The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-01-15

and for that matter in all free coun-
tries, is conducted by political parties.
! The cause for the fact is to be found
in the nature of things, in the temper
! ment and constitution of the human
mind itself. Wherever government ex-
! lists, and freedom exists with it. the
| people will be found naturally divided
| into two classes or parties, one of
which will seek the general welfare
! through an excessive use of the
authority of government; the other by
exercising only so much of the author
fty of government as may be necessary
to preserve the general peace and
tranquility of society, leaving men free
TO follow their own pursuits of in
dustry, and to seek their own pros
perity and happiness in their own way.
About these two central ideas of the
administration of government will be
grouped in time a number of second
airy ideas which in the aggregate will
constitute the respective party doc
trines. It is useless to expect that
these party creeds will reflect the ex-
act views of every individual of the
party; nor is it to be expected that
every individual of party can sub
scribe fully to every item which makes
up the party doctrine. At best it can
! only be expected that party principles
as embodied in party platforms and
other party announcements but APP
proximately represent the views of the
! individual members of the party, and
! they give their adherence to this or
that party according as the one or the
other most nearly represents their
views of government and its admins
tration-hence party association, hence
party fealty.
Government by party, we repeat, has
become the settled practice in the
United States, and we had almost said
principle, nor would we be wrong to
say that Government by or through
| party is also the policy in the state of
Utah, and just now, in consequence of
the action and utterances of very
prominent men in the community, it is
of interest to determine how far the
support of party ought to be followed.
The consideration Of the subject may
well begin with the question, is a de-
( feated party or its representatives,
when they see their opponents on the
eve of making a mistake in their man
agement of public affairs which will at
once exhibit the vice or lack of wis
dom in that party's policy, and vindi-
cate the superiority of their own prin-
ciples and policy, under any obliga-
ton to step in and by act
ing with a faction of the oppos-
ing party rescue them from the
plumbers that otherwise might turn
the government into the hands
of that party whose principles would
not lead to evil or disaster in the state?
The general answer to the question is
not difficult to give, and that answer is.
emphatically no. But after that gen
eral answer is given, which may be
set down as the rule, we can think of
some circumstances which would ius-
tify an exception ito it. Such, for in
stance, as where some great calamity
threatens the state, and which would
fall before the party under whose adj
ministration and because of whose adj
ministration the evil is threatened
could be overthrow and replaced by
the party whose political principles or
policy Of administration would lead
away from the calamity-in such
case, patriotism would dictate that the
minority party or it's representatives
should so to the country's rescue. But
such instances are rare. They do not
happen in the every day affairs of
party administration Such a circum-
stance does not exist in the pending
election of United States senator's,
The two parties in Utah presented
their principles and candidates to the
people of the state and the election re-
turns gave a verdict in favor of the
Republican party and it's methods. One
of the results is that we see in the
foreground Of public affairs a fierce
factional fight in progress among Re-
publicans over the election of United
States senators, and as in the opinion
of some Democrats some of these Re-
publican candidates are more desirable
than others, Democrats in the legisla-
ture are strongly urged not to waste
their votes, throw party considerations
to the winds, and elect the best men
to the senate.
The Democrats ought to do no such
thing. The choice of one Republican as
against another does not present one
of the exceptions referred to above that
would warrant an interference by the
party in the minority The election Of
Republicans to the senate may be we'll
considered a public calamity, but it is
such a one that may not be averted
by a choice among the several Repub-
lican candidates. The only remedy for
that calamity would be the election of
the Democratic nominees, but that is
out of the question. It would lessen
the calamity to elect one Democrat and
the Democratic members of the legis-
lature would be justified in thus cut
ting down the calamity though it in
volyed voting for a Republican in ex-
change for enough votes to elect a
Democrat; but such an opportunity is
not likely to arise.
The people of Utah have placed the
responsibility of electing United States
senators upon the Republican party:
let them carry it, and let Republican
methods of electing United States SEN
ators stand in contrast with methods
proposed by The Democratic party; and
above all, let Republican choice of SEN
ators stand in contrast to the Demo-
cratic nominees for the same office.
The Washington Post says the
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