The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-31
THE SUN, MONDAY, JANUARY 8f, 1908.

our convietion our own Government Il bet
ter, why should weiook to q monarchical
system across the Atlantic for Instruction.
Since the development Of this republic
and the development Of absolute universal
suffrage here, this Government has been
successful practically In building up the
most prosperous State In the history OF
mankind. Our political experiment has
afforded so complete n Demonstration OF
the capacity Of tho people for self
government, without the aid OF a feu-
dal "aristocracy," that IL has had q
powerful reflex influence on political con-
ditions In England itself and through
out the civilized world. As England has
grown moro democratic and less aristo-
cratic Its Government has been strength
ened and it's power In the world increased
and extended until now its dominion is far
wider than before the democracy came into
control Of It.
All that is q sufficient indication that
popular self-government does not imply
necessarily a degradation Of politics, or
that an "aristocracy' is essential as n
buffer against IL. The great majority OF
the people Of this republic, as experience
has proved, desire good government, the
number Of those who want bad government
being 60 small actually that they are on
fined almost exclusively in the prisons and
penitentiaries. where they arc debarred
from voting. It has also been demon
strated hat the whole body Of the
people are wiser In politics than
any "~class" artihcially constructed, wiser
even thar q great ecclesiastic like Car.
dinal VAUGHAN. with his narrow dis
trust Of democracy. For instance, less than
two years ago, able and artful men sought
to induce the American people to destroy
the credit Of this republic by appealing to
their selfish greed. They were told that
by cheating the creditors Of the Govern
ment they could cheat their own creditors;
but they saw through the fallacy, spurned
the dishonesty, and voted for honor and
honesty and sound financial principle. At
a N earlier day they struggled through four
years of the greatest and most terrible war
of modern times in order to preserve their
political system, sacrificing for an idea
hundreds of thousands of lives and thou
sands Of millions Of money. They built up
q strong and vastly improved financial sys-
tenn, and as the rapid extension of the re-
public required, they constructed adequate
political machinery for its efficient govern
ment, making new States and enacting
laws for the protection and preservation of
the growing society adapted to the chang
ing needs of modern civilization.
How could all this have been accom-
plished here within the lifetime and under
the observation of Cardinal VAUGHAN eff
the better men do not go into politicsT'
The truth is that in no country In the
world do 1.-THE better men 60 into politics"
more generally thar here. Substantially
all of them are in politics, for every Ameri-
can citizen Is OF necessity a politician,
the Government resting on all the citizens.
Moreover, the special part Of the public
called by Cardinal VAUGHAN the better"
corresponding to the English "aristoc-
racy," 30 far as any such correspondence
can be ssumed as possible, were never in
politics moro than now. The Congress of
the United States is now as truly repre-
sentative Of the intelligence nj the moral
elevation of the people as ever before in
our history. So It is also with the State
Legislatures. In the last Legislature
of New York. for instance, the stand
ard of ability and of public spirit
was as high as it had been in any
Legislature of the State from the time
of its foundation, as those who came INTO
contact with its members and heard their
deliberations freely testify, and as the illus
trious record of its legislation bears incon-
testable witness. 1t was one of the greatest
Legislatures in the history of this State.
and its record will remain memorable as
such in the distant future. Here in the
city of New York we have as Mayor
q representative of the old Knicker-
booker stock, which comes about as near
to an "aristocracy" as is possible in this
country, and young men of the social circles
most initiative Of the English "aristoc-
racy" are crowding into Tammany Hall,
with a view to the qualification of their po-
litical ambitions. We do not regard them
as a valuable or even desirable addition to
| politics but they are of the sort meant by
| Cardinal VAUGHAN when he speaks Of the
better men"
The Cardinals Misrepresentation of our
actual condition, however, is ~excusable in
q foreigner because he has heard the same
accusations made by Americans themselves.
1t is only a repetition of the old Mugwump
cry which has resounded in this country
more especially during the last fifteen
| years. 1t Is the cry Of a feeble and degen-
| crate political minority, distressed because
! they are unable to keep up with our virile
political progress.