Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-11-04
The Duly Of tI,e Time.

During the past few months the thoughts of
all of us have been more or less occupied with
the impending presidential election, and the
questions, personal or political, involved in it,.
We have thought about them, talked about
them, read about them, and heard speeches on
these subjects. We have argued these questions
with our friends as chance acluaintances, have
settled in our own minds the comparative merits
of the candidates and their principles, and have
been indignant at the Misrepresentation of our
opponents. Some of us have contributed to the
expenses of the campaign, have helped to swell
the crowds at flag raisings, and have marched
in professions; all of us have watched with in
terest the progress Of the canvass, and awaited
with hope or anxiety the returns of state cleo
tons that were thought to foreshadow the gen.
eral result.
In these various ways we have expressed our
concern in the issue of great political struggle
and contributed, according TO the measure of
ouri zeal and ability, directly or indirectly to
the making up of the popular verdict Now
the time comes to perform the act for which all
the enthusiasm, anxiety and labor of the cam
paign were preparatory. In this we are all
CQuhl. lit tlOQutnl anu lle laGlIuTl, ING Wise
and the foolish, the rich and the poor, the prac-
tised politician and the citizen who has never
thought of trying to manage caucus, stand on
the same level. One has no advantage over
another. Each can vote once and only once.
Most other political duties can be eyaded, and
the evasion excused with some plausibility A
| citizen may say with some show of reason that
he cannot afford TO contribute money, that he
has no time for canvassing, that he can do no
good by marching in a procession or that the
work of a caucus is planned in advance by men
whose schemes cannot be successfully opposed;
modesty and Incidence may suggest excuses for
inaction; but for neglecting the simple and
easy duty of voting there is no excuse.
This will be the duty of every citizen to-mor-
row. A single vote may be important even in
Worcester, where republican candidates have
usually been sure of ample majorities. At any
rate one vote is as important as any other and
the majority of twenty-lour hundred, which this
city gave to General Grant four years ago, was
made up of single votes. 1t is said, sometimes,
that our municipal affairs arc of more import
ance TO us than national politics. In one sense,
this is true; they are our special business which
we manage for ourselves to our own profit or
detriment, as it may turn out, without the CO.
| operation or control of others, while in the ma
tional canvass we have a comparatively small
| influence; but, it is also true that the control
of the national government by one party or
another may involve consequences more serious
ly affecting the prosperity of our city than any
change of the municipal administration that is at
all likely to be made until the voters of Worcester
are a very different body of men from what we
now know them to be. An incompetent admin
istration might waste our resources, neglect our
interests, involve us in unwise enterprises and
burden us with debt, but its capacity for mis-
chief would be checked by the immediate pres
sure of public opinion, and its time, at the
worst, would be short. 1t is easy to conceive,
on the other hand, of the triumph of a national
| policy, which has some powerful advocates,
which would crush or seriously cripple our
| thriving industries and make our city decline in
wealth and population as rapidly as it has grown
within the last few years. Bearing this in mind
we see that the concern we feel in national poll
tics is warranted by the importance of the
| issues as regards our private and corporate
interests.
Four years ago in total vote of 4S19, this
city gave General Grant 24O5 majority. Eight
years ago Lincoln had a majority here of 1872 in
vote of 3SSS. Last year the whole vote was
larger than four years ago, but not in proper
| ton to the increase in the number of legal
voters. This year the vote will undoubtedly be
the largest ever cast here, exceeding that of
1868 PROBABLY by fifteen hundred Or more How
much the majority of this year will exceed that
which our city gave to General Grant, at his
| first election, we shall be able to announce on
| Wednesday morning. Let every republican see
| to it that it is not diminished by his neglect.