Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1898-09-15
POLITICS Is BUSINESS.

W. lluc, Ttd'l ab VIC iSNShs hcSeihS Va
the Michigan Republican Newspaper
Association, at Alma:
II is TO be hoped the time will come
when it will be considered a compli-
ment to an American citizen to be call
ed a politician, and | believe the COM
ing of that time will be heralded when
the much quoted ''best citizens" OF the
country and Of every community forget
self interest long enough to pay due
heed to that of the general public.
A politician OF the kind l refer to is
a promoter OF the public welfare. He
makes politics a matter of business,
but, the trouble is, there are too few of
his kind.
The way to elevate politics is to ele-
vate the public mind to a higher con-
ception OF the public duty of private
citizen How is this to be done? Man
ifestly by the lever of the public press.
Begin with the primaries. The pro-
verbal "best citizens" as a rule, espec-
tally in our large cities, are too busy
to attend them. They don't have time.
They might lose "A dime in trade, or a
dollar in Imagination, if they should
leave their business places long enough
to go to caucus and help put up a
clean ticket or elect clean delegation.
So they stay at home and let the ring
or rabble run the primaries. Then
they denounce the ticket nominated,
or the ring delegation chosen, and
piously implore heaven to save the
country.
| know this is a hackneyed subject,
but we must keep hacking away at it
until our "best citizens" become duly
conscious of where the trouble lies.
Our "best citizens" need continual
prodding until they come into the full
realization Of the fact that every day
devotion to their own individual inter
ests, to the neglect of public duty, is "A
sin no less ilagrant than the corrupt
bargaining of political prostitutes. If
the primaries are run by shysters and
demagogues the people cannot expect
either the candidates or the conven-
tions to be representative OF the high
est and best interests OF the community.
Ii the primary be dirty puddle we
cannot expect purity to come out of it,.
Once in great while our "best citi-
zens" look up from their desks and
ledgers long enough to see the danger
signals. They did this in 1896, when
the triple threat of financial revolution
reputation aud anarchy was thrown
at their heads. 1t was then they rea-
did not require derrick to lift them
TO their feet, a billy goat TO give them
forward movement, nor a guide to
show them the way to the voting
booths. They were politicians then
these "best ctizens''-and they de-
voted their time and energies to the
cause imperilled. But it took them a
long time TO become persuaded that it
was necessary for them to go into poll
tics. And it will probably take a long
time now to convince them that their
active services are needed in politics
except in very perilous times. 1t is
strange, indeed, they do not realize
that it is their chronic indifference in
ordinary times that invites the very
perils which make them shudder when
at last they see them.
| hope the time will come-and that
soon-when our "best citizens" will be
politicians every day, instead of only
once in a great while. For 'Politics is
Business" from the largest down to the
smallest unit OF governmental exist
ence 1t is politics that controls the
public's business, and the public's bus
mess should be the daily concern of
every good American citizen. Other
wise "a government of the people, by
the people and for the people" is in
danger of becoming a government of
the vicious, by the vicious and for the