Classic Poem

THE ENTRANCING GAME OF POLITICS

The mighty game of politics, most entrancing of all games,
Finds its reflection in every county and town.
The struggle to obtain control of the Primaries,
To secure the regular party papers for nomination,
The mysterious manipulations, the play of hidden wires,
The sudden enforced retirement of some excellent candidate,
The bombastical speech of some ward politician
Charged by a Good Government Association with crooked dealings,
The appointment of a literary man as a foreign ambassador,
The rumored retirement of a Cabinet Minister,
The journey of a high official to the Philippines
To soothe the perturbed spirits of the Tagalos
With promises of independence when they shall have earned it;
The outbreak of race-hatred in San Francisco,
The contemplated dispatch of a fleet of warships to the Pacific,
The secret reasons for the failure of the Hague Congress
To provide for a permanent Court of enforced arbitration.
Ten thousand matters of state or national or city moment
Absorb the best powers of the wide-cultured wise editorial writers.