The sun., 1897-01-20
A Religious View OF Politics.

Very naturally. religious papers seek to
avoid partisanship In their discussions Of
politics, for however harmonious their
readers may be In religious sentiment, they
are discordant in political partisanship.
Accordingly, these papers usually under
take to treat politics as apart from parties;
and in the effort thus to separate the in
separable they distort and violate the
principles upon which this Government and
all representative government Is founded.
They proceed on the false assumption that
the important questions In politics concern
the moral characters OF men nominated to
Office rather than the political and partisan
opinions they represent.
The Outlook, edited by DR.. LYMAN ABBOTT,
is one Of these papers which most frequently
and most largely enter into the field of poll
tics; and its method Of treating the subject
is indicated by this remark:
Elections Idle forms unless the electors know
or easily ascertain. something OF the personal
character OF the candidates for whom they voting
II 10 because In cases this 10 impossible that
they vote the regular ticket which unscru upuious
managers have prepared for them"
Ele ctions would be idle forms II the cleo
tors proceeded on that principle. They
wou uld decide nothing 30 far as concerns
tho political views and convictions Of the
voters II the important matter in an cleo
tion were 1.-THE personal character of the
candidates." it would make no difference
whether the candidates were Democrats or
Republicans, Prohibitionists or Socialists,
30 long as they were proved to be the best in
personal character. On that principle. II
BRYAN had been a man OF better private
character than MCKINLEY he should have
| been elected.
In y" a general survey Of the personal and
political characteristics Of the new Gov
ernors," the Outlook has this to say:
with three exceptions the Governors elect are men
whose past history gives promise of honest and
orable mnstraton OF their ONCE. and whose char.
acters arc represented varying in the scale from
good 60 excellent The three exceptions the Gov.
ernors OF Maine. Minnesota. and Illinois Unless We
are wholly misnforined. each OF these men has
nominated and elected, not only by . machine but
by . corrupt machine, 20 which. In times past each
has been politically sabservient"
A A"machine is simply party organiza-
tion, without which there can be no concen-
tration of party strength, and therefore
practically no party. II the members OF a
political party do not unite in the support
OF the candidates of the organization, it can
accomplish nothing. But, OF course, nc
party machine" itself elects the candi-
dates. The Governors OF Maine. Minnesota,
and Illinois were elected by the Republican
voters by popular majority. What does
this religious paper want' Is it after po-
litcal chaos. Without party organization
the machine" such chaos would be as sure
to result rs disaster to an army without
leadership and without discipline. The
Governors Of the States named are simply
Republican partisans. and they could not be
anything else without treac hery to those
| who voted for them.
Here is another way in which the OUTLOOK
puts forward its theory that representative
OF party should refuse to be bound by tho
party's policy and principles;
what the Senate needs Is the presence Of two o
three strong vigorous leaders who afraid neither
OF their constituencies nor OF their associates"
1t makes this remark after having sale
that in recent years the personnel OF tn,
Senate has not only suffered great de
cline, but 1t has ceased to be deliberativt
and conservative body" At what time