The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-08-28
ENOUGH POLITICAL PARTIES.

Those who are reading the press dis
patches In these days, and who are es-
pecially noting political affairs are, no
doubt, struck with the number of political
factions springing into existence in nearly
every state of the union. Everything in
the United States is nothing if not politi-
cal; and at present this tendency is more
marked than ever before. Labor organi-
cations usually in the beginning Of their
career declared to have no political signih-
canoe too soon become involved in the po-
lltlcai strife which everywhere prevails in
our land. So with granger societies,
farmers alliances, prohibition organiza-
tons, ETC., etc., all sooner or later drifting
into politics and parties are organized
on issues either local or wnich do
not properly belong to the sphere of
political interference. 1t seems that GER
tain class of our citizens imagine that the
cure Tor all the evils which mankind is heir
to may be cured by little legislation. BY
legislation it is hoped, by some, that the
curse OF lntemperance will be swept away.
BY others, that hard times may be cured
by congressional enactment. Others still
SO on dd infnitum.
But these restless elements in the social,
industrial and political worlds are led on to
the climax of absurdity when they form
into third political party in the hope of
accomplishing their purposes. Third parties
IN the United States for the last third Of
century have signally failed in all their I'M
dertaktngs; and that mainly because they
are organized on minor issues and not in
frequently on issues that are improper
to political interference. Third parties
in the United States are like NOR
tar without lime in it, they are
composed of sand and water, with here and
there struggling hair thrown in. There
Is nothing in them that will hold their ele-
ments together, and they crumble into
shapeless heaps of ruin like houses built on
sand. They are not based On fundamental
principles of government, hence there is
no stability about them.
The basic principles Of government are
already seized upon by the two great ma
tional parties now in the field. The one is
contending for the Limitation of the powers
of government within those lines which
| give it enough POWERFUL no more-to in
sure the peace and good order Of society;
to give security to the life and liberty of
the Individual, and insure the peaceful pos
session OF property and the right to pur-
sue happiness in the citizens own way so
long as he interferes not with the peace,
safety and liberty of other individuals.
| Outside of that this party insists that
the Individual be left unhampered in
his natural freedom, that he be
taught self-reliance and left to
work out his own destiny without fear on
the one hand or favor on the other. The
other party in its tendencies leads to the
enlargement of the powers of government,
giving to it something of paternal char
acter, whence springs legislation which
fosters individual Industries, resulting in
class legislation by which some citizens are
helped to the injury of others The first
| party makes paramount the liberty of the
individual; the second makes paramount
the authority of the government. In other
words, the great struggle between liberty
and law is, in some of its phases, being
fought by the two great parties of our
nation, and the right adjustment of the
re4stive claims Of each being sought. This
is the real issue between Democrats and
Republicans and is also the great question
of civil government; all other issues are
subordinate to this greatest of all issues;
and it is because the questions and issues
on which the third parties are organized do
not primarily involve this great question in
which not only we of the United States,
but all the inhabitants of the earth are in
terested in that they so soon 20 to pieces
and are forgotten.