Lecture by Bishop Potter

Bishop Henry Cod man Potter of New York spoke last night on "The Place of the Individual in Good Government," before a large and deeply interested audience. Before taking up the main ideas of his lecture Bishop Potter said that he was especially moved to speak on this particular subject, because too much stress has been laid lately on legislation as a means of securing civil reform.

He then went on to say that legislation has one great fault,--it is at best mechanical, and can rise no higher that its source. In good hands it is effective for a time; but it may be turned with equal ease to bad purposes. Unfortunately the system of nomination prevalent in the United States today tends to aggravate peculiarly this inherent weakness of law making; for it gravitates directly and inevitably to the "boss."

That the system of primaries is responsible for this figure so dominant in recent elections may be easily seen. By it, nominations are left solely to those who have a purely commercial interest in politics; by it, therefore, members are sent to our legislatures who are the creatures of a few "wire pullers," and act only according to their orders. Another evil is always present in the larger cities. This is bribery for protection against adverse legislation. The claim is made that such vote-buying has become indispensable to the safety of large corporate interests. Of course, honest primaries would do away with this evil; yet for every man bought there must be a buyer, and on is just as dishonest as the other.

Not through laws, then, can we hope for relief. What is there for the individual to do toward bettering wide-spread corruption? How can he be furnished with the deliberation, intelligence and courage of good citizenship? Propositions are many and varied for the improvement of the conditions sur-sounding the poor. Tammany, in fact, has an elaborate system whereby its followers are supplied with food, fuel and work; but the funds used in this way consist o hush-money drawn from gambling dives and houses of ill-fame. This money should be stopped at its source and never be allowed to purchase exemption from the law.

Bishop Potter them turned to the methods used in England for checking official corruption. He went on to say that in the first place, no great European city, be it London, Berlin or Paris, harbors the official corruption which stares us in the face throughout out own country. Of the $7,000,000 recently spent in one year by the municipal government of London, not one penny went for other than honest purposes. This showing is remarkable; the credit for it belongs wholly to the existence every-where in England and her colonies, of an active, alert, public opinion.

Here we have the root of the entire matter. Consider for a moment the un-impeachable conduct of British colonial officials, separated by thousands of miles from the home government. The only thing that keeps their actions always above reproach is an active, alert, public opinion, no less evident in India than in London itself. Freedom of the press there has a real meaning, for the columns of the daily newspapers are used constantly by a watchful public as one means of securing faithful public servants. This is brought about by incessant criticism and fault-finding, that to the American mind is very distasteful. That it is so is our misfortune; for only by opting English methods can we reach the desired results. Perfect fearlessness in casting a searching light on evil-doers helps wonderfully to create a sense of responsibility for the equitable management of public affairs. The individual in the community must become a factor in politics--an intelligent factor. Intelligence is what most of us lack, as far as the knowledge of laws and the duty of officials goes. Equipped with such Knowledge of laws and the duty of officials goes. Equipped with such knowledge, we can wield a powerful weapon if we are but willing to shake off indolence and assume a task that is not always agreeable. For the average American has a horror of raising a disturbance, of taking exception to the way another man performs, or fails to perform, his duties. The one way to secure efficient service, however, is by such methods, always remembering that the criticism should be as far as possible sympathetic.

Even so, the work of reform is not easy. Attacks must be met, slander refuted. Attacks must be met, slander refuted. Time must be devoted, however valuable. Though failures are frequent at first, yet persistent conscientious effort will bring the recognition which leads to ultimate success.