Problems in American Democracy Part 63

18. How long should a potential voter be required to live in a state before being allowed to exercise the ballot?

19. To what extent does the educational test show the fitness of the individual to make the right use of his vote?

20. Should all convicted criminals be denied the vote during the remainder of their lives?

21. Just what const.i.tutes fitness for the suffrage?

CHAPTER x.x.xIV

THE POLITICAL PARTY

421. NATURE OF THE POLITICAL PARTY.--A political party may be defined as a voluntary a.s.sociation of voters, entered into for the purpose of influencing elections to public office. The individuals comprising a party have certain broad political principles in common, and these they seek, by organized effort, to have applied to actual government.

Just as individuals differ on matters of business or religion, so it is human nature for the voters of a community to form varying opinions as to the nature, functions, and methods of government. And just as men tend to draw away from those with whose opinions they do not agree, so they tend to draw toward those with whom they are in agreement, and with whose cooperation they may advance principles of mutual interest. It is this natural tendency of men, first, to differ with one another, and second, to form a.s.sociations for the advancement of mutual aims, that has led to the formation of political parties.

422. DEVELOPMENT OF PARTIES IN THE UNITED STATES.--The American political party is older than the nation. Differences of political opinion divided the American colonists into Whigs and Tories. Later, party spirit was manifested in the formation of the Revolutionary committees of correspondence. The struggle over the Const.i.tution of 1787 divided men into Federalists and Anti-Federalists. The question of a broad or a strict construction of the const.i.tution, the tariff, and the problem of slavery in the territories,--these are a few of the great national issues that have influenced party lines. Before the Civil War party spirit had extended to all parts of the country, evidencing itself in a number of party organizations. Many of these organizations proved temporary, but since the Civil War party lines have been relatively fixed. For more than a half century there have been two great parties, the Democratic and the Republican. Third parties have been either temporary or relatively unimportant.

423. PARTY ORGANIZATION.--There is no const.i.tutional basis or provision for American political parties, nevertheless each of the great parties has built up a powerful organization which coordinates party members in every part of the country. In practically every township, village, election district, and city ward there are party agents and local committees whose work it is to promote the interests of the party both at election time and between elections. The local party workers const.i.tute a link between individual voters and the county or State committees, while these latter groups in turn connect with the national committee of the party.

It is the work of all those officially connected with this centralized organization to win adherents to the party standard, to place issues before the voters, to stimulate interest in candidates, to organize meetings and clubs, to collect funds for party support, to secure the registration of voters, and to see that they get to the polls. Party opinion is formed by means of personal contacts, campaign literature, speeches, parades, and every manner of propaganda. Party opinion is formally expressed through the caucus, the primary, the convention, and the regular election. (See Sections 435-438.)

424. SERVICES PERFORMED BY THE POLITICAL PARTY.--The political party performs three great services. [Footnote: The following arrangement of the services of the political party was suggested to me by Professor W. B. Munro, of Harvard University. For a fuller discussion see Chapter XXII of his _The Government of the United States_, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1919.]

The first of these is that the party provides machinery which bridges over the gaps between local, state, and National government.

Similarly, it often serves to bring the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government into harmony with one another. The check and balance system so divides authority in American government that in many ways the different branches and divisions of government are uncoordinated. The party facilitates the working of American government because party members affiliated with one division of government will tend to cooperate with members of the same party who may be in control of other divisions of government. For example, a Democratic governor tends to cooperate with the Democratic members of the state legislature. Similarly, a Republican President will tend to work in harmony with those members of his party who are in control of purely state government.

The second great service performed by the party is that it formulates public issues and presents them in concrete shape to the voters. Just as in industry it is the function of the entrepreneur to coordinate the other factors of production, so in government it is the function of the politician to act as a coordinator. Indeed, President Lowell calls the politician a broker, without whose services popular government would be impossible. If voters went to the polls with no previous agreement as to candidates or issues, but each determined to vote for whomever he liked, thousands of names might be found on the ballot. If a majority were required to elect, no individual would be chosen. The party thus performs a valuable service by formulating those principles which will attract the greatest number of voters, and by definitely a.s.sociating those principles with particular candidates.

These issues and these candidates the party places squarely before the electorate, to the exclusion of minor issues and unimportant candidates. The party is thus a means whereby democracy makes up its mind, and expresses that mind with a minimum of confusion and disorder.

The third great service of the political party is that it provides a means of collective and continuing responsibility in politics. If a candidate were not affiliated with any political party, misbehavior in office might result in his removal or in his failure to secure reelection. But here responsibility would end. When, on the other hand, the party selects, supports, and vouches for a candidate, the party const.i.tutes a definite and permanent pledge to the voters. Thus the party is stimulated to select its candidates carefully, lest their incompetence or dishonesty fatally injure the reputation of the party.

The past exploits of the party are appropriated for future campaigns; conversely, the failure or misbehavior of an officeholder will be pointed out by his political enemies as typical of the party to which the unfortunate man belongs.

425. THE ABUSE OF PARTY POWER.--Though party government confers substantial benefits, it is likewise true that the power of the political party has been frequently abused. American party organizations sprang up silently, and developed largely without legal control. Increased power has been accompanied by diffused responsibility; increased power and diffused responsibility have led to the abuse of power. The evils of the party are numerous, and only those of fundamental importance can be discussed in this text. Some of these evils will appear in successive chapters; a few may be treated here. In every case, it should be borne in mind, the basic defect of party government is that the party has tended to use its power primarily for private rather than public ends.

426. CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS.--Throughout much of our national history one of the great evils of the political party has had to do with contributions to the campaign fund. A few decades ago it was the custom of parties, not only to accept large sums of money from special interests, but actually to demand substantial contributions from railroad and other corporations on pain of unfriendly legislation when the party got into power. In our cities gambling houses and other vicious interests habitually contributed to the campaign fund of the party, with the understanding that the party so supported would, if successful at the polls, protect these unlawful businesses. Large amounts were also secured from officeholders who feared to incur the ill will of the party by refusing to contribute to the campaign fund.

The enormous sums got together from these various sources were used to finance election contests, the peak being reached when in the presidential election of 1896 the Republican party is said to have spent more than $7,000,000. The source of most of this sum was unknown to the general public.

Fortunately, recent legislation has remedied a considerable measure of the evils attending unrestricted contributions to the campaign fund.

Laws now prohibit party agents from seeking contributions from the holders of Federal civil service offices. In 1910 and 1911 Congress pa.s.sed Acts providing that a candidate for Representative to Congress may not expend more than $5000 toward his election, while a United States Senator may not spend more than $10,000 for a similar purpose.

Other laws specify the purposes for which campaign money may be spent.

In presidential and congressional elections the treasurer of the national committee of each party must now report the entire campaign fund contributed and expended, giving the name of every individual contributing over $1000, and also furnishing an itemized statement of all expenditures over $10. This report is filed with the clerk of the House of Representatives, and is open to the public.

There can be no doubt but that these and similar laws have operated to deprive the campaign fund of many of its illegitimate features. Most of the money now expended by parties is secured from a large number of small contributions. This not only lessens the control of party policies by special interests, but it also serves to make the party more responsible to the rank and file of the organization.

427. PARTY DOMINATION OF NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS.--A great problem of party government is to prevent parties from unduly influencing the choice of public officials. Leaving until later the general question of nominations and elections, it may be pointed out here that very often the whole weight of party power is directed toward securing the election to office of candidates deemed desirable by the party machine. The political "boss" has consistently used his power to manipulate the caucus or the primary so as to advance his own interests at public expense. Caucuses have been held without proper notice being given, and party henchmen have been employed to work for an inside clique or ring. Formerly the rolls of party members were padded with the names of men dead or absent. Too often elections were characterized by the stuffing of ballot boxes, the intimidation or bribery of voters, and the practice of voting more than once. The effect of these and similar practices has been to thwart the will of the majority of party members, and to elevate self-interest above the general welfare.

The last few decades of American political history have been characterized by a number of laws designed to safeguard the process of nomination and election. In practically every state in the Union there are corrupt practices acts which aim not only to prevent the misuse of the campaign fund, but to control the party in other respects also. In all but two states registration is a prerequisite to voting. The introduction into this country of the Australian ballot, and its rapid spread among the states after 1890, has made the ballot secret. By preventing the intimidation of the voter, and by otherwise safeguarding his rights at the polls, ballot reform has remedied many abuses which formerly resulted in illegal and unrepresentative elections. Bribery and illegal voting are no longer glaring evils. It is now the general practice for state laws to provide definite polling places, and to guard the receiving and counting of the ballots.

428. THE SPOILS SYSTEM.--During the first forty years of our national life it was taken for granted that subordinate executive officials should continue in office during good behavior, regardless of a change of administration. After President Jackson's first term, however, it became the general practice for the incoming party to use offices to reward party supporters. Senator Marcy's original declaration that "to the victor belongs the spoils," was accepted by both Democratic and Republican parties. Each party, upon coming into power, habitually turned out appointive officials placed in office by the opposition party. The positions thus made vacant were filled by individuals from the ranks of the victorious party.

The spoils system is a serious evil for which party spirit must be held accountable. By virtue of their patronage, party leaders have exercised an undue influence over the rank and file of the party.

Frequently a candidate has been named for office, not because he possessed marked capacity for public service, but because he showed promise of being a good vote-getter at election time. Very frequently, therefore, officeholders have secured their positions as the reward of party support, rather than because of merit. The spoils system has encouraged the holders of executive offices to pay more attention to the political fortunes of their party than to their public duties.

Knowing that with a change of administration they would probably be ousted to make room for the supporters of the rival party, officials have been tempted to use public office for personal ends.

The spoils system still const.i.tutes a defect in American government.

Nevertheless something has been done toward eliminating its worst features. The Civil Service Act of 1883 provided that more than 12,000 Federal executive offices should be filled by compet.i.tive examinations rather than by political appointment. The Federal Civil Service System has been subsequently extended until at the present time about two thirds of the administrative offices in the Federal government are filled on the merit plan. In many sections of the country the merit plan has also been used to fill state and munic.i.p.al offices. Though as yet limited in scope, it would appear that the future will see a steady expansion of the merit plan in local and state as well as in the National government.

The essential feature of this system, whether in local, state or National government, is that officeholders secure their positions on the basis of individual merit. In theory at least, they are little affected by changes of administration. Both retention of office and promotion are on the basis of merit, though the standards by which appointees are judged have not yet been perfected.

429. EXTENSION OF FAVORS TO SPECIAL INTERESTS.--The tendency of the political party to extend special favors to private corporations has const.i.tuted a serious evil in American politics. In some instances powerful corporations have corrupted party politics; in other cases party organizations have blackmailed corporations under the threat of unfriendly legislation; in many other cases both party and corporations have been to blame. In every case, however, the essential fact is that often the party has been used for the advancement of special interests rather than to promote the general welfare.

Unfavorable legislation has been bought off and favorable laws secured by trusts, public service corporations, and other large industrial interests. Exemption from prosecution has been purchased by gambling houses and other illegal businesses. Public service corporations have secured valuable franchises for inadequate consideration. Contracts for paving and other public works have many times been awarded, not to firms offering the best work at the lowest price, but to incompetent or dishonest corporations. Such contracts have been secured by these corporations because of favoritism shown them by political henchmen holding office under the spoils system.

Notable headway has been made in checking these evils. The regulation of the railroads by the Interstate Commerce Commission renders it difficult for railroad corporations unduly to influence party policies. Anti-trust legislation has similarly checked the political activities of other great industrial combinations. There is a growing tendency for states to pa.s.s laws forbidding or restricting the maintenance of lobbies in legislative halls. Many recent state const.i.tutions narrowly restrict the franchise-granting power. Corrupt practices acts forbid party contributions from corporations. The Civil Service System renders less easy the unfair award of government contracts to private corporations.

430. DECLINE OF PARTY ABUSES.--It is clear that the development of party government in this country has been attended by important benefits and serious evils. But the best authorities agree that the merits of the party system outweigh its defects. Hence our problem is not how to destroy the system, but how to regulate it so that we may secure the benefit of its services and avoid the evil results of its defects. The experience of the last half century is heartening, and it must be admitted, not only that party abuses have declined, but that there is good reason to believe that they will continue to decline. In our att.i.tude toward the political party we must distinguish, as Burke distinguished, between the legitimate form of the party and its perverted form. The perverted forms of party organization call for censure and attack; the legitimate features of the party deserve our appreciation and support.

431. DUTY OF PARTY SUPPORT.--Parties seem to be inevitable, for no one has yet shown how representative government can be carried on without them. Since the average voter cannot make his influence felt except through organization and ma.s.s action, it is, as a rule, as futile for the individual to cast his vote regardless of party affiliations as it is for a soldier to fight without regard for army discipline and organization. Parties are the result of compromises, and the individual must be willing to shelve minor issues for the sake of uniting with his fellows upon vital issues. Ordinarily, the individual will best perform his civic duties by affiliating himself with some political party.

But we are coming to believe that the necessity of party support in National and state elections does not imply that party support is necessary in local elections. In National politics each party generally has a definite policy with regard to taxation, the tariff, armaments, and other debatable issues. Support of the party for the realization of its program on these matters may be justifiable; on the other hand, loyalty to party in local politics may be an evil. There is no Democratic way of cleaning a street, and no Republican method of fighting a fire. Thus the same citizen who may be under a moral obligation to support some party in National and state politics, may be under a similar obligation to make his choice of local candidates independent of party. A desirable development, in this regard, is the recent tendency for some munic.i.p.al elections to be decided regardless of the party affiliations of the candidates.

432. INTEGRITY IS ABOVE PARTY.--Young people are commonly advised to affiliate themselves with that political party which seems most adequately to express their political ideals. But though this is a method of conserving political energy, no citizen ought to support a party which has ceased to represent him on matters which he considers of vital importance. When the party machine sets itself up as an end rather than a means, and when it emphasizes gain to a few rather than benefits to the party as a whole, then it is time for honest men to abandon their party. Integrity is above party. The slogan, "My party right or wrong" is not only stupid but treasonable. Let the citizen be eager to cooperate with his fellows for the advancement of common political views, but let the corrupt party be abandoned.

433. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL FOR PARTY ABUSES.--Nothing could be more mistaken than the belief that defective government is due primarily to the existence of an ent.i.ty known as the political party. The party is merely an a.s.sociation of individuals, and if it is corrupt it is so because of the corruption of the individuals comprising it. It is time that political pessimists stopped blaming the party for the defects of party government, and time they began to see that the indifference and shortsightedness of the individual voter is at the bottom of the trouble. One of the greatest sources of corruption in American life is the knowledge of political bosses that many of their adherents will follow the party standard regardless of its platform and no matter what the character of its candidates. The party boss is given an opening when individuals neglect to perform their civic duties. The failure to vote, or to serve in office when the opportunity offers, the failure either to protest against candidates chosen unfairly, or to demand an accounting of officeholders, spell corruption and inefficiency in government.

QUESTIONS ON THE TEXT

1. Define a political party. Why have parties arisen?

2. Trace briefly the development of parties in the United States.

3. Outline the organization of a political party.

4. Explain clearly the three great benefits of party organization.

5. What is the basic defect of party government?

6. What can be said as to contributions to the campaign fund of political parties?

7. Name some methods whereby the party boss may dominate nominations and elections. Outline some laws designed to safeguard nominations and elections.

8. What is the spoils system and when did it arise?

9. What effect has the merit plan had upon the spoils system?