The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-06
A DISCUSSING MESS.

The man, to whatever party he may
belong, who reads the account of the
progress Of events at the capitol of
Ohio must turn away with a feeling of
nausea and Of deep anger at the depths
to which politics have sunk In too
many states Of the Union. Nowhere,
outside Of Pennsylvania, perhaps, have
they found lower level than in Ohio.
It Is fitting, indeed that this should be
So Pennsylvania remained for great
many years the embodiment, as 1t was
the chief beneficiary, Of the protective
system. If that system has any moral
at all, 1t Is that one Of the chief pur-
poses for which government exists Is to
make certain kinds Of business profta-
BILE at the expense Of the consumer.
1t is a corollary Of this that a 1egisla-
ture, state or national is entirely justi-
fed in casting a vote that will add to its
private profits. Since there Is no diff
ference whatever, morally, between
voting and asking others to vote for a
bill which will bring in $1,000 ad-
dftional business profits next year and
accepting money bride for
the same amount Or Offering it to
others, the ethics of the system lead in
evftably to the establishment of the
general rule Of bargain and sale In po-
lftical transactions.
The next great state to Pennsylvania
to seize upon the protective system and
turn 1t to its uses is Ohio. Similar
causes have produced similar results
there. 1t IS no injustice to say that
political contests in Ohio are TODAY al
most wholly a matter Of money. Mr..
Hanna has set an example Of the IN
stinted use Of money in elections. and
we cannot be surprised that there
should be a combination against him.
This is curiously composed Of two eIe-
ments that are utterly antagonistic
and as far removed as the poles from
each other. The body Of 1t con-
sists Of men who loathe and repudiate
the use Of money In politics, and on
pose Mr.. Hanna because he is at once
boss and a corrupter. To these Is
added small number of men. prob
ably constituting the balance of power,
who are out for the cash. Their orig
fnal intention was to make Mr.. Hanna
pay big sum Of money for his seat in
the senate. It Is probable that thew
have now gone so far that they cannot
even carry out their original purpose
without such certain detection as
would land them in the penitentiarv.
So the details of the struggle down at
Columbus reveal with unerring Ger
tainty g. conflict OF unworthy agencies
and motives that Is sickening to every
decent American. It Is as clear as day-
light that there was plan to bleed
Mr.. Hanna; that a large number Of the
members Of the legislature are thor
oughly corrupt, and that they are play
ing the situation for all the money that
there IS in 1t.
AS far as the practical outcome Of
this rumpus is concerned, the prospects
look very dark for Mr.. Hanna. AS we
have said. we believe that this defec-
ton was engineered at the beginning
entirely from a financial point of view
The intention was not to defeat the
senator, but to make him pay round
ly for his reelection. After men have
gone on record, however, after there
have been charges and counter charges
and new alliances become firmly con-
sclidated, it Is not easy to restore old
conditions. There Is danger even in
the worst society to man who
changes too often without a good
reason for his mental vagaries.
and the senatorial candidate who has
once lost certain lead seldom regains
1t. Mr.. Hanna has regarded the Repub-
lican party in the state Of Ohio as his
personal property, and has carried mat
tiers with high hand. The very fact
that he Is the administrations candi-
date today; that the national inf1u-
ence has been used to bring pressure
on the people Of Ohio, and that he can
have a cabinet Office or anything that
he wants If defeated, tends to weaken
his case.
In much the same way William Win
dom failed to be reelected from Min
nesota, to the complete surprise Of the
rest Of the country, although he was
not accused Of spending large amounts
Of money to secure his triumph. So it
seems probable that Mr.. Hanna, who
has friends at Washington, but has not
strength with his own constituency,
may be set aside for some other man.
Inasmuch as he is the motive power
behind this administration, he can be