Danville intelligencer. [volume] (Danville, Pa.) 1859-1907, 1907-01-18
THE >POLITI-
CAL PENDULUM.

The political pendulum is delicate
instrument, and no one knows it bet.
ter than the man who has made poll
tics lifelong profession. 1t is
swung by every breeze, no matter
how light or seemingly Insignificant
that breeze may blow. The politician
watches that pendulum as closely as a
hawk watches fat rooster upon
which it hopes to make midday
meal. Incidents of national life that
would ordinarily pass by unnoticed
by the average person are taken by
the professional politician and warped
and distorted into ''issues' of supreme
Importance to the country. The men
who have Inspirations" in the poll
tical line never let an opportunity
pass to make political capital.
That such condition is unfortun-
ate, or that we are burdened with too
many politicians of the pinhead class,
is a fact that is patent to anybody
who takes lively interest in national
affairs. We have about reached that
stage in our national life where one
Representative or one Senator can
block important legislation for weeks
and months by raising or making an
'issue' that at best really interests
only a hundred or so of the voters
whom he hopes to influence with his
harangue. Everything that one of
this class Of politicians does is done
with an eye singular to the effect that
it will have upon the voters of the
country in the event that he is "call-
ed" to lead his party in national
campaign and election, rather than
the good or bad effect that it will
have upon the country generally.
Bills that are introduced in Congress
are judged not from the stand point
of merit or public good, but from the
stand point of partisan, vote getting
politics. Indeed, the making of pc
litical capital and campaign thunder
has become such an active industry in
the halls of Congress that its manu-
facture is not confined exclusively to
the material that is offered in the
various bills presented for Congress
ional consideration and action. In
cidents and events with which Con-
gress has little or nothing to do are
dragged into the limelight through
lBaRaG5MinfdSfa ffhcti t4ifhates fhate Sal in the upper
political mill and ground into pieces
fine and small enough to furnish
every voter in the country crumb of
political comfort. The people may
get tired ofpolitics, but the politicians
never do.
The people had reason to expect
something of this session of Congress,
but as the days and weeks pass with
practically nothing done in the upper
house, it begins to be apparent that
certain members of that body intend
to do nothing but manufacture polti-
cal buncombe for the campaign two
years hence. It's an off year in poll
tics everywhere except in Washing
ton. There we have politics always,
or rather we have politicians who
seemingly don't know when the coun-
try is surfeifed with the article and
who believe that their own political
fortunes are of greater moment to the
country than the most important leg
islation ever offered.
They won't let the political pendu
lum remain stationary long enough
for those Congressman who have the
interests of their constituents really at
heart to do anything worth while.
BY and by-maybe-the political
pendulum is going to swing back and
knock some of these small-bore politi-
clans into the oblivion with which
they should forever be enveoped.