The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-16
A Conspiracy Against the National
Prosperity.

The final passage OF the Tariff bill and
the adjournment Of the extra session Of
Congress will tend to relieve business from
causes Of disturbance which have been
viciously active for q long time past;
but there is a baleful influence still remain
ing, deep-seated and pervasive, which must
be overcome before we can resume our
proper national progress.
No other country in the world has ever
suffered moro bitterly In It's prosperity
than has this republic during the last ten or
fifteen years from concerted assaults on the
confidence in it's political institutions and
It's methods of government. the mainstay
of a country's moral and material progress.
These assaults nave been made under the In.
SEPARATION of a m%alignity so v~irulcnt as to rem.
der them n virtually reasonable conspiracy.
Since 1884, more particularly, there has
been n persistent and methodicnl effort to
SOW the seeds Of suspicion and discomfort
In this republic under the pretence of a
movement for it's political reformation and
elevation. 1t has proceeded with tireless and
vocifcrous disparagement and detraction
of our public men, of our political parties,
and of our legislative bodies. That is, its
assault has been on representative govern
menU u1ucr our American lnSplIutiouS. ~
started out on the false and vicious assump-
ton that American society and American
politics are corrupt and decadcnt. and that
the character of the representatives elected
by the people has deteriorated ominously
in beth moral and intellectual quality. 1t
assaulted policies adopted and pursued by
the Government as selfshly and corruptly
conceived for the enrichment of the few
and the impoverishment of the many,
though they were policies based on polit-
Zeal principles which always have been
regarded as debatable on their merits and
have afforded the ground for the division
of the people into opposing parties, each
respectful of the honesty Of conviction OF
the other. The assault was not made on
the actual conduct and behavior of the pub
lie men advocating them. but on the as
snmcd baseness of their motives. 1t was
not political debate. 1t was mere malig-
nant defamation.
Thus n spirit was introduced into our
politics tending to engender among the
people dangerous suspicion. The Animal
Ing purpose of those who sought to spread
It was to destroy popular faith in polit-
Zeal leaders and political organizations be.
fore trusted and respected. The leaders were
denounced as tyrannical bosses, the parties
as corrupt machines. The partisanship
which is natural and essential in represent
alive government was ridiculed as a slav-
lsh snbiection, to which only unenlightened
minds would yield. The obedience Of a
representative to the party which had
Elected him rather than to the behests of
his band of defamers was treated as base
ha,rstnla 70 N hneo Thnu rNfnaH Tho
word ruler" for the President; q ruler
by Divine right, and not the repre-.
tentative of II policy formulated by a
party. They taught the utterly un-Amer.
lean and unrepublican doctrine that the
personal character of the individual elect.
ed, rather than the principles of the party
electing him. was the important matter.
They imported into our American politics
the abominable heresy that the candidate is
ga platform in himself" This is the cry
they are raising now with reference to a
particular candidate for Mayor of New
York whom they are trying to force into
nomination. They want him to be put up
solely on faith; and they have picked
him out specifically because he doesn't
represent u party, but himself only
They have declared that II he should
consent to be a party candidate, they
would not support even him. He must re
fuse all party and representative obliga
tions and be governed solely by his OWL
conscience and Judgment, as IL he were ar
autocrat responsible only to Con, a prophet
a being supernaturally inspired of Heaven
or they will have nothing to do with him
This Is the logical conclusion to which
these rebels against representative govern
ment have gone, and which they have beef
endeavoring to educate the people to adop
by persistent detraction and defamation o
the actual representatives Of the people an
of the Government, az it actually Is con
Quoted and administered under the consti
tutional American system. They hav
sought with malevolent industry to genel
ate and propagate a spirit of distrust, sus
picion, and contempt of authority and al
those who exercise it under commission
from the people. These vicious efforts hav
been most successful among the part of tn
community which ~flatters itself with til
notion that 1t Is superior to the rest becaus
It is not warmed by a patriotism whic
dwells on it's %country's glory rather tina
its superficial blemishes. The spirit of def
nation of America was first propagated |
tiiO COilSbCoy aho thChec ~ bptCau I
clubs and lotteries of imaginary critics
refinement. 1t has not chilled the patriot
enthusiasm of the great mass of the peopl,
but 1t has insidiously sown in them the seed
Of quernlous discomfort. 1t has encourage
them to revolt against conservative part
leadership and to assert dangerously the
independence of the s~alntary restraints
partisanship, and thus become an undi
ciplined political mob.
In fine, the purpose of this malign NOV
ment has been the destruction Of existin
organized parties, with a view to producin
political chaos simply. Those engaged
1t have nothing constructive to propos
Their enterprise Is destructive only. AS
direct consequence of their malcvolent a
tivity, the Democratic party has bee
disrupted and, for the time being at leas
completely d~isintegrated. A great conse