The Arizona sentinel. [volume] (Arizona City [Yuma], Yuma County, A.T. [Ariz.]) 1872-1911, 1874-10-31
LETTER FROM FLORENCE.

battle will be fought that is to de-
eide who is to be our delegate
il Congress for the next two
years. Now, this is the most inn
portant office in the gift Of the
people of the Territory, and every
citizen entitled to a vote should
weigh the respective claims,
character, and abilities, of each
Candidate we'll and thoroughly
before he makes up his mind to
vote for any particular one. That
is, he should not give his vote
thOughtlessly to any man, just
because that man happens to be a
particular friend Of his or his sec.
ton, without as much as asking
himself, is he honest? Is he capa
Bile? Will he, if elected, work for
the best interests of the whole
Territory? While a man may
have a perfect right TO vote, at the
same time he has no right to throw
that vote away foolishly, or, what
is worse, cast it to the injury of
his state or country. The. ballot
box, is the strongest box in the
world, not excepting the cart
ridge-box, or even the handbook.
1t embraces within itself the pri-
vilege and the power to preserve
republican Institutions and re-
publican form of Government and
at the same time the rights of the
whole people. The ballot carries
with 1t sacred privilege and at
the same time bounGen duty
one that no good citizen we'll
Wisher of his country, will seek to
evade.
Therefore, fellow citizens, while
you exercise this glorious priv
lege I know you Will not fail at
the same time to recognize the
grand duty you owe to your fellow
men and to your country, and act
accordingly. Remember, that the
man who casts his vote for a bad
man or a bad cause, commits as
grievOus an OffenSe almost, as If
he had stuffed the llot-box, for
the same purpose. We are hap
Ply to state, however, that in the
present canvass, all the candidates
for delegate to Congress are very
good men and the cause they ad-
vocate is good Chat of the whole
people,. Therefore, there is not
much danger of doing any harm
by voting for any one of them, or
all of them, for that matter. Yet,
a choice must be made.
We can't elect all of them, how
ever, much we might wish to do
so. We must choose one OF the
number to represent Us in the
Congress of the U. S. and the one
who is elected, should be the most
preferable and likely one of the
whole lot. The one who is the
most capable, the most incorrupti-
BILE, and who can serve us best at
Washington. Now, who is this
man? Who of all the candidates
now in the field comes nearest
filling the bill? Can any citizen
of Arizona hesitate to promptly
answer 1t as Hiram s. Stevens (?
And can we doubt that on the Sd
of November next, the voice OF
the whole people will as promptly
answer 1t IS! Just look at the
man! Can you claim for any 9TH
er candidate any qualification or
good principle that he does not
possess? No, fellow citizens, you
cannot. All the qualifications, all
the merits for honesty and in
tegfity of character, ali the strong
points in good head and an hon
est heart, which other candidates
claim for themselves, his friends
claim for him in a pre-emlnent
degree. He does not, like his OPP
ponents, set up those claims for
himself but modestly lets his
friends have the pleasure OF doing
so for him. Now then,
"Modesty is a virtue"
And gives him an additional claim
to the favor of mis- fellow citizens.