. The
Republicans and Democrats are as
lrreconcilably opposed to each other
as were Grant and Lee in the vii
derness.
CLEVELAND TO BE RENOMINATED
Cleveland will be the nominee in
1892 even if New York should be
divided or against him. This is
inevitable. L. is written. He will
be first and the rest nowhere. Dem
ocracy never had such an ideal ex
ponent and representative.
NO AMERICAN POLICY.
We have never had defined
aggressive American policy. The
public service and public men, as a
rule, have not Kept pace with the
material development of the country.
] do not mean to say that we have
no great men, but the public service
does not command the greatest, be.
cause the highest rewards of intel
lectual activity and more satisfacto.
ry equivalents are found in other
avocations. Public life has degenerl
ated into species OF servitude, and
the inevitable tendency in popular
governments is towards mediocrity
and pusilanimity.
"The American policy should
have for its object the unification OF
the continent. The Polar Sea should
be the Northern boundary of the Re
public, and the Southern boundary
should be the Interoceanic Canal.
We have practically reached the
limit Of our agricultural domain"
"Continent first, then hemisphere.
The idea is growing rapidly in this
country, especially in the West,
where the political power of the Re.
public is lodged. Under the read.
justment of political forces which
has occurred in accordance with the
last census, the seat of political pow
er has been transferred West of the
Allegheny Mountains. 1t has q
majority of the aggregate represen,
tation in the lower house Of Congress,
and with the admission Of the new
States majority of the votes in the
Senate and in the Electoral College.
The interests of the West and South
are identical, and they should be
unified. Their alliance upon all
matters affecting their natural vel.
fare is inevitable. III they coalesce
they will be inyincible."
CAPITAL, LABOR AND RAILWAYS.
81 have no sympathy with those
political economists who would array
the poor against the rich with the
empty and sonorOus demagogism
which asserts tina: there is an ire.
pressible conflict between capital and
labor, and that would make indis.
criminate war upon corporations as
the natural enemies OF the people ;
but we are confronted with many
economic problems, chief among
which is that oil cheap transporta-
ton, and / believe its solution lies
not in representative legislation, but
in competition between water lines
and railroads. Under the constitu.
tional power of Congress to regulate
commerce between the States, i
have no doubt OF the authority of
the Government to assume either
partial or complete control Of all the
great trunk lines OF transportation
aud to regulate the burdens that
are imposed upon the productive
labor of the country
"The great carrying business of
the country is under the absolute
control OF few persons, upon whose
edicts depends the prosperity OF the
nation. By their combination they
are enabled 10 fix the price, control
the supplies, create fictitious de
mand or artificial scarcity, and thus,
disturb the whole basis OF values in
the commercial world. With daring
and admirable genius those mon.
archs have devised and with incon-
energy they have construct
ed system OF highways the NEST
wonderful known to man. Ii they
would share the expense of transpor-
tation with the producers, then
there would be less cause for com.
plant; but the rates are established
high enough to pay interest on the
bonds, dividends en- stock. the cost
of operation, deterioration and waste
OF plant and extravagant salaries to
swarms of ornamental officials. But
nature, so bonntiful to as in all
things, has not left us without