Hesperian student / (Lincoln [Neb.]) 1872-1885, October 01, 1879, Page 173, Image 5
NO. 8. COIjIiKOKS AND 1'OMTICS. 17 tiillty, proving intellect Hie triumph of creation. Yot even these reached tho zenith of their human grandeur, doomed alas, as you and I, to pass beneath life's horizon. But wondor of wonders ! Thought con qucrs death, the doom of nil humanity. For notwithstanding the llight of their spirits to eternity, still they live, through their works and arc cherished in the li carts of us all. None hut tho Infinite is beyond the scruriny of human thought. All barriers disappear beneath its ponetrating glance. It dives into tho laboratories of the deep rises into the vast expanse above, and in i's llight roaches even the perfection of Divinity. M. OOLLEQES AND POLITICS. Jyt MEUICANS cannot, as in most otlr JWL er things, point with pride to the state of their politics. With questions, awaiting solution, of enough moment to call forth the best statesmanship of the time, still America has scarcely a single statesman worthy the name. Within a few years there existed in New York the Tammany Ring; one of the most corrupt and powerful political organizations, whose influence was felt even on tho Ju. dicial Bench, and whose strength is not yet entirely broken. In tho South we have political corruption of the blackest dye. There votes ate controlled by brute force, and elections carried by the most glaring frauds. In our Capital, we recent ly had an unnecessary session of Con gross, at a great expense, trying to coerce the President, and repeal law3 that are al ready "dead letters," and all over the ' country we sec sectional fooling and class legislation existing. But where can we And a remedy Pres ident White, of Cornell University, lately appointed Minister to German', recently delivered a lecture on this subject, in which he recommended the establishment of a political course in our colleges, so that a person contcmpl Uing a political life might be especially fitted for his calling the samo as a physician, a lawyer, or a minister. Tho only objection to his plan would be the trouble of getting tho graduates elected to olllcc. As long as wo have plenty of men who give their whole time and attention to the subject of procuring ofllccs, tho men who do devote thoir ener gies to the solution of vital questions will stand no chance. And here we may ob serve the causo of so much useless and foolish legislation, and such a dearth of true statesmen. A United States Senator has no time to devote to important questions of State, and his speeches upon them are written by his private secretary; or, at best, are but poor attempts to propitiate all classes; for example, Blaine's speech on the Chi ncse Bill. Not wishing to incur the ill will of the people of the Pacific Coast, he argued exactly contrary to his own prin ciples on the negro question. Even in our own Legislature wo can sec how a de sire to please his constituency may cause a man to vote for measures which he knows to be contrary to the good of the country at largo; and, if the voice of some of the members had been obeyed, during tho session last winter, we would have had a normal or reform school in nearly every county in the State. Thus it is that from the manner of working the machinery of nominations and elections, and the state of our politics in general, really capable men arc incapacitated for effective legislative work. All their ener g) is consumed in securing the nomina tions and defeating the opponents. The time is yet far oil, when a collegi ate course, making a specialty of politics, will do much to better this state of aflairs. It is necessary to commence lower ' down and effect the change on the voters tliomsolves, cease requiring pledges of the candidates before elections, and make the nominating machinery as simple as pos- wWVw Sjffj