St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-07-28
DAILY MEANS
RIVER AT s A. NJ.
WHEN HALF GODS GO.

The favorite subject of speculation
With the political philosopher Who
writes for the magazines at the
present time is the political party
Of the future. Looking about him
upon the great organizations which
represent current political activity,
noting their shortcomings, their
practical failures and their depart
ures from his ideal, he consoles him
self by picturing the party of the
future. 1t is to be a party in
spired solely by the highest patriot
ism. 1t will have no hunger for
office and no love for Spoils. It will
scorn base methods and chivalrously
refuse to take an unfair advantage
Of an opponent. 1t will appeal only
to that which is best and purest in
man. 1t will be founded upon prin-
ciple. Rejecting the arts of the
demagogue, it will stand, regard
less of popularity, only for those gov
ernmental policies which are best
for the individual, and which prom
Use the highest and noblest devel-
opment of the state. Such party
the ideaiist thinks he sees in the not
distant future as a logical product
Of political evolution.
1t does not seem to occur to the
philosopher that he is romancing
in the field of politics, precisely as
the writers on social topics have
been romancing in their creation of
imaginary Utopias. The picture
that Mr.. Bellamy drew of an ideal
social state was so attractive that
hosts of men and women, when they
looked at it, prepared forthwith to
give their lives to an effort for its
realization. And this is only one of
a score of more or less ambitious
literary productions whose aim is
to depict the possibilities of social
effort when the defects in our politi-
cal machinery have been remedied.
All the idea1ists are, indeed, work
ing to the same end. Even such
movements as socialism, which to
those of clear vision is only a gigan-
tic crusade against human liberty,
are inspired at the outset by en-
thusiasm for the advancement and
liberation of mankind.
1t is given to many men of noble
Instincts and even of great practical
capacity, within certain limits, to
have a glimpse of the future of
humanity as it might be. The an
archist dreams of the time when
each man shall achieve the highest
by being a law unto himself. The
socialist thinks he may see the es-
Establishment 'of justice and the Sc
curity of equal opportunity for all
through the exercise of the omnis-
cient power of the state. The phil
anthropist believes that by helping
the unfortunate, the distressed. the
detectives and those who have suf-
tered and learned by their own mis-
takes, he can quicken the coming
OF a brighter day. For many CEN
turtles the religious enthusiast has
promoted the doctrines and dogmas
that seem to him to contain the as
sence OF Salvari0n, not only and
perhaps not so much to secure for
Individual men and women a happy
hereafter, as to SO reganerate this
old world of ours that it may become
a Veritable City Of God. All high
aspiration and all great endeavor
work along parallel lines to the
same end. And all are subject 70
the same error, persistent from the
beginning; that of believing that
the hope which lies nearest to their
hearts may be made to blossom and
bear fruit by the use of some mar
tcular form Of machinery, and the
establishment of some new system
IN government, morals or politics.
1t is the same old mistake that as
Balls the dreamer of an ideal politi-
cal party Of the future. He forgets
as so many before him have for
gotten, that the whole can never be
anything but the sum of all its
parts. He passes lightly over the
fact, ignored by socialist and an
archist and reformer, that the quail
ity of society will be only the aver
age OF the quality of its individual
units. The political parties of the
past have proved themselves, in
many respects, profoundly unsatis-
factory. While they have great
achievements to their credit, thew
have made deplorable mistakes. The