The advocate., 1895-10-02
THE People Nor m N.


The name Of the author Is not dis
closed, but the editor says he Is ''s gen.
tleman who has been active and prom
inent, especially in the administration
Of affairs for many years. He is
known especially as that sort of prac-
tical politician to whom others owe
success and preferment, but whose
personal relation to politics has seldom
been of an official character" We
fear there Is too much truth in what
he says Of all political parties. Who
ever the writer may be the letter is q
good one for everybody, without re-
gard to party, to read. 1t isa follows:
Ny Dear ST.:
In the question which has so long been
near our hearts, and which you have para
phrased as "Better government through a
better citizenship" take the keenest In
terest, as you know, as movement which
deserves the highest success but is bound
10 meet with failure. suppose no one
will question that have some knowledge
of practical politics." and believe that
you will admit that would favor any mod
ification Of party organization, any restric-
tion Of party power and enlargement Of the
individual obligation, power and response
bility, IL l believe the same would be con-
duclve to the common welfare and general
prosperity. do not believe twould. The
day of high-toned, individual citizenship,
of actual self-rule, If 1t ever existed in the
United States, is IN my opinion forever
past. The struggle will hereafter be, in
nation, state and city, as it has been for
the past twenty years, not to devise ways
and means to carry into effect the popular
win, but to guide and control the popular
will so as to prevent the country suffering
from its Inconsistencies almost incohe-
rences. And this tendency is going to in
crease-must increase or chaos win soon
result The party is the palladium Of our
government, because it holds the populace
in check. Any aspiring young fellow, who,
In any other republic, would be climbing up
to the presidency in few years, putting
some competitors out of the way by vio-
lence, and combining and conspiring with
others, here runs against the stone wall OF
party. He cannot be leader, much less
candidate, except he first commands the
support Of his party leaders; and this he
can only do by faithful service. Since the
organization Of representative parties,
about 1880, there has been but one man
who was big enough at any time in his ca
reer to defy party organization. Even he
was finally caught in its meshes, and
strangled by its flmy strength. This man
was U. S. Grant. He might have been an
independent candidate for president in 1868
and have beaten all parties and competitors
Every republican politician feared that he
would and / have sometimes thought it a
pity that he did not. The fact that he did
not shows that no independent candidate
for the presidency can ever be successful,
A man must first secure nomination by
party convention, and this is only through
the approval or fear of the party leaders.
Thus we are made safe from the ambitious
designs which have wrecked other repub-
lies. In my opinion, the safety Of the coun-
try depends on the fact that the people dc
not rule, but the party leaders do,
know you think this nothing more than
treason. So would have done even when
we first met on the eve of q national con.
vention, and sat up until "the wee sma'
hours" talking of the future that is now
the past. We were not boys then, but we
were younger by twenty years than we are