Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 9.djvu/277

 Slavery Question in Oregon. 253 whether the party had not fulfilled its mission and should be terminated, before it had reached the extreme danger point and become like the Democratic party before the war, a constant and increasing menace to the liberties of the people. I do not recollect all who were in attendance, but they were members of the old guard; men w^ho cared nothing for party except as ancillary to the public interests, and who dreaded the miasma of mere party spirit. Major Magone was there, as he always was when discussion was the order of the day, and the opinion was prevalent that the party was getting off the Lincoln track, and that something must be done to arrest it. We could see very plainly what was producing the political degeneration— the spoils of office beckoning greedy human nature on to places of profit and power— but how to eliminate or mollify the spoils system of polities we had no comprehension, and as to the possibility of elevating the standard of civic righteousness, we had no faith. Stop the victorious Republican party ! ! What an idea ! ! We might as well have talked of arresting Niagara in its plunge. And the evils of partisanism were then only incipient, and the people were not cognizant of them. They had not been punished enough to awaken them. The meeting so far as related to practical matters, was ridiculous enough, and our host likened the proposal to stop the office-seekers, to driving hogs away from the trough while it contained swill.