The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-07-22
Fell Work OF Our
Prophets OF Evil
From the New York Sun.


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 a long time
past; but there is a baleful influence still
remaining, deep-seated and pervasive,
which must be overcome before we can
resume our proper national progress. No
other country in the world has ever suf-
fered more bitterly in it's prosperity than
has this republic during the last ten or
fifteen years from concerted assaults on
the confidence in its political institutions
and its methods of government, the
mainstay of a country's moral and ma
terial progress. These assaults have been
made under the inspiration of malg-
nifty so virulent as to render them vir-
tually reasonable conspiracy.
o
Since 1884, more particularly, there has
been a persistent and methodical effort
to SOW the seeds of suspicion and dis
content in this republic under the pre-
| tence of a movement for it's political ref
| ormation and elevation. It has proceed
| ed with tireless and vociferous disparage-
| ment and detraction of our public men,
| of our political parties, and of our leg
| islative bodies. That is, it's assault has
| been on representative government under
| our American institutions. 1t started out
on the false and vicious assumption that
| American society and American politics
are corrupt and decadent, and that the
| character of the representatives elected
| by the people has deteriorated ominously
| in both moral and intellectual quality.
| 1t assailed policies adopted and pursued
| by the government as selfishly and cor
| ruptly conceived for the enrichment of
| the few and the impovershment of the
| many, though they were policies based on
political principles which always have
| been regarded as debatable on their mer-
| it's and have afforded the ground for the
| division of the people into opposing par
| ties, each respectful of the honesty of
| conviction of the other. The assault was
| not made on the actual conduct and be-
| havior of the public men advocating them,
| but on the assumed baseness of their
motives. 1t was not political debate. 1t
was mere malignant defamation.
| o
| Thus a spirit was introduced into our
| politics tending to engender among the
| people dangerous suspicion. The animat-
| ing purpose of those who sought to spread
| ii was to destroy popular faith in polit-
| ical leaders and political organizations be-
| fore trusted and respected. The leaders
| were denounced as tyrannical bosses, the
parties as corrupt machines. The parti-
| sanship which Is natural and essential
| in representative government was ridi-
| culed as q slavish subiection to which
| only unenllBntencO minus would ylelu.
| The obedience of a representative to the
party which had elected him rather than
to the behests of this band of defamers
| was treated as base servitude to a boss.
| They coined the word ruler" for the
president; a ruler by Divine right, and
not the representative of policy formu-
| lated by a party They taught the ut
terly un-Americap and unrepublican doc
| trine that the personal character of the
| individual elected, rather than the prin-
cples of the party electing him, was
the important matter. They imported
into our American politics the abomin-
able heresy that the candidate is "a
platform in himself" This is the CRY
they are raising now with reference to
particular candidate for mayor of New
York whom they are trying to force into
nomination. They want him to be puI
up solely on faith; and they have picked
him out specifically because he doesn't
represent party, but himself only. They
have declared that If he should consent
to be party candidate, they would mo-
support even him. He must refuse al
party and representative obligations and
be governed solely by his own conscienc,
and Judgment, as IL he We're an auto
crat responsible only to God, a prophet
a being supernaturally inspired of Heav
en-, or they will have nothing to do with
him.
| This Is the logical conclusion to which
these rebels against representative gov
ernment have gone, and which they hav,
been endeaVoring to educate the peopl,
to adopt by persistent detraction and de
famation of the actual representative
of the people and of the government, al
1t actually is conducted and administered
under the constitutional American sys
tenn. They have sought with malevolen
industry to generate and propagate
spirit OF distrust suspicion, and contemp
of authority and all those who exercis,
1t under commission from the people
These vicious efforts have been most sue
cessful among the part of the commun
ty which fiatters itself with the motion
that It is superior to the ress becaus
It is not warmed by q patriotism whicl