Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1878-03-16
Party W orkers.


The necessity of having workers in q
party to carry out the plans and purpose
of the organization ought not to require
any argument to make it apparent. A
party will not grow unless it employs the
means necessary to growth. Energy, dis
cipliue, trained effort and skill are as
necessary in the conduct of popular cleo
tons to insure success as in battles decd
ed by military prowess and skill. An IN
disciplined party is like an undisciplned
army; il can make no effective resistance
against a well organized force. And to
have we'll organized party there is hard
work TO be done and somebody must do it
But there has been so much shallow,
foolish, unjust denunciation OF political
parties and political workers, that there Is
a hesitancy on the part of many OF our
Young men in the republican party to en-
gage in the active work of political cam
paigns, and the party is suffering IN con
sequence. There has never been time
in our country when politicians and polit-
cal work were so decried as the present.
In other days fathers were pleased to have
their sons manifest their interest in the
elections by distributing votes, by watch
ing the polls to see that no fraudulent
votes were cast. by looking up and bring
ing absentees to the voting places, and
even using what influence they could to
gain over undecided and doubtful voters
to their party or side. 1t was regarded rs
manly to make good fight for the party
colors, to be true to the ticket aud the men
with whom one was associated. 1t was
not considered degrading to mingle with
ones fellows of all classes and conditions
in caucus or convention or at the polls.
The American idea makes no distinction
between voters upon election day. One
And there are in every community men Of
unsettled opinions, Indifferent or ignorant
in regard to political issues pending
whose votes il permitted to 90 unques
toned to one party or the other might in
many and important cases tip the scale
against good government and good men
of the soundest and best political princi-
plies. The doubHul vote is an important
factor in all elections. 1t is to obtain thi,
that all the speech-making, parade, and
work of political campaigns are undertake
en-. The voter who is sure to 90 to the
polls and vote the republican ticket needs
no missionary or other work by republicans
TO bring him out on election day; but his
undecided, careless, doubling neighbors
require to be labored with, and for them
arguments must be multiplied and work
performed to keep them in the right path.
1t is an absolute duty to party that would
succeed 10 struggle sharply for the doubt
ful vote. The party that gives it up yields
the field to the opposition.
But if republicans who engage in this
political work are to encounter denuncia-
ton and dishonoring epithets for the ser
vice they perform. ii they are TO be count
ed out when honors are distributed, they
of course will stand back in future, and
those who think party campaigns can be
conducted and party victories won with
out strenuous effort will have an opportuni-
ty to try the experiment. The republican
party, however, never did, and never will
for any length of time, refuse to recognize
the worth of those political workers, in
high places or low places, to whom il is
indebted in any degree for triumphs over
the democracy and the success OF its plin-
ciples. The flippant talk about "machine
politicians will have its day. There will
never sharply contested election occur
in which the man who works like a man
for his party, will not be a more popular
man with his party and the community
than he who stands on nice distinctions
and declines TO enter into the contest lest
he endanger his responsibility. Every
man in the republican party should be d
worker, nor should he be ashamed to be
known as such.
The Washington correspondent of the
n