The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-08


 ties, the national and civic are entirely distinct. The one to a great extent does not represent personalities, but principles, while, on the other hand civic politics does not represent principles so much as personalities. Let me try to illustrate the demarcation in few words.
 Principles, Not Personalities.
 Come back with me to the year 1896. Major Mckinley of Ohio is the candidate upon the republican ticket for President of the United States. He is the logical representative of his party. upon the sole issue that he was the author of the fam ous Mckinley bill, which established high tariff. Now. if MT Mckinley is elected to the presidency he can do absolutely noth- ing to forward his ideas of protection unless he has a congress behind him which will pass protection laws Thus all over the country republicans of the different congressional districts assemble and pick out men who believe in protection to sup port the future president in his policy. You, can readily see why they do this. When we elect a congressman we do not elect a personality so much as we vote for principle. The national convention builds political platform. Then the diff ferent congressional conventions of the party nominate men who will pledge themselves to support that platform in other words, in national politics "the unit man" is an insignificant mote of sand. But when all these notes are col lected together in one great volume we have the national policy or the principle of the great dominant political party ex- pressed in one mighty chorus sounding to- gether as one voice.
 Now, on the other hand, the govern ment of city has nothing to do with the tariff laws or with the advocacy of Q. ell H I,., ,,AHl fn do x4fit the question whether the Philippines shall have self government, as in Cuba. It has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with national or state politics. A city government has simply to do with men. It is big business. It has to do with the public schools and with the water supply, and with the lighting of our streets, and with our street railway sys- tenn, and with the control of our police and fire departments. Any man who is a strong, honest, upright intelligent bus- ness man can run any city government alright, be he a republican or democrat or an adherent to any of the other sane political faiths. And yet the local polit- cal "bosses' of a city inevitably hold tho the municipal governments in their grasp by mixing up state and national Issues with civic affairs. They nominate their candidates. Then they come to the voters and say: Now. be consistent. If you are going to vote for a republican President, vote for a republican Mayor and a repub- lcan city attorney and a republican coun- cilman. These men all represent the same great republican truths" And never was greater nonsense ever perpetrated upon a blinded community than that of insisting on the Mayor and council being of the dominant political party.
 No Longer Heresy.
 ha1 Then read the following words of Theo- dore Roosevelt. President of the United States. MT. Roosevelt declares that most of the municipal corruption of this eoun- try is directly due to harnessing up na- uonal and civic issues in the same yoke. Let me read to you his own strong, pow erful, intense worlds "The worst evils that affect our local governments arise from and are the inevitable results of the mixing up of city affairs with party politics of the nation and state. The lines upon which national parties divide have no necessary connection with the busi- ness of the city. Such connections open the way to countless schemes of public says Secretary William Taft in a late letter which he wrote to a prominent republican club of Cincinnati which had elected him an honorary member: "The conduct of municipal affairs has no ra- tional relation to the conduct of national affairs, and while it does not seem pos sible to eliminate from municipal cleo tions the system of nominating party tickets, there ought certainly to be cul- tivated a much wider spirit of independ- ence at municipal elections in the scratch ing of improper candidates selected by either party than is likely to be ever ex- erclsed with reference to state and na- tional elections"
 What these republican stawarts teach 1 believe the great democratic statesmen are ready to enunciate and to advocate But, though these facts which I am ad- ducing should be almost self evident or automatic. yet there are hundreds of men living, let us say in the city of At lanta, who always vote the democratic ticket merely because the state of Geor- gia is democratic in sentiment, as there are thousands of men living in Philadel- phia who always vote the republican ticket because Pennsylvania is generally republican. They will make their state and national and civic tickets of the same color, no matter what niquitous political rings may dominate their cities.