The morning call., 1893-11-16
THE MORAL OF THE ELECTION.

THE MORAL OF THE ELECTION.
The comments of good citizens in the
East-men who place patriotism above
party-on the result of the recent cleo
tions are refreshing and comforting.
Frederic Coudert of New York, who has
always voted with the Democratic party,
expresses views which are full of instruc-
tion. He says:
The result Of yesterdays election must be
sincerely gratifying to believers In universal
suffrage. Free government is still an expert
ment which has not yet been thoroughly
tested; the wisdom of the masses 10 rule them
selves wisely, temperately and justly has not
been fully demonstrated in the past, and ii may
be truly said That our country is the pioneer in
the experiment. Small communities undoubt-
edly have shown their ability TO dispense with
autocTats and standing armies. Whether
100 100000 OF people. spread over an almost
bouDdless territory, may do this and prosper is
another question.
A most important lesson to be derived from
this election and one of supreme significance is
The fact that the independent voter holds The
balance of power in his hands. lie is growing
daily in importance. The abuse of machine
made leaders increases that Importance and
swells The number of his class. Parties aue
necessary, but they both require the close
supervision OF the large body Of citizens who
love their country more than they care for
office; who are determined that the republic
shall be saved al any cost Of party supremacy.
The real danger in which the country
stands arises. in truth. less from sporadic
outbursts of anarchism or from chronic
corruption among party leaders than from
the indifferentiSm. amounting to apathy.
among the masses of independent voters.
They are so engrossed with their business,
and SO disposed TO laugh at political per-
lis, that they abandon power to the race
of condottieri who are audacious enough
to seize 1t. A long course of impunity en-
courages these condottieri to believe that
they hold Office by the grace of God.
They run their rival machines as Italian
condottiere did, with a secret understand
ing that whoever wins the battles the
spoifs shall be divided. a long career of
successful rascality induces them to be-
lieve that they can go any lengths in def
ance OF the will and the conscience of the
people. 1t is only once in long time that
they have a master, and when he does
awake his awakening shakes the spheres.
1t is toe true, as Coudert says, that our
Government is as yet an experiment. That
was the reason why Bancroft refused to
continue his history to the times in which
he lived. He said that the problem Of popu-
laf self-g0vernment had not yet been
solved. 30 Macaulay, while admitting the
wonderful growth and present prosperity
of the United States, reserved his judg-
ment on the American system until the
prairie lands had all been taken up and the
real struggle for existence had begun. He
could not feel certain that when the cru
cial test came Americans would be found
able to do that which no other people in
the world had ever done. to wit: resist the
grasping tendencies of the great and the
disintegrating effects of incivism. The
problem was we'll put by Monlesquieu:
Republics, as he phrases it, depend upon
the maintenance of civic virtue and public
spirit among their people. When the peo-
pie become apathetic (masses of people
never become corrupt power falls into the
hands of kuaves like the machine man
ayers and popular institutions drift into
decay. That is the peril which now con-
fronts the United States.
1t is not to be denied that the power of
political machines has been on the in
crease of late years. The mass of voters
vote their party ticket without inquiry,
thus relinquishing to the bosses the right
to nominate officials. Here aud there
conscientious citizen will scratch the name
of some convention nominee whom he
BGows to be unfit. But, as a rule, the
ticket is voted straight. The practice is
fatal to wholesome government. Yet it is
so general that the vote of one year varies
cli hut IF bo
year. and by carefully footing up the re-
turns of past elections, shrewd guess
may be formed as to the result of a future
election. The boss knows, when he goes
into battle. what the result of the conflict
will be. Popular safety depends upon the
exercise of the right of boting by the
voter. So long as mass of voters large
enough to control an election reserve the
right of boiling the party ticket. party
managers can never be omnipoteut; they
will always act with the fear before their
eyes of being repudiated by the rank and
file of the party if they go too far.
New York has set the other States
good example this year. OF late years it
has generally gone Democratic. 1t gave
its last Presidential vote TO a Democrat.
It has a Democratic Governor and Dem
ocratic Legislature. Both its Senators
are Democratic. Yet at the election last
week it elected the Republican State ticket
by a majority of some $1,000, it showed
Maynard under by over 100000. and it
smashed Senator Hill so completely that it
is a work of difficulty to find his remains.
That is the way to insure the successful
solution of the problem Of American self
govern ment
NOT MUCH in 1T.