Willmar tribune., 1900-03-21
UNDUE PARTlSANSHlP.

The most despicable Of all the ex-
cuses given by congressman for voting
for the Porto Rican tariff bill is that
they did it to stand by the PRESIDENT
A man is, or ought to be. elected to
congress because he possessed good
judgment. Ii the congressman is to
become merely a lifting-jack to "hold
up the hands Of the PRESIDENT then
every citizen, no matter how ignorant
Or thick-skulled. would make good
timber for a congressman and the Sc
lection could be made by drawing a
d anne from a receptacle containing the
names of all legally qualified citizens
in the district that are over 25 years
of age and have been citizens for
seven years. This putting party
above principles and good judgment
is the greatest danger Of republic.
The president thereby becomes an alb
solute monarch. This danger was
perceived by Washington and some of
the most impressive utterances of
his Farewell Address are directed
against this evil. William Henry
Harrison in his inaugural address
also aims a blow At this enemy of free
dom. We quote below a part Of this
warning:
''If parties in a republic are neces-
sary to secure a degree of vigilance
sufficient to keep the public function
aries within the bounds of law and
duty, at that point their usefulness
ends. Beyond that they become de-
structiive of public virtue, the parent
of spirit antagonistic to that of
liberty, and eventually its ineyitable
conqueror. We have examples of
republics where the loye of country
and of liberty at one time were the
dominant passion Of the whole mass
of citizens, and yet, with the continu-
ance of the names and forms Of free
government, not a Yestige of these
qualities remaining in the bosoms of
it's citizens. 1t was the beautiful re-
mark of a distinguished English
writer that in the Roman senate Octav-
ius had a party and Antony a party.
but the Commonwealth had none
Yet the senate continued to meet in
the temple Of liberty to talk of the
sacredness and beauty Of the Common
wealth and gaze at the statues Of the
elder Brutus and the Curtii, and Decii,
and the people assembled in the forum,
not as in the days of Camillus and
Scipios, to cast their free votes for
annual magistrates or pass upon the
acts of the senate, but to receive from
the hands of the leaders of the respec-
tive parties their share of the spoils
and to shout for one or the other, as
those collected in Gaul or Egypt and
the lesser Asia would furnish the
larger dividend. The spirit of
liberty had fled and, avoiding the
abodes of civilized man, had sought
protection in the wilds of Scythia or
tion of the same causes aud influences
it will fly from our Capitol and our
forums. Acalamity so awful, not only
to our country, but to the world, must
be deprecated by every patriot, and
every tendency to a state of things
likely to produce it immediately
checked. x x < AS far.as itdepends
on me it shall be accomplished. All
the influence that I possess shall be
exerted to prevent the formation at
least of an executive party in the halls
of the legislative body. [ wish for
the support OF no mem Der Of that body
to any measure of mine that does not
satisfy his Judgment and his sense of
duty to those from whom he holds his
Appointment.
It is now predicted that the Porto
Rtcan tariff bill will fail and that no
hksO i0 q tim fr,1s tho ip]on1 ,oi11 80 x =