St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-08-15
CHEAP PATRIOTISM.
A Universal Price Of Member
ship to the National As
ISOLATION.
It's Objects Simply Education
on Questions Of the
Day.
The Idea Of It's Ever Being for
Sale Is Treated With =
ScOrn.
Boiler Inspector Clarke Re-
ports on the Litchf1eld g
Explosion.

national association, seems to be little
worked up over the criticisms that have
been made in regard to his new organi-
cation, and has sent to the GLOBE a
very interesting communication which
will be found below. In this he takes
the ground that TO be patriot it is alb
solutely necessary for one to be-
come member of ''sub-
ordinate national association - SUBJ
ordinate because the national
association has but three members. and
can have no more, He acknowledges
that the supreme" officers propose to
to maintain themselves in Office, and
says, "Why nOt?" These officers have a
contract to do certain amount of work
for certain amount of money. EX-
actly so, and this is the only criticism
that has hurt the association. The fol-
lowing heading, taken from the back of
Mr.. Cooks statement, will show that
the supreme officers are after their
pay from the very start.
We, the undersigned members Of the Sub
ordinate Association No., of--in
the state Of. and county Of. each
of us hereby acknowledge ourselves indebted
to said association in the sum of 81. which
we agree to pay to to the secretary of the
association within thirty days from the date
hereof.
Read in the light of the above. MAN
aging Director Cooks communication is
decidedly interesting. 1t follows:
1t seems hard for the party politicians and
patty press of the county to understand how
any association can go to work in the inter
ests of The people, without establishing an
independent party movement Amy they
tell us that any new party when once estab-
lished will be no better than either of the Old
parties. In short it seems to be the popular
opinion among public men, and, in fact,
among the majority of our business men,
THAT every man has his price. and that it is
only question of time and circumstance
when he will be found for sale Fellow cit
liens, is this facty Are we a generation of
Esaus ready TO sell our birthrighl for mess
OF pottage? Is the majority of the great
American people composed OF Benedict Ar
nOlds and Judas IscariOls-reRdy to betray
their country and the interests of their 1el
low men into the hands of soulleSS corpora
tons and unprincipled mOnopolieS, VINO are
to-day worse tyrants over The American
peple than ever King George was over the
people of the American colonies! His tax
was direct and easily understood, and the
pc ople rebelled, while today the resources of
the people are filched from them in an in
direct manner in thousand different ways
and they quickly submit to the various poll
teal subterfuges Dracticed upon them until
to-day ii goes without saying that tine Amer
lean people like to be humbuged. But, fel !
low citizens is this fact? Have party politi-
ciansI appealed 10 your predjudiceS SO long ins
support of their party that there is no longers
a patriotic spark i'll your bosom which is
famed to mighty flame of indignation ats
these accusations? Is there no longer a
spirit of manhood within you which REBELS
such dislOsical selfishness?
If this is so, and the selfish lust and the
greed for gain Dredominates in the hands or
the large majority of American citizens to-
day, then let the graves of our ancestors be
opened, and their remains cremated and
their ashes strewn to the four winds of
heaven. For American soil thus polluted is
no I'll resting place for even the mouldering-
remains of such purity, patriotism and un-
selfish and heroic manhood as characterlZeS
the patriots who lived fought bled and died
that they might bequeath to us the sacred her
itage OF American freedom and constitutions
al liberty with all the rights vouchsafed TO us
under the constitution of the United States.
But we do not believe this foul imputation
as applying TO the great mass of the Amer
lean people, while it may be true of. the
majority Of professional party leaders. We
want less Of party and more of principle in
our politics, less of soulless monopoly and
more of Conscientious individuality. Politi-
cal parties have come to be too much
like corporations. They have no souls. and.
if they have body, it could probably be best
represented by that historic character pos
sessing horns, cloYen foot and an arrow
head as the apex of its terminal appendage.
Again we reiterate ours is not party Organi-
cation. The national association is as far
from party politics i'm IN Its or nature AIMS
from the Mckinley bill. We appeal
TO the patriotism and intelligence of the peO-
pie themselves, and ask that they use the
national association as being the most avail
able means by which they can educate
themselves upon the important question of
the day, and act i'll unison and intelligently
in their efforts to secure more just and
equitable government economically admin
istered. The people will thus be
brought in closer contact with their
representative and government officials
generally. and when any great question
arises which requires the prompt action OF
any member of congress affecting the mate
rial interests of his constituencies the
country is thoroughly organized i'll accord
ance with our plan-he could readily ascer-
tain the wishes of his constituents relative
thereto Ill the most reliable way possible;
and that, too intelligenty expressed by them
after a thorough knowledge of the subject,
gained by general discussion and thorough
interchange of ideas.
In recent issue of the GLOBE, in COM
meuling upon the national association, 1t
says that 1.-The iron clad nature of this corpo
ration, and the ease with which the three in
corporators will be able to maintain them
selves in Office can be seen by glance at
article of the articles of incorporation"
This section reads as follows: 1.-THE general
officers of said corporation shall be su-
preme president supreme secretary and
supreme treasurer. and the board of dirett-
ors shall consist of three members appointed
by the corporation"
As stated to the GLOBE reporter the arti-
cles of incorporation are to be amended, and
the term supreme is already dropped from
all new matter being published But why
the GLOBE or anybody else can object to the
officers of a corporate company maintaining
themselves in Office so long as they have no
outside stockholders is more than l can COM
prehend. This association contracts with
the subordinate associations to do a certain
amount of work for a fixed and definitely
stated price, and when the subordinate asso-
Citations become sufficiently numerous to
make the business a paying one then the
subordinate associations can combine and
let the contract for the work to the lowest
responsible bidder.