The sun., 1896-12-09
Not Good Men, but a Good Party.

Not Good Men, but a Good Party.
Here is the moral which the respectable
Mr.. EVERETT p. WHEELER's Mugwump
mind draws from the late elections
I'VE must learn from the past campaign and the
nearnesS Of the GanSers so narrowly eScs ped TO
choose upright and honorable men to represent us.
able to stand ana point out the right and
honest enough to take it."
In the same sense BRYAN is an upright,
honest, and honorable man. All his neigh
bors testify to the exemplariness of his
moral character. He is n Presbyterian and
goes to church regularly. During the cam
paign he was always careful to keep the
Sabbath" Very often in his speeches he ex-
pressed the most devout sentiments, and
doubtless his religious feeling was genuine.
So also is Mr.. SEwALL, his associate on the
Reputation ticket, man OF reputable
character; an upright, honest, and honor
able man in his private life. The great
body of the delegates who nominated the
ticket and adopted the platform at Chicago
are good men. They are rs good as Mr. Ev-
ERETT p. WHEELER himself is. They meant
to point out the right way" and were
"honest enough to take it, believing it
to be as right as the way which he
points out. Mr.. WHEELER's way of retir-
ing the greenbacks and prccipitating panic
is only less foolish than their 10 to 1
way. They wanted to pack the Supreme
Court. He thinks that the country would
"have been better off" if Congress had
been abolished during the past nineteen
years. They wanted to walk over the
Supreme Court because It's decisions are
not according to their notions. He wants
to get rid OF Congress hc, au~e it does not
leRislate to SHIT his notions.
Now. as we have said, admit unre-
servedIy that Brother WHEELER is n good
man. I!e is very good man. He is up
right, honest, and honorable. His inten-
tons are good. his impulses are good, and
in his walk and conversation he is above re-
proach Nobody could he better. If he
were boy he would take the first prize Mt
school for diligence and department But
because he is so good. would " the dangers
we so narrowly escaped" have been averted
II he and his kind had been in seats of polit-
ical power to "point ont the right WAY ,"
Mr.. WHEELER would put Mr.. CLEVELAND
at the top of his list of good men neces-
sary for our political salvation; bnt what
way did Mr.. CLEVELAND point out . He
pointed out tariff thnt would have made
the country's sufferings far greater than
they have been under tho existing tariff,
which he refused to sign because it's rev.
enue-p e-producinR capacity had been increased
by the Senate. He pointed out IN income
tax that was contrary to the Consttu-
.. TOD ~. L.,
bonds solely to rcplcnish the gold reserve,
when really the greater part OF their pro
ceeds went to pay current EXPENSES, and
to make M the uneSamplcd deficiency in
the revenues of the Government. He pointed
ont that tho cure for the trouble was to
issue hundreds OF millions of additional
bonds in order 10 retire the greenbacks and
"tal.e the Government out of the banking
business;" but Congress paid no heed to
the prcpostcrous advice. Luckily for the
country Mr.. WHEELER had not boon able to
abolish Congress.
Mr.. CLEVELAND was made President on
Mr.. WHEEIFR's theory that we ought "to
choose upright and honorable men to repre-
sent us;" or it was on that theory and
that assumption that the Mugwumps sup
ported him. They said that he was "bet.
ter than his party" "A platform in him
self" that he was the man to" point out the
right way and honest enough to take it,"
and that therefore he should be President.
How has the theory worked in practice
What sort of a time have the people of this
country had of it for three years past
Goodness, Brother WHEELER, is admira-
BILE and desirable The good go to heaven,
at least il they are orthodox; but in the
practical affairs of this vale of sorrows, this
troublous, mundane existence, something
besides goodness is requisite, and it is even
more important, far more important. 1t is
common sense: it is wisdom. a man may
be good, but fool
Brother WHEELER. it Is not good men that
we want. They are to be had in abundance.
Most men are good, perhaps not so good ms
you are, but good as human nature runs.
What we want is sound and sensible
political policy, represented by faithful men,
not distracted from the pursuit of 1t by the
contemplation of their own superior
goodness If man assumes to be
better than his party. that is, bet
ter than it's political principles, the
people are swindled by his election as the
exponent OF his party, as its servant. 1t is
the party, not the man, that must be good.
A good party can stand bad man who
truly represents it; but even u good man