IS THE UNION A POLITICAL ORGANIZATION? 261 



discussion of politics in the Order. Dare we do it? Are 

 we willing and ready to surrender our rights as American 

 citizens the moment we enter the sacred precincts of our 

 Order, for fear that the mere mention of these evils will 

 hurt some poor brother's feelings? Away with such non- 

 sense. The men who, for years, have been suffering from 

 the evils of vicious class legislation, are strong enough to 

 "eat meat." We have never yet seen the man who was 

 opposed to the Order going into politics, provided it was 

 his politics, or the politics of his party, they were about to 

 embrace. This u milk and cider" and "sugar- teat" way 

 of breaking the ice must be abandoned. Tell the truth. 

 Tell it like a man, boldly, bravely, resolutely. If it is 

 bad, tell it. If it is good, tell it. "Hew to the line, let 

 the chips fall where they may." Is it any harm for a 

 member to say that National "banks are more dangerous 

 than standing armies?" "Yes," says one. "Why?" 

 "Because history records the fact that the Republican 

 party instituted the system, and our Republican brethren 

 will think you are making war upon their party." 

 'Fudge ! Then history records that other fact that Demo- 

 crats have taken kindly to the system, fostered it, and 

 loaned them more free money than the Republicans ever 

 dreamed of.' But that is not the question. Is the state- 

 ment true? If so, then National banks ought to be 

 abolished. To accomplish this requires a plan. To dis- 

 cover these remedies, and apply them, requires something 

 to do with politics. Without discussing these questions 

 and the proper remedies, we could not proceed intelli- 

 gently. The greater part of the trouble about this 

 booger-boo, "politics in the Union," is from a popular mis- 

 conception of the real definition of the word politics. In 

 Chamber's Encyclopedia, Volume VI, page 341, the fol- 

 lowing definition is given: 



"That branch of ethics which has for its subject the 



