The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1910-09-28
WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH
POLITICS?

POLITICS?
The trouble with politics is that
politicians have mostly been educated
In the wrong school, and have not
kept step with the moral progress of
the people, says DR. Granville Low
ther. Moral principles in poll
tics have been laughed about as Sun
day school politics" 'impractical,'
and the advocates of the same moral
ruler of conduct in politics that you
would apply in other lines of bust
ness were considered fanatics" and
"dreamers" No one, perhaps, more
eieoQuently and aptly described this
school of politics than Senator John
J. ingalls,, when he said, THE purifi-
cation of politics Is an irridescent
dream. Political parties are as
armies ut war with each other, war
with ballots as weapons.
TN war il is lawful to deceive, 10
lie, steal. hire Hessians and Kill. The
general who would lose battle on
account of the truthfulness of his
moral character would be moral
diliitante."
Continuing Or. Lawther says:
VHdt JODn y. o"iN was
true In his own experience
and observation. This was the at
mosphere In which Ingalls, and his col
leagues moved 1t was the standard
by which they measured men At
that time the politician was taking
his orders from the saloons, rather
than from the schools and churches.
Great corporate interests that spell
success with a dollar mark were COM
Ing into power and legislatures were
commonly bought to elect United
States senators in the interest of cor
porations Men who could not be
bought could not be elected.
Men who would not bow to the die
tates of the saloon would not aspire
to political honors. The result was
that in the majority of cases men
were chosen whose moral ideas were
not high, but who had intellectual
ability and social power. They were
men without convictions. They had
no principles they cared to defend, but
studied only to be adjustable enough
to be returned from time to time in
order to work for the corporation
that paid the most for their services
In this case they were not serving the
people whom they We're supposed &c
represent, but serving the corpora
lions whs paid more than the sal
aries f1xed by law. For instance
Chauncey M. Depew received 100000
per annum from the New York Cen
trail Railroad company and $25,o0C
per annum from the Equitable Life
Insurance company while he was
United States senator from the state
Of New York.
Thomas Plat received 500, 900 pei
annum from the express company Of
which he was president while a sena
tor and colleague with Chauncey NJ
Depew. Three-fourths of the United
States senators six years ago were
either millionaires or presidents OF
millionaire institutions or lawyers fol
millionaire corporations. Nothing
could become a law until 1t passed
the senate, so legislation in the inter
est of the people has been blocked
In congress Cannon could be counted
on, and in the senate the corporations
always had majority.
1t was an awful penalty when
Roosevelt sent j. Ralph Burton, Z
S. senator from Kansas, to prison fol
Grain company while holding an Of
flee under the government and while
the government had a suit In court
pending against that corporation
Burton pleaded that he was not doing
more than majority of his colleagues
were doing, and he was doubtless
right. But it was the beginning of a
new era, and that era was that a man
had no right to take an office to serve
the people and then sell the peoples
interest to the corporation.
Lorimer of Illinois did nothing eX-
cept what majority of senators have
done for years. He did not buy his
way into the senate. he simply per-
mitted several corporations to buy for
him, with the understanding, of
course, that if he Were elected he
would conserve their interests. Why,
then, is there such howl about Lori
mer and his corrupt schemes? Be
cause a new era is dawning, new
school OF politics is turning out
leaders, men with convictions, with
principles, men who are non-pur-
chasabIe and who would rather havo
the good will Of the people than the
money of the corporations. Bryan has
bolted his party in Nebraska because
it is dominated by the saloon. Roose-
Welt is an insuTgent because his party
is dominated BY the trusts, with the
liquor trust as one Of the most AFRO
giant and damaging of all. The Bryan
movement and the insurgent move
ment will win
The "atandpattrr' belongs TO the
old school He cannot SET why poll
tics shouId not be played in the same
old way. lie thinks the people are
} not capable of choosing for themselves
and is ready to pronounce popular
government failure. Well, il is a
failure III 50 far as it concerns the
corrupt policies of the corruptest age
in American politics, but it is sue
cess in so far as it concerns the ad
vent Of a new standard of morality.