Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1879-11-25
POLITICAL SUICIDE.

IOLl II Al ~ lNlA'I.
The same company Of sen,imcu,als',
who forced that policy which caused Ga.
los, Of two or three Southern States, upua
the Republican party, now propose 60 ha-
i,h their iob OF murdcr.-or of suicide
If they properly constitute portion o,
the Republican party, championod 10y that
great journal, HuTer's HssSly.
These men teach that i, is an act o.
virtue 20 bolt q regular nomination II the
nominee be di,tastetul OF course ther,
Is a limit beyond which one should uo,
90 in ieal;y to his party. II two caadi-
dates are named, by opposing parties. "a
Republican should vote for the nominee
who is bes, fitted for the place. Tie
should no, be bound 20 vote for an iucow-
petent man because he be the party cam
didate. If the opposing candidate, how
ever. be q worse man, or l. less ~ tH.
the position, IL becomes the duty e. e..
voter 90 cast his ballo; fer the lcls. o.-
iecti9nablc candidate. We are to.t Is
these political ,entimentalis;s tina; ,aeo
is another course open, VIZ: 20 erase ,ae
names Of all Objectionable men from the
ballot. This is simply a Sinking p-.-
cedurc. and serves 10 aid N elcctiug the
worse candidate. Parties which nom.-
nate bad men are pretty apt 20 stick D.
their nominees. l. Is the duty Of every
GOOD citizen 20 use his best effort 70 defect
the worse candidate. If he scratches his
own nominee. he practically gives one
vote 20 the less competent candidate, and
in no measure relieves himself OF ~.
responsibility in the matter.
There IS a way in which the indcp.a-
pcnden, and the sentimeuta, voter o...
make hi, influence teit, vjthou: eadla
scrine :he life Of his party lie s.-
secure the nomination OF honest. caq-..
men 20 all positions, by attending
primary meetings Here is 'ae owl.
place where a safe appeal can be taken.
and here such an appeal viii always b.
successful II sound delegate, bc SCI.
% conventions. the voter need A-y. Dr.
fear Us % the character %, IL. uomu..
nor concerning the declaration ot ta.
adopted ty his party. ANY person cone
ycr,aat with political affair, is avian. ...
.ac difficulty lies wholly here. Read Git.
li~. Of delegates chosen 90 convention.
From wear 90 year, they are the a.
men. And why, Simply because ,..
Independent, and the dissatisfied voter docs
no, make am ctor, 90 attend the Caucus,
or IT he does. be- fails 90 induce his friends
-o 20 with him. I, would te an cas-.
matter 20 overtun the Syercotyped caucus
m every town IL new men would oa!
take the matter In hand They prefer 81.
>it back. make mo- effort. call the worker
'.a ring and bolt the regular nominee.
thereby thinking they do good service
The purity OF d party depends upon ;a.
purity of is primary meetings. bat there
/ Is no ,urcr way 10 wipe the organization
out Of existence than by boiling tas
nominees YOU have been too indifferent %
defeat before they became party repre-
seutativeS
The second act in the heroic play oi
self martyrdom, now being put upon the
stage by these purifiers, consists In de-
| priying the party Of money for campaign
purposes. We do not advocate the use
Of funds for purchasing votes, but there
are legitimate methods of spending large
sums during every campaign. stump
speeches. though always one-sided. and
sometimes untruthful. are a most po,cn,
means of moving the people. They also
/ give Us much information of value, and
/ il Is impressed most powerfully upon oJl
minds bv the forcible utterance Of q good
speaker. The travehngexpenses, at least,
Of such must be paid Bills must be
posted; halls hired, lighted and warmed
and all the other incidental expenses made
necessary by large gathering Of people
must be met Documents must be print
ed. paid for, and then circulated. Tn,
record Of men and parties must be
searched, and none of these things car
be done without money. How shall Il
be raised: As in every other work, tn,
most interested parties should furnish It
In politics the most interested parties az,
the office-holders. According 10 all prcc
edent. when party is defeated, is friends
lose their positions. If the positions attor.
men means of living, they should be VII
ling TO pay a percentage Of their incom.
20 ensure the success of that party by
which alone they can hope TO be fed. We
/ have no sentimentaity about this matter
The money must be raised, the man wa.
Is to be benefited must furnish Il. I.
other words. the otEce-holder must D.
assessed. and he must pay his assessment
III he does not think his office worth Oh.
price. let him resign, and allow It 20 b.
filed by one who does 50 value 1t. Ii i
simply d question with the othce-holdcl
which he VIII do, pay his assessment auc
help the party keep him in place, or retUs,
the funds and be turned cut by an oppo
sition party. This trumped up sympathy
for the poor bled Office holder, IS simply
I another scheme devised by our sentiment