Politics in our country have become so disreputable that we are likely to feel that having anything to do with them is bad taste or even degrading. It is natural to feel that way, but is it silly, nevertheless. It is bad taste, or even degrading, to have anything to do with a notorious criminal, but _not if you are making him better_ instead of letting him make you worse! This is particularly true when it is partly _your fault that he became a criminal_! Now as to the definition of politics. The Standard Dictionary gives this: 1. The branch of civics that treats of the principles of civil government and the conduct of state affairs; the administration of public affairs in the interest of the peace, prosperity, and safety of the state; statecraft; political science: in a wide sense embracing the _science_ of _government_ and _civil polity_. 2. Political affairs in a party sense; the administration of public affairs or the conduct of political matters so as to carry elections and secure public offices; party intrigues; political wire-pulling; trickery. 3. A man’s political sentiments, party preference, or connection. The word, then, has three shades of meaning. The third one we need not bother with, since it merely means any man’s opinion on the things given under Number 1 and Number 2. Now let’s contrast Number 1 and Number 2. There are some large words there, but if we take it a piece at a time we shall at least see that there is a tremendous difference between the two shades of meaning. In Number 1 politics means the fair and unprejudiced study of how a nation should be governed, but in Number 2 politics means _How much can you get out of it regardless of the general welfare_! In Number 1 the object is the “peace, prosperity and safety of the state,” but in Number 2 the object is to “carry elections and secure public offices”—“party intrigues; political wire-pulling; trickery.” It is Number 1 we are considering primarily. True, if our daily bread depends on politics, we are also interested in “how much we can get out of it,” but we mean by this how much we can get justly and honestly—our equal share _along with everyone else_. “Equal rights to all, special privileges to none.” No, no! I’m not advocating the People’s Party principles just because I quote one of their watchwords. That motto is not theirs alone, but that of every honest citizen, no matter to what party he belongs. It is merely an expression of the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence. Whatever I may believe personally, it is no part of my business to plead the cause of any political party in our Department. We have nothing to do with parties. Our object is to consider how our nation is governed and how it _should_ be governed—national, state, county, township and city governments, under whatever names these divisions may be called in different places.