When Will The Reform Begin?

WHEN WILL THE REFORM BEGIN?

   Hon. A. T. Sawyer's remarks as reported in yesterday's Argus relative to the "terrible influence that money has nowadays in controlling political parties" are to the point just now in the present campaign. "If there is not an end put to it mighty soon, there is liable to be an uprising of the people." That there is the gravest danger in this use of money is admitted by all thinking men, but still the politicians go on recklessly from bad to worse in this corrupt use of money, thwarting the will of the people and making the expression of the public wishes as obtained in our caucuses and conventions indicative of nothing but cold cash. Men are hired to go to the caucuses and vote for the men whom the bosses want sent to conventions as delegates. These delegates in turn are bought and sold like any other commercial commodity. The men nominated for the highest offices by these delegates are often in no sense representatives of the wishes of the people or anything else but the money they or their friends have used in buying delegates. When the voters go to the polls, they are little interfered with in their suffrage rights, but there is mighty little virtue in this because they then have to vote for the boss made tickets, and any choice they may exercise is but a choice of evils.

   Then when these boss and money made candidates are elected and some to administer the office, their duties are not performed in the interest of the bosses and tricksters and scoundrels who manipulated the caucus and conventions and collected and disbursed the money for that purpose.  The great corporations contribute immense corruption funds for campaign purposes and in return demand special privileges and there are none bold enough to deny them their pound of flesh. Thus does the government which in theory recognizes the equality of all men before the law, become a government of special privileges to those who are able to get them.  Citizens who decry such methods are sneered at as old-fashioned and, if they go to the primaries and make an effort to correct these evils, they are pretty certain to find their counsels rejected and themselves thrown down by a lot of hired bums. 

   Although these things are matters of common knowledge to all who have their eyes open, still the great mass of people seem to rest under them with comparatively little concern.  Of course the people might correct these evils if they would, but it requires more determination to correct them that they seem willing to expend so long as these conditions can be endured.  It would seem that Michigan is getting very near to the place where something must needs be done to stem the tide of corrupt control of public matters.  Yet, according to all signs we are now entering upon another campaign of this low down, corrupt kind, and still there are no indications of an uprising on the part of the people.  As yet they seem more strongly wedded to party than to good government.  It may not be predicted yet, therefore, when the reform will set in.

   The people generally may not care particularly about the throw-down of Editor Helber in his ambition to be postmaster of Ann Arbor, but they are not apt to take much stock in a man who has shown the disposition to practice such duplicity on a friend as Congressman Smith seems to have practiced on Helber.  If Smith would do that kind of dirty work on Helber, would he not do the same on any other constituent?