Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-09-26
THROWING AWAY VOTES

About tho most persistent objection
maae 10 voting the Prohibition ticket is:
ooh't want to throw away my vote. {"
IL is pralSeWorthy feeling on any mans
part. Jealousy for ones ballot. a deter
mlnatlon to make it count, is feeling
for which no sane patriot can have any.
| thlng but praise. If any one feels that
ne is throwing away his vote by casting
1t Tor the Prohibition ticket, he has no
sort OF business to vote that ticket, The
ballot is too sacred thing for man to
"tnrow away" in order to please his
wife, or to vent his spite Oh somebody.
| Don't throw away your vote" We
indorse that in full, no matter where the
logic OF 1T may carry us. If it carries us
clear to the dissolution of the Prohibition
party. still, we say, don't throw away.
your vote.
But let us look into this.
what is vote and what is it intended
to do? Is it thrown away when the man
Tor whom it is cast is not elected? Is it
thrown away when the man for whom
it is cast has no chance of being elected?
1t does not strike us in that way. Here
are two men, candidates of two rival
parties. one of whom is sure, let us saw.
of being elected. The strife is so evenly
baiahc' ID that your one vote will deter
mine uhc election. But you find that
neither man represents your views on
public questions. Suppose you cast your
vote for one of the two men. What have
you gained? 1t is easy enough to see
what the man for whom you voted has
gained: and what his political friends
have gained. But what have you, the
voter, gained? You have decided which
OF two men. we will say, shall rule the
State-a very important matter to the
two men. But since neither proposes to
rule it in accordance with your convic-
tons, what are you profitcd. after all?
Suppose, at the same election, there
is another candidate who has no
reasonable chance of election, but
who represents your convictions
and your desires regarding public
policy. Suppose you vote for him in
stead of deciding the election between
the other two men. Is your ballot
thrown away? Yes, most assuredly it
is, so far as the other candidates are
concerned and so far as the politicians
are concerned. You could have deter
mined which set should go into office
and which set should go out and you
have not done it. Instead, you have
cast ballot which elects no man to
office, but which does express your polit-
ical DESIRES So far as the office-seekers
are concerned your vote might just as
we'll have been thrown into the sewer.
But as far as you are concerned, it was
the only ballot you could have voted
which would not have been thrown
away. You have, in short, chosen be-
tween throwing away your ballot so fa1
as you are concerned and throwing il
away so far as they are concerned, and
you have chosen to do the latter. AS il
is your ballot, given you to express your
convictions, have you not in such a case
done exactly the right thing?
A ballot, then, is to express mans
{ political convictions. If it does not de
l that it is ballot thrown away, no mat
ter if it decides the election of Presi
dent of the United States.
What political convictions does Re
publican ballot express nowadays? VIVA
political convictions does Democratic
= ballot express? Is there single issu,
for which either old party unequivocall,
stands? Is there single issue on which
either old party is not seriously divided
You may explain that you vote for can
didate for such and such reasons, bu1
your explanations never 20 lnCO Tile DON
, with the ballot. If the ballot itself
without any explanations, does not ex
press any definite political principles
then, in the name of all that is rea.sona
Bile, is not a ballot thrown away, % fal
as the man that cast it is concerned?
Don't throw away your vote. DOM
cast ballot that fails to represent yor
in any way, much less a ballot that mis-
J represents you. Let the politicians anc
, those who always get their opinion!
ready made from the loudest takers
blather the year round about ga vote il
the air." What they mean by vote il
the air or vote thrown away is one tina
!, doesn't help to settle the momentou!
question whether they shall hold thu
offices or not. But what a citizen wht
has any public convictions whatever
wishes, is ballot that expresses those
convictions. When a vote does that i
is never thrown away, but it is perform
ing to the full the functions which thu
founders of this republic intended it tt
perform.-The Voice.