1902.] THE FARMER AS A CITIZEN. IO3 



political system, and not only sanctioned by custom and 

 usage, but are a part of the law of the land. We may dep- 

 recate parties. We may say it is mischievous that the people 

 will ally themselves to parties, and say: " Why cannot they, 

 when a question comes up, just vote according to their con- 

 victions without having caucuses and conventions beforehand 

 to determine what we shall do, or what we shall not do, and all 

 that sort of thing?" I will tell you: The experience of all 

 the republican governments in the world has determined that 

 you cannot run a representative government without a 

 political party. They have never been able to do it in 

 England. They have never been able to do it in any country 

 in the world where they have representative government, or 

 where the people have a voice in selecting the lawmakers of 

 the land. We may deprecate the heat of political strife in this 

 country, but we are not in it at all as compared with some 

 countries. If any of you have ever seen an election in Eng- 

 land you will never talk about political heat in this country. 

 In one of the counties in England I saw a sign upon a store 

 where eggs were sold, and this was about the way the sign 

 read: " Perfectly fresh eggs, so much a dozen; good fresh 

 eggs, so much a dozen; cooking eggs, so much a dozen; 

 fresh rotten eggs, so much a dozen, and eggs for political 

 purposes, so much a dozen." There is no demand, I am glad 

 to say, for that class of eggs in this country. Such eggs 

 have no value in America, but the highest-priced eggs in Eng- 

 land are those used for political purposes; they have a rich- 

 ness and flavor which, like old wine, it takes time to develop. 

 It takes time to develop that quality which makes them de- 

 sirable for the purposes for which they are used. When they 

 are just right they command a high price. Now, do you 

 know^ that I am such a man that I cannot conceive of this 

 man we are talking about, this good citizen, being a man who 

 does not belong to a political party. Well, but, perhaps, some 

 of you say that is not necessary. Cannot a man be a mug- 

 wump and be a good citizen? No, I do not think so. I am 

 sorry to say that I can't. I know a lot of them who are very 

 respectable people. I do not believe a man can be a mug- 

 wump and be a good citizen. I do not believe there are any 

 mug\vumps here, but I would say the same thing if the room 

 was full of them. Look around among your acquaintances 



