The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1897-04-25
A GERMAN CRITIC.

the United States during the Presiden-
tial campaign and election, and maze
a study of the situation from the
standpoint of an onlooker having nc
feeling in the issue. He has put to pa
per his views. Believing that the time
will come when monarchies Will De
abolished, but that it is not necessary
to have violent revolutions to that
end. he frankly states his faith in
American republican institutions. de
believes that government by the people
is the best government, and that it has
come to stay. He is frank in his crit
icisms, and has good deal of fault &c
find with our methods. Some of his
notes we append as decidedly refresh
ing:
But although monarchies are more OF
less democratic in our days, they are
governed by the people to such an eX-
tent as the great Republic civil sefV-
ice reform has done much to take the
administration out of the hands OF the
party which happens to be in power
but as the officials who are empowered
to make appointments are changed
very frequently, every one connected
with the administration is affected by
the ballot-box.
What with municipal, county, State
and United States elections, the cltl-
zens are continually voting for some
one. The Americans, however care
no more for politics than the citizens OF
other countries, and the creation OF
political machines is the result of their
apathy. 1t is the business of the ma
chine politician to manipulate the
floating vote, of which there is always
good deal in the market, especially
in the larger cities. The boss is al
ways a man skilled in handling voters
who have no will of their own, and
whom he can send to represent publlc
opinion in the nomination and election
of candidates. The boss" of the OPP
position party has done exactly the
same thing; thus the quiet citizens
who generally take little interest in the
business until election time draws nigh
have TO choose between two evils, /. e.,
creatures of the bosses" 1t requires
enormous exertions to get an indie
pendent candidate through, and in the
case of minor offices the public are gen
orally too indolent to make such exer-
TONS They accept the choice of the
boss" though sometimes with much
grumbling.
It must not be supposed that there is
no attempt to put an end to bossism
Honest men everywhere try to remove
this evil. In Chicago, for instance,
made the acquaintance Of a number OF
able. energetic young Aldermen, sons
of rich and influential men, who have
forced their way into the municipal adj
ministration to fight corruption. II
may be imagined how they are hated
by the rest of the Aldermen. Their in
tegrity must be great to neutraliZe the
barefaced calumnies to which they are
subjected, and they may not show
themselves in certain parts of the city
for fear of attacks upon their life.
A well-known German American, {
leader of the St Louis Republicans
told me that he hated bossism, but de
clared that It is better TO compromist
with a boss" than to overthrow him
A new boss is sure to rise, and may
be less easy to influence than one wht
is well established and has something
to lose.
Mr.. Barth then proceeds to name
some of the greater bosses, and to in
dictate his belief that business /:
more or less cowardly in paying trib
ute to bossism and submitting to it:
dictation. He holds that the grea
body of bosses we have are such fol
purely coin ends, not for political am
bition, but for the sole purpose of lin
ing the pocket with money. He argue:
that ii is not impossible to eradicate
corruption in American politics, ant
thinks that the time will come when i
will be accomplished, and at that poin
repeats, for emphasis, his belief tina
government for the people, and tina
this nation is now in process of prov
ing it. He adds, with blunt franknes
and no mincing of words:
After all, public opinion is the rea
ruler of the United States. Nowhere
is the politician so thoroughly afraid o.
public opinion. Nowhere does he exer
himself so much TO find out what tn
people think. Courageous men, wht
viii oppose the people If they are man
ifestly in the wrong, are very rare
among American politicians. Hence
progress is exceptionally slow in the
United States. No change can b'
brought about in politics until the
masses have been educated to accep
it. The education of the masses i:
therefore the most important task o.
public life in the United States.
This is the best side of democracy
the people are educated to administer
their affairs themselves. In many
ways the party politics Of America may
be unsatisfactory, but the people Their,
are politically better educated than il
any other country. else the silver swim
die would have been victorious in 1896
True, the people are not often aroused
10 such an extent. but 1t is good sigr
that three months of educational cam.
paigning sufficed to insure victory fol
the party OF common sense.
A LIVING MUMMY.