San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-08-09
Choosing Officers.
Wide Awake.

Very different ideas have prevailed
in different countries upon the best
way of forming a government and
choosing rulers. The American idea
is to have the government planned by
wise men whom the people choose for
that express purpose, and have the
chief officers chosen by the people.
Another idea has been that rulers
are ordained by Almighty God-or'
as is sometimes said, that kings rule
by "divine right that they
should enforce the laws Of God found
in the Bible. Some rulers haveSbe'
come such by what may be called the
right of the strongest; an able gener-
al has organized a powerful army,
conquered the country,and proclaimed
himself king or emperor; and the
people have submitted rather than
contend with the army. As ancient
military kings generally made arrange,
ments to have their sons succeed
them, there arose an idea that royal
power should oe inherited as property
| is. Many persons believe that gov
eminent ought to be managed by the
wisest and .bestmen of the country;
which would be an excellent plan if
there was any certain way OF telling
who are the wisest and best. The
plan of electing rulers gives the peo-
pie opportunity to choose their wisest
and best men if they will take the
pains to do so. In this country, al
though the people do not vote for
nearly all the officers, they vote for so
many, and those who are elected
understand so well the necessity of
doing as the people wish in appoint
ing others, that, practically, the gov
ernmentis organized and the officers
are selected chiefly according to the
public wish. The plan would perhaps
not be so good for other nations as
the modes they adopt, but it pleases
Americans. The wisest and best men
are not always chosen; but the people
obey so much more willingly the Off
GERS whom they have elected, and the
laws passed by their representatives,
that governing is simpler, e Ter and
cheaper than it could be under. the
strongest men, or than it might be
under the wisest and best.
Thus in this country the president
is chosen almost directly by the peo-
pie, and they can choose one every
four years. The governors of states
are chosen by the people, and SO are
representatives IN congress and mem
bers of both houses of state legisla-
lures; and their terms are short
mostly two years. Judges in many
states, and in all, chief officers of
various kinds, are chosen by the peo-
pie. The choosing isdone at elections;
the grown men come each with lit
tie folded paper called his "ballot," y
in which is written ESQ no one CAN see
unless the voter chooses to show it)
the names of the officers he prefers;
these ballots are dropped in a box
called the "ballot box" and are after
wards counted, and the men whose
names appear on the most ballots be-
come the officers, for they are the ones
preferred by the most voters.
The system, to be sure, does not
include senators of the United States,
who are chosen by the state legisla-
lures, or judges and chief officers of
the United States, and those of some
states, who are appointed by the
president, OF the governors. And a
voter cannot always vote for man he
prefers: he has to choose among
those nominated by "caucus," or
"convention;" but in one way OF an
other the people exercise indirectly q
powerful influence over the choice of
officers whom they do not elect. In
deed the form of choosing president
is that the people in the various states
elect few of their wisest and best
men, called "electors," to meet and
choose president, but really the
electors merely vote for the man
whom they believe the people of their
state prefer.
If we should visit foreign countries
and examine their governments, we
should find this idea of choice of rul-
ers by the people is steadily winning
favor, especially in the most intelligent
and prosperous nations. In England,
anciently, some kings claimed to reign
by divine right, others by conquest.
But in modern times the crown is in
herited. Victoria became queen by
right of birth, and when she dies her
eldest son will be king; not because
he is better qualified than any one
else ~ nile. Int because lin England)