Hatred, Contempt and Fear Is Wrong in Politics, 1901

“Partisanship More Dangerous Than Anarchy,” from the editorial page of  The Progressive Farmer, Dec. 3, 1901

Our country is not threatened by anarchists so much as (1) by the men who inflame the passions of the people for the sake of political success, (2) by the practical assumption that one’s party is to be supported whether right or wrong and that it’s wrong doing is to be condoned and if possible concealed, (3) by the spoils system whereby politics becomes simply a fierce competition for bread, (4) by political intolerance, and finally, (5) by sowing hatred and contempt and fear of men on one side by those on the other who would take their places. These menace our Republic more than materialism, more than trusts, more than the saloon, more than the dream of empire, more than anarchists. They may be put under one head—the apotheosis of party, the worship of party; and this applies to all parties.

            --Biblical Recorder