The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-01-18
THURSDAY, JANUARY Is.
The Way Of Good Government.


most heartily the policy and the work
OF those citizens who are organizing to
secure good government within party
lines. The difference between them
and the so-called "nonpartisans" is the
difference between practice and theory.
between speech and action. between
fact and fiction. between sincerity and
pretence. For while we by no means
accuse all who have been deluded by
the ''nonpartisan'' dodge Of low mo-
tive, the governing idea Of 1t is simply
to obtain control Of public ONCE by
political combination. The shrewd ones
among the leaders knows this; and
those well-meaning people who follow
them with the idea that they are per-
forming q public service in all sincerity
are simply deceived.
The essence Of reform and the basis
of effective work for good government
may be found expressed briefly and
forcibly by Mr.. T. s. Lippy in an inter-
He says: IT believe that much good can
be accomplished by members of all the
political parties who want good gov
eminent by simply working inside of
their own party organizations for the
election Of delegates who win nominate
good men for office. no matter in what
oft Aa1 fnsp
no hand whatever in the Citizens Nom
partisan League. have nothing what
ever to do with IT.
This is the way of reform. and how
simple and sensible 1t isl For the pres
ent there IL no method Of nominating
and electing public officials but by the
machinery of delegate conventions.
These imply and require the existence
Of an organization. that is, a political
party. 1t makes no difference whether
1t calls itself Republican, Democrat,
Fusion, Citizens League. Nonpartisan
Association, Committee of One Hun
dred or what not. 1t is party, and its
efforts will work out to the usual end
OF party action by the usual party
methods, except that where this is
covered by the trick or device Of
name to cloak the party aspect, the re-
suits are sure to be inferior. For the
greater power is thereby thrown to the
few men who engineer the concern and
know precious well what they are
about. Whether we will ever find a
better substitute for the party system
we cannot say. What we do know is
that It is the necessary system today,
and that those who profess to reject it
accept most closely everything repre-
hensible that attaches to 1t.
The realization of good government
lies exactly where Mr. Lippy puts it. The
men who desire good government in any
community are sufficiently numerous to
accomplish their desires II they will
only act and act wisely. What they
need to do is not to squander time and
effort in setting up new machine that
Is hound to work exactly as the old
machines do; but to bring the best pub
lie opinion to bear effectively on the
organization Of parties as they now ex-
LIST. BY this means these parties may
be made to represent the views and to
carry out the wishes Of the reformer to
any extent; and this cannot be done at
the present time in any other way in
any part of the United States
The average citizen does not realize
how sensitive party managers are to
public opinion. They appear to disre-
gard it frequently, simply because it
will not take the trouble to express
Itself. But public opinion means votes.
ana It is votes that the party must
have. We venture TO say that If the
! friends Of good government will meet
In any precinct in this city, declare
Their intention to work within party