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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



widespread and increasing demoralization in 

 American political life, and, where others 

 who have as keenly felt the evil have content- 

 ed themselves with vague utterances, he pro- 

 poses a definite scheme of action. The im- 

 patience with party methods and party dic- 

 tation, which is now so evident among think- 

 ing men, has not generally gone to the 

 length of questioning the utility or neces- 

 sity of such organizations. Parties are held, 

 by even those most energetic in their oppo- 

 sition to their present tendencies and meth- 

 ods, to have a legitimate function in a free 

 state. It is only their abuse that there is 

 need to war against. Rightly limited, they 

 are the sole means of giving effective ex- 

 pression to the popular will, and for carry- 

 ing out lines of national policy. Emanci- 

 pated from the control of the self seeking 

 classes, they are the most efficient agents 

 of the control of the affairs of govern- 

 ment by the people, and the problem of 

 our politics is to get their management into 

 proper hands. This opinion Mr. Stickney 

 denies outright. Parties, in the sense of 

 vast permanent organizations, are to him 

 wholly an abomination. They do not now 

 aid, and never have aided, in furthering 

 calm political discussion, or in carrying 

 measures of real value to the people. They 

 are now, and always have been, organiza- 

 tions for the carrying of elections. The 

 great questions of the hour have indeed 

 been used by them as their battle-cries, but 

 the contest has always been for the places 

 of honor and profit. They have pushed 

 these questions to issue only to the extent 

 demanded by their needs ; the real interests 

 of the people have always been made sub- 

 servient to their triumph. Wise legislation 

 is the outcome of deliberation, of a careful 

 consideration of the real merits of the ques- 

 tions involved. It needs honesty of pur- 

 pose and harmony of spirit. But the very 

 essence of party is strife. Warring fac- 

 tions, jealous of any possible advantage 

 that one side may gain over another, per- 

 petually prevent all harmony of action be- 

 tween those holding by different parties. 

 The action of legislators, elected to conserve 

 the interests of the whole people, is deter- 

 mined almost solely by party considera- 

 tions. The division of votes on most ques- 

 tions is along strictly party lines. As a 



means of affording discussion of the merits 

 of the men and measures presented for 

 popular suffrage, they are worse than use- 

 less. The candidates are all chosen by the 

 managers, and the people have only the 

 choice of ratifying at the polls the selec- 

 tions of the caucus. These are not acci- 

 dental but inherent features of the party 

 system. They are bad enough, but they are 

 but a part of the evils due to it. The fea- 

 ture that makes improvement hopeless, and 

 that paralyzes all attempts to reform within 

 party lines, is the influence that the system 

 inevitably exerts over our public men. In it 

 is to be found the cause of the progressive j 

 corruption of public servants. Not only 

 does it offer the opportunity for public ser- 

 vants to do their work ill, but, more than 

 that, it compels them to do it so. Their 

 continuance in office is dependent upon their 

 party carrying the next election. They are 

 therefore forced to devote their time and en- 

 ergies to keeping their places. They can not, 

 therefore, give their attention to the proper 

 work of their ofiices. More than this, they 

 must of necessity administer these offices, 

 not with an eye to the public good, but to 

 the best advantage of their party. The sys- 

 tem, therefore, makes it certain that the 

 public will neither get good service from the 

 men in office, nor get the best men to do 

 Government work. These results are not 

 peculiar to America. They have followed 

 wherever tenure of office has been made to 

 depend, not upon the faithful performance 

 of duties, but upon political success. Men 

 will always, at all times and places, give 

 their best work to that upon which their 

 preferment depends. If in this country 

 party control has gone to greater lengths 

 than in other countries, and not only the 

 elective, but all offices, have come to be the 

 prey of party faction, it is because the op- 

 portunities have been greater. Our fre- 

 quent elections make possible the profes- 

 sion of the politician. Every few years a 

 chance of a change in party control of the 

 Government gives a promise of vacancy in 

 great numbers of offices. Men, therefore, 

 temporarily out of office can wait for one of 

 these recurring opportunities. Mr. Stickney 

 reviews English and American history in 

 support of his position. He finds that se- 

 curity of tenure and ofiicial purity have 



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