The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-12-10

yOnQ CONTAMINATION ACTUAL oP
tion There are two kinds of corrup-
tion-the crude and obvious sort, which
consists in direct bribery, and the
much subtler, more dangerous sort,
which consists in a corruption of the
will. Business men who have tried 10
set up a. control in politics through the
machine have more and more deceived
themselves, have allowed themselves TO
think that the whole matter was
necessary means of self-defense, have
said that it was a necessary outcome
of our political system. Having re-
assured themselves in this way, they
have drifted from one thing to an
other, until the questions of morals
involved have become hopelessly OBJ
secured and submerged.
The Power of Money.
The methods used are we'll enough
known. Money has not only been
supplied to those men in public Life
who would be serviceable to big bust
ness interests by way of promoting the
legislation they desired and preventing
the legislation they feared, but it has
also been denied to those who would
not be serviceable. 1t is this latter use
Of the money power which has at
tracted very little attention, but which
is after all the most insidious and con-
temptible part of the whole ugly sys-
TEN. Most of our legislators are men
engaged in one kind of business or an
other or engaged in one sort of EN-
ployment or another They therefore
have their own individual business in
terests and connections, and again and
again it has happened that individual
legislators who wished to render con-
scientious and Independent public SER
vice found themselves suddenly en-
barrassed when they refused to serv1
particular business interests which
were seeking legislative favors. They
have found that they could not renew
their notes at the banks. They have
found credit denied them and insu
perable obstacles put in their way in
the conduct of their business. The
whole thing can be easily managed
without attracting public attention,
and in such subtle ways that even the
man injured cannot always prove that
there is anything intentional or de-
liberate in the injury done him: but
the grip of the money market tightens
on him none the less and strangles
him, If he exercises too great an in
dependence and does not lend himself
to the purpose which the machine has
consented to promote at the bidding of
the business men with whom it is al
lied.
Unhappily money is necessary at
every turn of the political game. 1t
is necessary in connection with every
part of our electoral process because
our electoral processes have to he pub
lie, men have to be commended to the
electorate by methods of one sort or
another, like public speeches. literature
printed and distributed through the
mails-by all the methods of publicity,
which are necessarily costly. A man
cannot get into Office without the ex-
penditure of good deal of money
even if he confines the expenditure 10
perfectly legitimate objects. S7'he
sources of money are therefore the
sources of political opportunity and
of power, and those who supply the
money can generally control the nom
nations, that is TO say, the selection
of those who are to exercise the
powers of government and of law
making. And opportunity does not
stop at election. The men elected to
Office generally hope to have some po-
litical future, and they find that future
in turn controlled at the source; so
that those who supply the ''sinews of
war" are too often able to exercise a
kind of command which deprives rep
resentatives of the people of their own
real independence. 1t requires a great
deal of courage and an unusual amount
of individual initiative to serve in one
Of our legislatures without being
touched and restrained and coerced in
some degree by influence of this kind.
Tariff the Prolific Source.
One of the best instances that could
be cited is the whole disappointing
business of our legislation with regard
to import duties. The tariff has been
the most prolific source of the corrupt
interference of business with politics
that the experience OF the country has
afforded. Almost every kind of bust
ness is affected directly or indirectly
by the tariff laws, and it has in recent
years become notorious that the sched-
ules of the tariff were arranged by the
Ways and Means Committee of the
House of Representatives and the FL
nance Committee of the Senate with
a very tender regard for particular
business interests.
Everybody will agree that if the
tariff policy is indeed to be protective
and to seek the objects which it has
always pretended to seek, it is perfect
1y legitimate that it should have to
pay very careful regard to the bus
mess interests of the country taken
as a whole. But that is a very differ
ent matter from paying regard to the
individual interests of particular I'M
dertakings and of particular groups
of men. The long and short of the
whole experience, as we now see it, is
lHdL our W1OIo l6SlSldClOn lids
degenerated from a policy or protec-
tion into a policy of patronage. The
party which has stood most consistent
ly for the so-called system of protec-
ton has derived not a little of its
power from the support of the great
business interests of the country. I do
not mean the moral support merely.
mean that it has been supplied with
immense sums of money for the con-
duct of it's campaigns and the main
tenance of its organization and that
whether consciously or unconsciously,
it has established a partnership with
the manufacturing interests of the
country which has deprived it of its
liberty of action in all matters touch
ing the tariff. 1t is bound by obliga-
tions tacit and explicit to see that
those interests are not damaged which
have been its most stalwart hackers
and supporters.
BY "PriVate Arrangement"
It has again and again happened
therefore, to the scandal of the whole
country, that items and clauses have
been inserted into our tariff laws
which were not even explained to the
members of Congress, which received
no exposition at all. which were q
matter of private arrangement and
understanding between the represent
atives of certain great business inter-
ests and the members of the Ways and
NJ the Hn11Sa nnS