The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-02-11
Put Public Welfare
Above the Party.

The texts chosen by the Very Reverend
Carroll NJ Davis. dean of Christ Church
Cathedral as apropos to his subject. Civic
Righteousness" were two. The first was
Pioverbs II. 3: by the blessing of the up
light the city Is exalted, but II is over
! sa.own by the mouth Of the wicked- The
exaiteth a nation. but sin is q reproach to
Dean Davis said. in part: The authority
the mutual agreement Of those who 60 to
make up its numbers, but in the justice and
equity OF God himself. by whose ordaining
be are ordained of God. ard we are clearly
taught to render. unto Caesar the things
that are Caesars, while at the same time
Gods Whatever the. outward form of gov
ernment-monarchy. oligarchy or democra-
cy-the inherent truth remains that he
IT Is not strange. then. that. as We
read the history Of men, We find the love
Of home and country. which we call patriot
man without a country is the synonym for
the most pitiable of all outcasts. And. on
Land or on sea. at home or abroad. what joy
We come in sight Of the old fiasI
love our country and our fair city
this city Of the sainted King. on the borders
the great Southwest. She has fallen on evil
times. Prosperity has proven her bank. Pa
triotism has dropped to a low ebb. Selfish
ncSS oL0 6Tccu DcIIuedIe neT whole aQulu-
istration. Private gain has superseded pub
lie welfare. The courts are demoralized-
The legislative halls are worm-eaten with
only byWords. Vice naunts her skirts in the
eyes Of heaven and the public institutions
are a disgrace to a civilized people. Public
Salfo. mas e no oe iunser 20 sacred ss 8 p 9nlisy 's anS home nne
exception. not the rule. Civic righteousness
Is the dream of the enthusiast and Of the
nnfUtffafpd What are We going to dOy
shall We empty the Walls of our wrath
upon those In power? Shall we satisfy our
all implicated. indifference lies at the door
Of all. None can escape the charge. Denun-
will accompl sh little. We must rise
face the evil in ali its widespread ramifi
cations. We must begin at once. We are
our city election. Both parties
lion OF the machine. And the machine u
selfish, unpatriotic and unscrupuious.
do not misunderstood me. In q Demo
ehs 0af GSu and. i I believe. in the machine.
When h party. thinks Of itself instead OF
city, and when the machine Is untrue
e is party. 1 Il believe In neither the one nor
Does any sane man to-day believe that
the Republican machine Is actuated by any
any man believe the Democratic machine.
its police force. is animated by Owe
10! or the city and the enforcement OF law
auQ lu8llCes
Nay. ii behooves them men In both parties
10 make their first fight at the primaries;
10 say. SO far as each man can, that the
machine which forgets the party welfare
and when election day comes, II the
party 10 betrayed by selfish men. then 10y
,,ty to st the party; as well as LOYALTY cHmn, to me
Furthermore. In the great straits to
shich our large cities have come. we should
honest men. who we believe have the well
of the city at heart-whose integrity
nd honor are above repIoaen,
Corruption and fraud must meet
With unalterable hostility. Politics must be
, ,sass%ed ah l5om taie dns dr snS fraud' Public II u os.
Ice Is a public honor and the measure Of Its
worth must be the measure of its fidelity |
% the public welfare |
Ell we leave the core Of public duty and |
trust to those whose acknowledged |
i'm Is present gain. shall We wonder at |
he r resi- I II Is a an 5a sTrs working out of
what We need Is to arouse 4 greater
lumber of loyal citizens. seek to bring the
rue and N earnest Of all Glasses togethsr 70
,et ourselves ready for the fray. II 10 not |
! work of days and months, but of years, |
mt It Is worthy Of continued and unceasing
Every man should be a politician In the 4
rue sense Of the word. He should be intel
and informed. he. should count the
OF the city as his own. he should
for honesty and purity and justice at
ii places and at all times. |
Vice and corruption bind themselves to-
for gain. Let virtue and honesty
ind themselves together for civic honor
nd the public good.
Let the cry this spring be public welfare
Ibove the party and party above the ma
hine. And then we may hope for the time
the machine will speak for the party
nd the party will v at heart the well
are Of the city"