IS THE UNION A POLITICAL ORGANIZATION? 277 



halls to the polls -and cast their ballots, half-and-half for 

 the two old parties of monopoly. 



If their votes are thus to be equally divided between 

 the political parties, which are the authors and instigators 

 of the evils and abuses which they meet month after 

 month to denounce and resolve against, how can they 

 expect relief ? 



In the present reorganization of the laboring and use- 

 ful classes, it is to be hoped that their resolutions and 

 principles will be backed up by practical and united political 

 action. Without such action all their efforts to secure 

 relief will be as futile as would be the efforts of a million 

 unarmed soldiers, attempting to batter down the walls of 

 a fortress by proclamation. 



It can hardly be expected that the walls of the modern 

 Jericho can be thus beaten down. 



"This is theoretically a government of the people, a 

 delegated democracy, the power being conferred by the 

 constitution upon certain citizens who are elected by the 

 people to enact the laws under which w T e live. If the laws 

 now in force are unjust and bear inequitably on a majority 

 of the people, we, being the majority, certainly have the 

 power to effect their repeal, if we be sufficiently enlight- 

 ened to know which special laws should for that reason be 

 repealed. In the past, instead of studying these questions, 

 so as to enable us intelligently to perform the duty of 

 citizens and let our votes express absolutely our convic- 

 tions of justice, we have been absorbed in our home work, 

 leaving these important duties, such as shaping the policy 

 of the party to which we might happen to belong to some 

 one else, often for no better reason than that our fathers did, 

 perfectly content to vote for the regular nominee, often 

 without knowing or caring what special policy he stood 

 pledged to pursue; placing party name above principle 

 and blindly following its behests. The result is that 



