The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-08-05
The Episode Of Trivial Politics.

One Of the happy incidental results of
the war is the broadening of the political
horizon Of the sort of young men who made
up the preposterous Good Government"
clubs and threw themselves hotly into the
Low campaign of last year as II it consti-
tuted one of the great turning points in
political history, instead of being, as it
was, merely a tempest in a teapot. Already
discerning minds had discovered signs In
dicative Of the coming of an era Of larger
and ~profounder politics, calling for some
thing more than prigRish self-complacency
in our public life, but these young fel.
lows were oppressed with the notion
that the one tremendous duty rest
ing on the novitiate voter was to
revolutionize politics by substituting
personal character" for "partisanship"
as u test of fitness for office and for
the tasks put upon a statesman. The solu-
ton of the problem of good government"
in their view, lay wholly in the selection of
"good e for government. Their Low
campaign was based entirely on that
theory, and through it they expected to
demonstrate to the world that they had
discovered the panucea for the political
ills which their adolescent philosophy had
diagnosed.
Actually, of course, the whole movement
was worked in the selfish interest of a few
men Of Unsuitable political desires. The
wires were pulled by scheming age, but the
u~nsuspecting% credulity of youth supplied
the enthusiasm for the movement. SETH
Low, relegated to political obscurity after
his commonplace Brooklyn experience,
wanted to be the first Mayor OF the Greater
New York. EVERETT p. WHEELER want
ed to get on the bench of the Judiciary.
JOSEPH LARoCQUE, bred in the school of
Tammany politics, thought that he was of
the stuff of which a Boss should be made.
JOSEPH II. CHoATE desired a cynical re.
venge. Behind these leaders and manipu-
lators came a motley crowd of men of all
political uniforms, sympathetic only in
their greed for spoils. Only "good men"
for office was the cry they put into the
mouths of their youthful warriors; and
they were to be the "good men,"
Meantime, as we lave said, the condi-
tions and influences which were tending
to make these closing years of the CEN
fury memorable in the history of Amer
lea as the beginning of a new and broad
err political development had already be-
come apparent. The Cuban question had
reached a phase where its speedy set
Element had been made evident, with
the certainty that 1t would be dominant in
our politics. The election of Mr.. MCKIN-
LEY in 1896 had assured the annexation of
Hawaii, with wide-reaching incidental con.
sequences In the political and commercial
situation. The silver question was still
menacing. TIL country was face to face
with the weightiest questions of politics.
the broadcast and the gravest which had
taxed American craftsmanship in the
whole national history, yet to these young
fellows the commonplace and bourgeois
personality of SETH Low was the over
shadowing issue!
Our three months of war have now given
them something of real Importance to think
about. Their imagination has been stimu-
lated and their vision extended. They nave
awakened at last to the consciousness that
they are citizens Of a greatOlation whose
politics are of world wide Significance.
They begin to see that the future of this
republic will offer opportunities for youth.
flu energy and enterprise never equalled in
its past, and that the political problems
now arising will demand for their saga.
cious solution more than mere common
place goodness" and will educate and
employ the highest statesmanship.
The episode of Mugwump and Goo Goo
politics has come to an end.