Morality and Efficiency 55 



Therefore the man who wishes to do good in his 

 community must go into active political life. If he 

 is a Republican, let him join his local Republican 

 association ; if a Democrat, the Democratic asso- 

 ciation; if an Independent, then let him put him- 

 self in touch with those who think as he does. In 

 any event let him make himself an active force and 

 make his influence felt. Whether he works within 

 or without party lines he can surely find plenty of 

 men who are desirous of good government, and who, 

 if they act together, become at once a power on the 

 side of righteousness. Of course, in a government 

 like ours, a man can accomplish anything only by 

 acting in combination with others, and equally, of 

 course, a number of people can act together only by 

 each sacrificing certain of his beliefs or prejudices. 

 That man is indeed unfortunate who can not in any 

 given district find some people with whom he can 

 conscientiously act. He may find that he can 

 do best by acting within a party organization; he 

 may find that he can do best by acting, at least for 

 certain purposes, or at certain times, outside of party 

 organizations, in an independent body of some kind ; 

 but with some association he must act if he wishes 

 to exert any real influence. 



One thing to be always remembered is that neither 

 independence on the one hand nor party fealty on 

 the other can ever be accepted as an excuse for fail- 

 ure to do active work in politics. The party man 

 who offers his allegiance to party as an excuse for 

 blindly following his party, right or wrong, and 



