bailey] THE SCIENCE-SPIRIT IN A DEMOCRACY 5 



The most significant contemporaneous movement in politics 

 is the independence of the voter. He is breaking away from par- 

 ties. It is said this is beacuse he is tired of machine control 

 and boss rule and corruption and all the rest ; but these are reasons, 

 not causes. I think the cause is the spread of the science-spirit. 

 Politics may not be assuming a scientific aspect, but the voter is 

 swayed by reason. We say that the voters are becoming more 

 intelligent; but whence comes this intelligence if not from the 

 teaching of the modern truth of science, with which every text- 

 book and every periodical is filled, and by which every teacher 

 is more or less animated, and which every experiment station 

 and every research laboratory is giving as an example in mental 

 attitudes? People begin to see that blindly following a party 

 settles nothing, and that partisanship is now an anachronism. 



Is it not time to introduce into politics the attitude of the open 

 mind independent of party programs, to approach public ques- 

 tions in something of the spirit with which we approach the 

 problems of science, desiring to know the facts, to learn, to decide 

 after we know rather than before, to set forth good educational 

 movements? We should not desire to eliminate sentiment from 

 even political campaigns, and we shall always follow great leaders 

 and leaders thereby will have parties; but our sentiment never- 

 theless may be rational and we may naturally choose the leader 

 who is the least led by others. The making of government is a 

 serious business, and in a democracy we make it every day: 

 the way in which the people at large approach the question will 

 determine the result. 



An Illustration or Two 



I hesitate to make an illustration. So much are we dominated 

 by party considerations that we may not discuss burning questions 

 of politics in a general gathering; this itself is a sad commentary 

 on our public procedure. It is absurd. We come to an assemblage 

 like this with a feeling of relief from persistent propaganda and 

 acrimonious controversy; and yet my discussion would be point- 

 less if I did not make an application. I desire only to suggest 

 possible non-partisan methods in movements that are current 

 or at least recent. 



I will say, first, that the woman suffrage movement affords 

 an example of the attitude under discussion. It introduces a 



