The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1906-11-23
What's the Matter With America?
BY William Allen White. in Golfers.


''unfortuna.ely IN the lower levels OF
politics moral stanpedes are unusual, The
ordinary delegate to the ordinary political
convention plays the game of politics ac-
cording to the rules of that particular
sport. He despises downright lying. lie
scorns crude bribery with money as the
consideration lie Is a stickler for public
economy. But. en- the other hand. prom
Uses to friends need not be kept II they en-
danger the interests of his ward or his
township in a contest before the conven-
tlon: and. though Rob Saunders be II Grip
pie and unable 10 earn his salary, II Henry
Thomas will make Rob saunders deputy
sheriff, all of Bob Saunders friends are
in honor bound to support Henry Thomas;
though if Henry should offer Bob for his
support the sum of money in cash that
he would draw as deputy sheriff. the very
hint of it would defeat MIR. Thomas. For
these are the rules of the game. "A coun-
~ commissioner who trades a bridge for
the vote of a township in the election,
loses little caste by the bargain. And the
county attorney who is able to get railroad
passes for his friends has friends in the
convention who admit they are voting for
aim in spite of his record, though the sum
of money they saw in railroad fare by
his kindness is so small that it would
insult them il it were offered as a bride.
Slle present convention system of count
politics makes 1t inconvenient for u ma
Jority of the citizens actively to engage
VI the political game. Usually the con-
Nentions of a given party in any county
are composed of the same men year after
year. The list for the convention ten
years ago or twenty years ago would do
Tor the convention today, if death might
nelp TO answer the roll call. So the local
Noiltlcians form II caste in the county.
Two or three republicans control the dele
cation to the republican convention from
amy township: five or six republicans con-
troll each ward-unless there is Il factional
contest, when The first five or six men con-
Nast with five or six others. When the
county delegates are all elected, a dozen
men self-selected from the different wards
and townships gather with more or less
secrecy the day or the night before the
convention meets and map out it's work:
unless, of course. there is a factional fight
NJ the county, when two such groups of
highbinders meet. From the day when
the delegates are selected until the county
ticket is named, the people are outcasts.
All the rites and ceremonies, all the can
dle-burning, and bell-ringing, is done blythe
high-caste devotees of the order of politics,
and finally when the tickets of all the par
ties are named. the people at best have
but Il choice between evils, and as a re-
suit county officers are entirely honest
so far as till-tapping goes. They are en-
tirely efficient so far as the routine clerical
work of the county is concerned, and are
kind hearted, shrewd, quick-witted Ameri-
cans, whose chief interest in political life
is to see that their friends get every dollar
of the county's money that the letter of
the law will give them, and that their
keep we'll within the spirit of
the statute. Men of this mold and timber
fnrr, tlo lI.,11 1J~1 - -. ~. a.
we recruit our knights and mobiles and
most worshipful ones. If this country is
to be improved politically, it will do little
permanent good to begin reforming presi-
tents and senators and congressman and
governors and Judges. If there is any
thing so excitable as treason in the SEN
ate. it is the same kind of treason that
is found among the people, and it will do
no good to show the people what kind of
rascals they have hired. unless we show
the people what kind of rascals they are
who hired them. And it will accomplish
little toward the real b~etterInent of the
life, If We keep scolding the peo-
pie and calling them names without point
ing the way TO some real exit from the |
dark tower. if dark tower we are in. But
4 close view of the situation compels one
to conclude that we are not in a dark
tower at all. We are merely in a hall
way-to continue the architectural figure
"a hallway which soon must open into a
wider field. Politics is no worse thar
it was a generation ago. The gentle
man in a frock coat. with one of his hands
thrust complacently between the buttons
In front, and the other displaying his high
hat, was no more honest than is the fourth /
statesman of the country town of to-
day, and the two are equally stupid.
Graft-as we call special priv:lege-was
as prevalent in Washington's time and in
Jackson's time and in Lincoln's time and
in Gartield's and Cleveland's times as it is
today. A few persons ragged about it in
other days, but the people as a nation
didn't care. Look back twenty years.
Could a presidential candidate today carry
the load that Blaine carried and come
within a few thousand votes of an cleo
Mr.. IIlkins is a survival of the
Blaine days of American polit;cs-how
would he run as a presidential candidate
against either Mr.. Roosevelt or Mr.. Bry-
an? Ben Butler was governor of Massa-
chusetts once; would Massachusetts elect
Ben Butler today? In the campaign of
1884 "Harper's Weekly stood almost alone