Political platforms are not sincere statements of what the leaders of a party really believe, but rather forms of words which those leaders think they can get others to believe they believe.  The realities of the regular political game lie at present far beneath the surface; many of the issues advanced are mere empty sound; while the issues really at stake must be sought deep down in the politics of business—­in politics for revenue only.  All this the people realize as they never did before, and, what is more, they are ready to act on their knowledge.

Some of the men who are responsible for the union of business and politics may be profoundly dishonest, but more of them are not.  They were trained in a wrong school, and they cannot forget their training.  Clay hardens by immobility—­men’s minds by standing pat.  Both lose the power to take new impressions.  Many of the old-style leaders regard the political truths which alone insure the progress of the Nation, and will hereafter completely dominate it, as the mere meaningless babble of political infants.  They have grown old in the belief that money has the right to rule, and they can never understand the point of view of the men who recognize in the corrupt political activity of a railroad or a trust a most dangerous kind of treason to government by the people.

When party leaders go wrong, it requires a high sense of public duty, true courage, and a strong belief in the people for a man in politics to take his future in his hands and stand against them.

The black shadow of party regularity as the supreme test in public affairs has passed away from the public mind.  It is a great deliverance.  The man in the street no longer asks about a measure or a policy merely whether it is good Republican or good Democratic doctrine.  Now he asks whether it is honest, and means what it says, whether it will promote the public interest, weaken special privilege, and help to give every man a fair chance.  If it will, it is good, no matter who proposed it.  If it will not, it is bad, no matter who defends it.

It is a greater thing to be a good citizen than to be a good Republican or a good Democrat.

The protest against politics for revenue only is as strong in one party as in the other, for the servants of the interests are plentiful in both.  In that respect there is little to choose between them.

Differences of purpose and belief between political parties to-day are vastly less than the differences within the parties.  The great gulf of division which strikes across our whole people pays little heed to fading party lines, or to any distinction in name only.  The vital separation is between the partisans of government by money for profit and the believers in government by men for human welfare.