The Portland daily press., 1894-02-19

who engage in them are unclean. Ii
our politics be generally dirty, it follows
that either the great majority OF the
people are corrupt or that only a small
part of the people, and that part chiefly
the corrupt and incompetent, have any
thing to do with politics. Either horn
of the dilemma is bad. The first is worse,
because if it be true that the great
majority of the voters are corrupt then
the first essential of republican govern
ment-morality aud intelligence of the
peoples gone and the abandonment of
this form of government in the near
future is inevitable. But the other alter
natiye-that the respectable elements OF
the community are Indifferent to the
conduct ofspublic affairs-is not a great
deal better, for if that Indifference con-
tinues, as it is likely to, if it be stimu-
lated by Board of Trade journals
pTonouncing it Il virtue, the same result
will flow from it as from the actual ex-
cess of corrupt and incompetent men;
that is the government will become
corrupt and in the end intolerable
As matter of fact we do not believe
that either is true. The majority of the
voters Of the present generation are not
corrupt, nor are the majority of the re-
spectacle voters Indifferent to public
affairs. Our politics are not generally
dirty, though there are plague spots here
and there. There is, however,
some indifference than there
ought to be, and u good
deal of it grows out of the idea
which the Board OF Trade journal gives
expression to that it is defiling to take
an active part in politics. No doctrine
can be preached more pernicious to the
community, more destructive to our
form of government than that it is a
virtue for citizen to keep aloof from
participation in public affairs. There is
no higher duty devolving upon the
citizen of republic than to take an
active interest in public affairs and to
make his voice and vote felt at every
caucus that selects the candidates of the
party to which he belongs. If politics
are dirty it is the fault of the respectable
citizens of the community who are in the
great majority, and therefore, have the
power to make them clean. If unfit men
are nominated for Office the. intelligent
men of the community who are in the ma
iority are to blame. If all the respecta BILE
and intelligent men of the community
will take politics in hand, if they will
all of them go to the caucuses and take
an active part we shall not be troubled
with dirty politics or unfit candidates.
But if the doctrine obtains
that lite mobiles man to
keep aloof from participation
in the public affairs OF. the city or town of
which he is citizen, if it is to be
reckoned as one of the virtues OF a man
that he washed his hands Of all connec-
ton with public affairs our politics are
certain to become dirty and to remain SO
indefinitely.
We have been moved to these remarks
at the present time by the close proximi
ty of the caucuses of the two parties to
select candidates for mem ers ofathe city
council These caucuses will. in all
probability, determine what men are to
have charge.of the city s.business for the
ensuing year. 1t admits of no doubt
that a majority of the mem ers of both
parties desire good government, and
therefore, desire the nomination of fit
men for Office. They can realize their
desires by going to the caucuses. They
can't realize them by staying at home
and grooming about dirty politics"